“What about Chase?” I ask, glancing over to his best friend. Our best friend. For almost all my adult life, Chase has been there, a part of it. When I started dating Harrison, I inherited Chase too. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed him until this moment. Until he’s back here, laughing and carrying on with the rest of us. It goes to prove how hard divorce is. You not only lose your spouse, but everyone they’re connected with as well.
“You okay?” Harrison asks, placing his finger under my chin and turning my face.
I can’t answer without risking tears, so I just nod and swallow the emotions. I can tell he doesn’t buy it. This man knows me, probably better than I know myself. “I’ve just missed this,” I finally whisper, hopefully low enough that no one else but Harrison hears.
He seems to understand right away and gives me a small smile. “You’re not the only one,” he whispers back, kissing my cheek and moving my head to rest on his shoulder.
“To answer your question, I’m not going anywhere. I’m still manager, but my focus for a while is going to be the new locations. I’ll drive back and forth, but I’ll be spending most of my time in Dalton. It’s only a thirty-minute drive. Plus, I’ll have some of my clients to take care of here,” Chase adds, referring to the Fair Lakes location of All Fit. “And when the Lakeview location is further along, I’ll do what I have to there too,” he adds, referring to the location to the south.
“I know her,” Gabby says, pulling a resume out of the pile and sliding it over to Harrison. I glance down and see the name Gina Laughlin. While it sounds vaguely familiar, nothing immediately jumps out at me. Chase reaches over and grabs the paper, glancing at it, as Gabby continues. “We went to college together. You remember, right, Gwen? She came home one Thanksgiving with me when her parents were off on some trip.”
My mind digs for the memory and comes up with a shorter brunette with a pleasant smile and big dark eyes. “I think so. She stayed the holiday weekend with you at Mom and Dad’s, right? Short dark hair and brown eyes?”
“Yep, that was her. I’ve only seen her once or twice since college. Our jobs just took us in different directions, but I remember she was working for her dad. I think he owned a gym, actually,” she says, grabbing the resume from Chase’s hands and giving it a quick glance. “Yep, Al’s Gym in Dalton.”
“That’s the one that closed down when we started our plans for the expansion,” Chase confirms, leaning toward my sister and glancing at the paper over her shoulder.
She stills just as he rests his chin on her shoulder. “Did you just sniff me?”
“You smell like fruit pie,” he whispers back, taking another big whiff of my sister’s neck.
Gabby rolls her eyes, places her hand on his forehead, and pushes. Hard. Chase flies back, but stays in his seat, laughing at the rise he got from my sister.
“Are you two done?” Harrison asks, unable to mask the humor in his voice.
“Nope, never. I’ll torture her until the day I die,” Chase states, a proud smile on his face.
“That’ll be a lot sooner than expected if you keep that shit up,” Gabby points out, giving him a glare. Chase winks at her, but lets her finish reviewing the resume. “I think she’d be a great candidate.”
“I agree. She has experience, and it’s in the same field. And it doesn’t look like she’s found a job yet, so she could be available to start right away,” Harrison adds, adjusting me on his leg. When he does, my rear comes in contact with his erection. His very large, very hard erection. My entire body tightens, and I can tell the moment he notices. “See what you still do to me?” he whispers in my ear, his warm breath sending my body into hypersensitive overdrive. Suddenly, I can feel everything. His hands, his leg, his erection, and it’s all too much. Too much want, too much desire, too much confusion, because even though we’ve discussed trying again, at a much slower pace, I can’t deny the way my body reacts to him. How it has always reacted to him.
I stand up quickly; he lets me go this time. Without trying to draw attention to myself, I go to the cabinet and retrieve a glass, filling it with water. After a long drink, I turn back to the table and find his eyes on me. Instead of discussing Gina and the rest of the applicants, he’s watching me with so much need and desire that my knees almost buckle right then and there.
The truth is, I’m not sure how much longer I can deny the way I feel for him. As confusing as this is, I just want to go back to the way things were. Back when love was easy and everything was right in the world. Now, everything is hard and confusing, and I realize just how weak I am when it comes to Harrison Drake. He’s always been my biggest weakness. He’s practically moving in with me, fighting to get his life and family back.
Me.
He’s fighting for me.
And I don’t want to fight him anymore.
I don’t want to deny it.
I want that life too.
With him.
Us.
I just pray we don’t destroy us in the process.
It’s Friday and my afternoon class all works to finish their Letter X worksheet, outlining the letter and writing it repeatedly on the lines provided, as well as coloring the large X-ray picture. I continue to watch, helping my little students make sure they properly hold the pencil and execute the letter correctly. We’ve been working hard on keeping the letters within their respective lines, but sometimes it’s fruitless when it comes to four-year-olds.
A knock sounds at my door, pulling my attention away from Riley and her super big X’s that spill off the pages. When I glance up, I see our school receptionist, Miss Courtney, carrying a big bouquet of flowers and a bright smile. “These just arrived for you, Mrs. Drake,” she says proudly as she enters my classroom and sets them on my small desk.
“Oh, uh, thank you,” I reply, praying she doesn’t question the flowers.
I know how it looks. Recently divorced woman receives flowers at her job. She must be seeing someone new, right? Little do they know these aren’t from someone new. I already know who they’re from. He was always sending me flowers for my birthday, our anniversary, or just because, especially in the beginning. When I landed my first teaching job, he sent me flowers every Monday for the entire year, even though we really couldn’t afford it. They were smaller bouquets than this one, but the message and meaning were always the same.
“Are you seeing someone new?” Courtney asks, a beaming smile on her face.
Yep, called it.
“Oh, no no. I’m sure these are from my… parents,” I reply, taking the card and sticking it into my pocket. I know the moment I lift the flap her eyes will be peeking over my shoulder in anticipation.
“Your parents sent you red and white roses with gorgeous orange lilies?” Courtney rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine, keep your secret, but just know that this is a small town. We’ll find out who he is soon enough,” she replies with an ornery grin before heading out of my classroom, closing the door as she goes.
My stomach rolls and I can’t be completely sure it’s from the pregnancy. The truth is this is a small town and it won’t be long before everyone knows. Knows about Harrison. Knows about the baby. Knows that he’s been living in my spare bedroom since the weekend and is showing no signs of leaving. Ever.
I fight the urge to pull the card from my pocket and return to my kids. Most of them have lost focus on their worksheet and are either talking or dancing in their chair. It takes me a few minutes, but I regain control of my class following our interruption, and they’re all finishing up their worksheets.
“Mrs. Drake, who are those from?” one of my students, Kimber, asks.
“A friend,” I reply with a smile.
“Is your friend my daddy? He sends flowers to my mommy,” she adds, handing in her finished worksheet.
“No, not from your daddy. I’m happy that your daddy sends your mommy flowers, though. I bet that really brightens her day.”
Kimber nods frantically. “She brings them hom
e and puts them on the table. Then Daddy kisses her when he comes home,” she tells me, giggling.
“Kisses are gross!” Thomas declares as he sets his sheet in the tray. “Girls have cooties!”
“We do not,” Kimber argues, placing her hands on her hips and stomping her foot.
I fight the smile that threatens to spread across my face. “No one has cooties,” I tell them gently. “Why don’t you both go over to the reading rug and pick out a book. As soon as everyone is done, we’ll have a snack and take our restroom break.”