by Natalie Ann
“Of course, I’d love for him to have some of her things. I’m sorry it was hard for you. I can’t imagine doing that for my best friend. I had to do it for a guy from my unit once, and that was hard, but we were only friends, not besties.”
“It is hard, and I appreciate you understanding that.”
“What are you doing today?”
“I’m going to find some boxes and start packing it all up, and then maybe work on her kitchen. I don’t think I’m ready to do her bedroom yet.”
“Do you want help?”
“No, I appreciate that, but I need to do this alone.”
“Alright, just say the word if you want a friend to help.”
“Friend,” I repeated softly. “Yeah, I will.”
He paused. “And just so you know, that comment you made on text wasn’t very friend-zone.”
I barked out a laugh. “Sorry, I think I was still in the haze of a good night’s sleep. I was feeling a little daring.”
“Baby, you can be daring anytime you want.” Devon cried out in the background. “Okay, I gotta go. You have a good day, Davina. I hope it’s a little easier for you today. I know it won’t be, but I’m thinking about you if that helps.”
“It does, thank you, Trevor. Kiss that little boy for me.”
“Can I have one too?”
I blinked. “I don’t know; does Devon know how to kiss yet?”
“Funny,” he joked. “Have a good day, Davina.”
“Bye, Trevor.” I was smiling as I hung up the phone. Okay, so Carol had said he had a sense of humor, and I was starting to see it now. I guess she had been right when she said I would have approved of him.
I sighed and put thoughts of Trevor out of my head as I did a little bit of work.
And that’s how the next few days went. I got a good night's sleep each night, then woke up to multiple texts from Trevor about how many times Devon had woken up during the night. While I didn’t speak with him each morning on the phone, we would text back and forth during the day.
I knew that Lucy was now watching Devon during the day, and I popped down on the first day to make sure everything was going well. Devon was sleeping peacefully, and Lucy went on and on about how handsome and nice Trevor was. Yeah, I already knew those things, and I sure didn’t need her help pointing them out.
During the afternoon, I would work in Carol’s apartment. I had most of it done except her bedroom, and I was hesitant about going in there and doing it, but I only had two more days off and knew I needed to get it done by the end of the weekend. Saturday, I’d be tied up with the wedding, so between today, tomorrow, and Sunday, I would need to get it done.
I stood at the door, taking a slow fortifying breath before I tried to take a step forward. I quickly spun around and walked away. I can’t do this room. I picked up my phone and typed a text to Trevor.
Call me when you have a second. I need help.
It wasn’t two minutes later when my phone rang. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you sound worried?”
“Because you told me to call you and that you needed help. I thought something was wrong.”
“I’m okay, I’m just—” I paused, feeling stupid. “I just needed someone to tell me I could do it. I have to pack her bedroom. I haven’t been able to walk in there, much less pack it.”
“Ah,” he replied softly. “I know it’s hard, Davina. I wish I could be there to help. If you want to wait until I get off, I can help you. I only have another hour here, and then I am going to get Devon. I can swing up to her apartment and at least get you through the door.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course.” He hesitated. “That’s what friends do. They help each other.”
“Thank you, Trevor. Maybe it will be easier if you are here when I go in. I think it might be.”
“Great, then I can do that. Have you eaten? I could pick up lunch.”
“I am hungry, but how about I make us a sandwich. I made a roast yesterday, so I can make roast beef sandwiches.”
“I’m not going to turn that down. I’ll let you know when I’m leaving here.”
“Thanks, Trevor. I really appreciate it.”
“As I said, that’s what friends are for. See you in a little while. I have to get back to my class.”
“Sorry for bothering you. I’ll see you later.” I hung up, feeling only a little stupid for texting him.
I gathered my stuff and decided to go back to my place until I heard from him. I also wanted to change my clothes and maybe pull a brush through my untamed hair. It was only fair that I look presentable for the man. I mean, that’s what friends do for each other, right?
Chapter 15 – Trevor
It had been a whirlwind of a week, and I was more exhausted than I had been after any six-month tour. Devon required around-the-clock attention, and I was doing my best to make sure that he had it. While still working, trying to find a suitable long-term solution for childcare, and starting the process of looking for a house. How did couples manage this? I was about to lose my mind doing it by myself.
Lucy had been a godsend, but I knew that I couldn’t rely on her forever. I had interviewed three nanny services, and next week I would start the process of speaking with a few possibilities from the service I had ultimately selected.
Even during all of that, my mind was constantly thinking about Davina. She was always there, always just on the verge of coming to the front of my thoughts. I’d never had a woman who had commanded so much of my mental attention before, and in a way, it bothered me. Maybe if she had wanted to be more than friends, it wouldn’t have irked me as much, but she didn’t.
I’d been careful to keep our relationship on firm friend-zone territory, especially after her comment earlier in the week about changing her shirt and Devon not being there. Man, the woman had caused all kinds of perverse fantasies to fill my head that day, one of which included honey and nipples.
Our conversations during the week had been kept to messages, and I enjoyed our mutual fun of sparring back and forth a few times a day. She constantly had me laughing about something, but when she told me to call her and that she needed help, I could think of nothing else but being there for her.
That’s why I was now carrying a sleeping baby up to the third floor. I wasn’t going to be able to stay long, though. I had made arrangements to drop Devon off with Lexi, and I was going to spend the afternoon with a real estate agent looking at houses. But I would do what I could for Davina before I had to go.
I knocked on the door, and a moment later, it opened. For a few seconds, the two of us stared at one another, and I had the instantaneous urge to pull her into my arms and kiss the hell out of her—but I didn’t.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” she replied almost shyly as she stepped back to hold the door open. The second I was inside, she took Devon’s car seat from me. “Oh, my god! He grew!”
“He did?” I said, staring down at Devon.
“Yes, look how big he is now.”
I chuckled. “It hasn’t even been a full week yet, Davina.”
She mock glared at me. “Yes, I know that, but babies grow a lot at this age.”
“I guess.”
“I want to hold him so bad,” she said softly.
“Yeah, well, he just fell asleep, so I wouldn’t bother him just yet.”
“Fine,” she sighed. “I have our lunch ready.”
I glanced at the pile of boxes and then scanned the room. She had moved the furniture around to make room for the growing pile. “You’ve done a lot.”
“She had a lot,” she replied drolly.
I took a seat at the table where she’d set out two sandwiches on paper plates and a bag of chips along with two cans of sparkling water.
As we ate, we were mostly quiet, peeking at one another once in a while around small talk of the food and what I’d been doing at work. When we were done, I foun
d Davina staring at Devon.
“I didn’t realize I would miss him as much as I do.”
I chuckled softly. “Yeah, I get it. I didn’t think I would miss him being at work, but I do. I come home every night and sit there staring at him.”
“He’s a special little boy to have you as a father.”
“Why do you say that?”
She glanced at me and then looked away quickly. “I mean, he’s lucky that you care about him. A lot of men wouldn’t have wanted to take on the responsibility.”
“Yeah, I guess.” We grew quiet, and I was tempted to reach over the table and touch her but held back. “So, should we get started?”
She winced, and I glanced at my watch. “I can only stay for a little while. I have to drop Devon off and then meet with someone.” Her eyes looked stormy as they turned my way. “I’m looking at houses.”
The storminess in her gaze subsided. Well, wasn’t that an interesting tidbit of information? Did she think I had a date?
“You mean, you’re really going to buy a house?”
“Yep. I can’t imagine living where I am much longer. I’m going nuts with the clutter already.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I did notice that your bedroom was very neat and tidy.”
“My years in the service did that.” I grinned back at her.
“It’s a good trait.” She collected our trash and went to throw it away. Then she stood in the hallway and stared at the bedroom door.
I came up behind her, putting my hands on her shoulders and squeezing softly. “It’s okay.”
“I don’t want to go in there. I’m afraid if I pack all of that, it will be final.”
She leaned back against me, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her tightly to me, inhaling the fresh scent of her hair. “Sadly, it is final, Davina. Carol is gone.”
She put her hands over mine on her stomach. “I know, but I’m not sure I’m ready for her to be gone.”
I twirled her slowly around in my arms, cupping her cheeks. “She will never be gone for good. You will carry her in your heart and mind forever.”
She blinked rapidly as if she were about to cry. “Thank you for saying that.”
I wanted to kiss her, so damn badly, but instead, I pulled her to my chest and brushed my lips over her brow and crazy hair. She clung to me for a moment, then inhaled and released it slowly before she stepped back.
“Okay, I got this.” She turned for the door and got as far as putting her hand on the doorknob.
“Go ahead; you can do it,” I said from behind her, my hands on her hips, my chest against her back.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
“You can.”
She began to shake her head and pushed back against me. “No, I can’t.”
“If you don’t open that door, I’m going to turn you in my arms and kiss you again.”
“That’s not fair!” she hissed.
I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “All is fair in love and war.”
“War! You are evil, Trevor Vaughn.”
I chuckled. “What’s it going to be, Davina Daniels? Me? Or the door?”
“Ugh,” she growled and put her hand back on the doorknob. She started to turn it but shocked me by spinning in my arms instead. “I’ll take you.”
Before I could respond, she plastered her lips to mine. Shocked that she had chosen my ultimatum, I quickly got on board, pulling her to me and returning the kiss with all the pent-up wanting that I’d had for her this last week.
Davina whimpered, and I held her tighter, curling one of my hands around her ribs, brushing my fingers along the side of her breast. She arched harder against my chest, and I pushed her up against the door, wanting to feel her body pressed tightly to mine. Only as I put our bodies against the door, it burst open, and we fell into the room.
I spun her at the last second so that I took the brunt of the landing and sucked in a sharp breath as she landed on me. The kiss ended abruptly, and then we started to laugh. Davina put her head on my chest, her hot breath filtering through the Henley shirt I wore as she giggled.
A cry from the other room reached us both, and I said, “Whoops. I guess that was a little louder than expected.”
“Oh, my god! I can’t believe that just happened.”
I lifted her head off my chest, staring into the whiskey-colored eyes that I dreamt about all week. “Yeah, well, it did, and look, you’re in her room. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
She frowned at me. “That’s not funny.”
“But, you’re in her room.”
She glanced around, and I saw her wince again. She pushed off me and crawled on her hands and knees out of the room. “Devon’s awake; now I can hold him.”
“Davina! Come back in here,” I said as I got off the floor.
“Nope, Devon needs me.”
I shook my head and glanced around Carol’s room. There were a ton more pictures on the walls, and the room was decorated in navy and grays. There was a huge storm painting above her bed. Something caught my eye lying on the quilt, and I skirted the bed to see what it was.
There was a photo album there, and I gasped as I saw a few pictures of us. I picked up the book and flipped through a couple of pages, finding quite a few of us and a couple of me alone. Then there were a bunch of Carol in different stages of pregnancy and notes written off to the side.
I blinked back sudden tears that filled my eyes. What a gift to give Devon. I took the book with me and left the room, pausing at the door to see Davina bouncing Devon in her arms.
“Did you know she was making a scrapbook for Devon?”
“What?” Her gaze fell to the book in my hands.
I set the book on the table and opened it to pages of Carol in her early pregnancy. Davina sucked in a sharp breath. “I had no idea. She never told me.”
She began to page back through the book, stopping when she got to the first page that contained pictures of Carol and me. “Wow, I didn’t know she had this many pictures of you. This is the only one I ever saw.” She pointed to one of the two of us standing by the balcony of the bed and breakfast where we’d spent our weekend.
“I remember her taking a few shots, but not this many,” I spoke reverently as I scanned the page. I was in awe of what she had created and flipped back a few more pages. On those few pages, Carol had created a fairy-tale romance. To someone, it might look like years together, but it had only been a couple of days in total. I laughed when I noticed a picture of me at the coffeehouse where we’d met. She had taken a shot of me getting refills.
“Wow, this is just amazing. Where was it?”
“On her bed.”
She glanced over her shoulder momentarily. “This is going to be really nice for him when he gets older.”
“Yeah, it is.” My cellphone rang, and I pulled it out to see it was the real estate agent. “Hey, Margo.”
“Hi, Trevor. I was wondering if you might be available a little earlier. I got ahold of one of the homeowners, but we only have a small window to see this house. I think this house might be perfect for you.”
I glanced at my watch. “I could be there in about an hour.”
“That would be excellent.”
I said goodbye to her and then looked down at Davina cuddling Devon. “I have to get going. She has another house to show me earlier than expected.”
She nodded and kissed Devon’s forehead before putting him back in the car seat.
“Davina, do you want to come with me? I know you want to get her room finished, but I could use another opinion.”
Her gaze snapped to mine. “Really?”
“Yeah, I would.”
She turned and looked back at the bedroom again, her response coming much faster than I had expected. “Yes, I’d love to come, because I’m not ready to do that yet.”
“Okay, well, go get your stuff from your apartment, and I’ll put Devon in the truck.”
With a nod, she g
rabbed a few things from Carol’s place, including the scrapbook, and we hurried out. She locked the door and joined me on the steps.
“I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Sounds good,” I told her as she cut off on the next floor down toward her place. As I made my way down the stairs, I was thinking over the scrapbook and was looking forward to looking at all the pictures and reading her notes. She really had left behind a great gift. Not only for Devon but me as well.
I tucked Devon into the truck and got behind the wheel just as Davina came out of the building. As I watched her approach, holding the album close to her chest, I thought back to the kiss that we’d just shared. There was no way that we were still in the friend-zone after that, but I wasn’t about to say anything. I had a feeling that when Davina was ready, she’d bring it up herself.
Color me surprised when she no sooner closed the door, set the book down at her feet, and clicked on her seatbelt than she turned to me and said, “About that kiss—”
Chapter 16 – Davina
What had I been thinking kissing him? I should have gone into her bedroom, but no—I had to attack the man like I was desperate. And what had I said? I’ll take you? I smacked my forehead after letting myself into my apartment.
Yeah, I’ll take him, and I’ll end up with a broken heart. I am not going to let that happen. I was going to have to make sure he understood that it hadn’t meant anything.
I climbed into the truck and immediately turned to him. “About that kiss—”
His brows rose, and he waited. My focus landed on his mouth, and the words I’d been about to speak vanished from my mind.
“Yes? What about it?”
The next words rushed out of my mouth. “It didn’t mean anything.”
He shocked me when he shrugged. “Yeah, I know. I was just trying to distract you.”
“That’s the only reason you kissed me?”
He glanced my way as he put his truck into reverse. “Let’s reword that, shall we? I gave you the option of opening the door or kissing me. It was your choice to kiss me.”
