by Nicky Shanks
He groans and I hear Julie talking in the background. “Well, shit sort of hit the fan. Can you meet Julie and me at Berk’s Café? We didn’t exactly get to eat lunch and we’re starving…Julie asked if you wanted to join us so I can tell you everything, because we know you’re dying to know.”
I blush and I’m a little jealous. “I guess…are you there now?”
“Yeah, we’re here. You want something to drink? I suggest something with alcohol in it.”
The air I’m holding in my lungs is spent, so it leaks into the space in front of me. “Oh, it’s going to be that kind of news. I’m not sure we both should be drinking, so you go ahead and I’ll come down as soon as I get ready.”
He scoffs. “Babe, come as you are. You know I love you no matter what.”
I blush because Julie heard him say that to me. I expect his tone of voice to change and get all squirrely like he’s embarrassed, but he coos on. “I want you here, Heather. I missed you like fucking crazy today. I almost called you like seventeen times.”
“Me too!” I smile and start undressing while cradling the phone. When I reach the purple room, I drop the clothes into the wicker laundry basket and sift through my drawers for skinny jeans and my favorite blue blouse. The silk against my skin will make me colder since the weather’s fallen to subzero temperatures, but that’s what they make cute black pea coats for.
“Hi, Heather!” Julie squeals in the background. “Come join us!”
I laugh instead of scowl, which is still a new feeling for me. “I’m getting ready—I’ll see you in ten minutes. Don’t do anything fun without me,” I warn him. I hang up before I say “I love you” and I know I’m going to regret that later. I find a pair of brown leather knee-high boots and smash them on before grabbing my handbag and car keys.
My phone rings as I get into my car and buckle my seat belt. It’s a number I don’t recognize, but I get a stinging feeling in my stomach that I really shouldn’t ignore it.
“Hello?” I turn the car on and place my bag in the seat next to me.
“Heather Michaels?” a woman on the other end says. “This is Rita Pardue, the owner of Rita’s Boutique downtown. Is this a good time?”
Not really!
I swallow hard. “Yes! How are you, Rita?”
Her laugh is big and boastful. “Oh, honey, it’s been a day. I hear you’re looking for some part-time work? I’d like to talk to you about that if you have the time tomorrow.”
“Yes, I absolutely have the time. When do you want to meet?”
She shuffles papers around for a few seconds and hums to herself. I like that she’s loose and free when talking to a complete stranger. “I can see you around three if that works for you.”
“I don’t have classes tomorrow, so that works. Thank you so much, Rita!” My smile is big and almost embarrassing if anyone were around.
“Well, thank you, darlin’.” It sounds like someone walks into the shop when a bell dings. “I’ll be right with you!” She comes back to me and sighs. “I really need the help, as you can tell. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Yes, ma’am.” I hang up before I can embarrass myself any further. I turn the radio up as loud as I can and sing loudly the entire way to Berk’s Café to meet Brandon and Julie. I hate being so upbeat when he might not be, but I can’t help it…things are finally starting to come up Heather for once.
Julie waves me over to their table when she spots me nearly fifteen minutes later. Brandon stands up and wraps his arms around me, holding me so tightly it hurts to take a deep breath. He doesn’t want to let go of me and that’s a little concerning; it’s like he’s holding onto a butterfly so it can’t fly away.
“I missed you,” he whispers in my ear. “I love you.”
I clear my throat and sweetly smile as he pulls away. I’m still a little awkward about returning those words to him and it’s not like I don’t feel it the same way he does…it’s just different when his perfect ex-girlfriend—no, ex-wife—is sitting at the table cooing at the two of us.
“It’s so great to see you!” Julie giggles and stands up to greet me. Her small body clutches onto mine for a weird, quick hug. “Here, sit down.”
I sit down next to Brandon and he calls the waitress to our table. “What do you want to drink?” His eyes burn into mine. He’s trying to get me drunk and I want to know why.
“Just water.” I nod at the girl who steps to us and then steps away just as fast.
Julie takes a swig of a brown beer bottle and her smile shines at me. “Did you have any finals today?”
I shake my head. “No, I stayed home all day.”
Brandon’s face falls. “Oh, hey, I’m sorry for leaving you alone all day. I just thought it would be weird if you tagged along to that divorce hearing—”
My lips smack together in annoyance at how much the two of them are dancing around the information that I want to know. “And how did that go?”
Julie and Brandon look at each other but neither one of them answers me.
“Brandon?” I glare into his gray eyes. “How did it go? What happened?”
He takes a drink of his dark liquor and frowns. “Well, we’re divorced now.” He nods at Julie and she raises her beer bottle toward him. “So that’s over. Trumbull took us to that late lunch bullshit and we got into an argument. I quit my job.”
I know he’s waiting for me to throw a tantrum.
I have a better idea.
My hand finds his arm and squeezes. “Are you okay?”
He looks a little surprised and glances over at Julie, who excuses herself to the bathroom to give us some much-needed privacy. “You’re not pissed?”
I shake my head. “I just care if you’re okay. What did you argue about?”
He downs the rest of his drink and motions for another one. “Rachel is pregnant.”
What. The. Hell.
“Rachel…the girl you cheated on Julie with? How far along is she? Is it yours? Is that why your boss fired you? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
He holds up his hands in defeat. “Whoa, slow down. I don’t know how far along she is, but she was definitely showing. I don’t know if it’s mine and Trumbull threatened me with a paternity test, but I don’t fucking care. Oh, and I quit, I didn’t get fired.”
I lick my lips and try to understand. “What are you going to do?”
He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to do the right thing and take that paternity test, and if the baby is mine, I’m going to help take care of it.”
“And if it’s not?”
His lips turn into a wicked grin. “How do you feel about California?”
“Like, moving there?” I start to panic because I haven’t told him my good news about Rita’s yet, and I don’t want to ruin whatever mood he’s currently in. He’s not going to like it if I get a job when he’s just lost his, especially if he didn’t really want me working in the first place. I pocket my good news for later so I can see what’s going to happen before I throw a dagger and burst his happiness bubble.
“Yeah, like moving there. I can poke around for an entry-level job at a firm out there and we can just pick up and leave. I’m on a month-to-month lease at the townhouse, we both have cars so we can drive across county, and I have enough money in savings that we could find a place and live for a few months if I can’t find a job before we go.”
His fingers intertwine with mine and there’s so much hope in his eyes it’s hard to say no. “You’ve thought a lot about this…you’ve got an entire plan worked out.”
He shrugs. “It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s a plan.”
I know he wants me to say I’ll go with him, no questions asked.
I know what he wants from me.
Say it, Heather. Say it!
“I’ll go wherever you are.” I smile and let him wrap his arms around me, squeezing me into a bear hug. I can’t let him down, not when he’s done nothing but be good and kind to
me. What kind of horrible person would I be if I took this away from him? I told myself that I would treat him differently than I treated Oliver and I meant it. “But, what about school?”
“You can transfer.”
“What about all of our stuff?”
“We can hire a moving company to bring it out.”
“What about Julie and Oliver? Harley? Your friend Nate?”
He grunts and leans back in his chair. “Oliver will understand. Julie said she’d talk to him about getting my job back for me, but I don’t want him to.”
“How can he get your job back for you?”
Julie comes back to the table and eyeballs us to make sure it’s safe to return. “Oliver does business with his boss, I guess,” she says. “At least, that’s what that jerk said.”
I laugh and welcome her back with a smile. “Brandon wants to move to California if Rachel’s baby isn’t his,” I tell her, and she doesn’t look surprised that he told me all about Rachel and her surprise bundle of joy growing inside of her.
“That sounds fun.” She giggles and checks her phone. “Oh, Oliver is wondering where I am. I better get going soon.” She turns to Brandon and nods. “Thanks for taking care of everything today. I know it was your fault to begin with but still, you stepped up and I’m thankful for that change in you. I could count on you today and that means something to me. Take care of him, okay?” Her gaze is on me now, and Brandon and I both sit with open mouths looking at her. “What?”
Brandon laughs. “You’re fucking crazy, you know that? She told off my boss, first of all, and stuck up for me, which is something the old Julie never would’ve done. Old Julie didn’t like confrontation.”
Julie stands and puts her bag over her shoulder. “I guess none of us are the same people we were six months ago, are we?” She winks at him and pats me on the shoulder as she passes to leave. We watch her go like a sunny day has just turned into a thunderstorm.
He claps his hands together. “Hey, wanna go home? I want to veg out and watch stupid movies with you on that big ass TV I just bought.”
I groan. “Sounds like a perfect night.”
“Hey, I’m sorry you don’t get to go to that fancy Children’s Gala thing for my work. I know you were looking forward to bumping elbows with some of the rich and semi-famous of New York.” His laugh is genuine as he throws cash on the table and leads me out of the café. The waitress waves at us and Brandon returns it as he guides me outside. I didn’t get a chance to even take off my pea coat so I’m instantly warm, and as his overcoat swirls around him, I can’t help myself but blurt out my good news.
“I have an interview at Rita’s Boutique tomorrow at three.”
He fixes his collar and smiles. “That’s great! Is it part time?”
I nod. “Yes, it will work around my classes.”
He kisses the tip of my nose and leads me to the parking lot where my car is parked next to his. When he opens my door for me, I expect an attitude of some sort, but he never lets it free. “I’m happy for you—things are looking up for you, babe. I guess we might have to stay in Rockford after all.”
“What about you? I thought you said Trumbull would blacklist you?”
His eyes darken and it sends weird vibes down my spine.
“I’ll talk to Jackson; maybe he has some ideas.”
I let him place me in the car and shut the door behind me. I roll down the window and he kisses my lips before grazing my cheek with his fingers.
“You said you would go wherever I am, right?”
I nod.
His sexy grin quickens my heart.
“My home is wherever you are. If Rachel’s baby isn’t mine and you choose to stay here and work and go to school, I’ll stay here with you. Don’t worry about me. I love you and there’s nothing that’s going to take that away. I’ll meet you at home, okay?”
He shuts the door and gets into his car, waving at me as he starts his car and drives off.
Love is making life complicated.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Fifteen
Oliver
Finally.
Julie’s name pops up on my phone and I waste no fucking time answering it.
“Where are you?” My voice is strained. “Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”
“I’m almost home, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
Not paying attention?
Pushing my anger back down inside of me, I try to understand enough where I’m not snapping at her and causing a fight for no reason.
A door shuts and she’s walking quickly, with purpose. “I just want you to be safe,” I say and listen to her soft breathing in my ear. “Veronica’s still out there, you know.”
“She’s not going to do anything to me,” Julie says, and a faint ding enters the phone call. “I may have been wrong before, but I’m not wrong now. She’s broken, Oliver—she’s done being the villain.”
“Baby, I know you want to believe that…” Someone’s outside the apartment door shuffling around, so I get off the sofa to investigate. When I open the door, Julie is standing in front of me with the phone still to her ear.
She blushes. “I was going to surprise you.”
I hang up the phone and shove it into my jeans pocket. “You’re always a surprise to me.” She beams as I tug her inside and wrap my arms around her. “How was your day?”
She pulls away from me and shuts the front door. “We need to talk about something.”
Shit. I hate that fucking sentence.
“Okay.” My lips flatten. “Do I need to sit down?”
She nods and leads me back to the sofa where she places her body dangerously close to mine and her strawberry shampoo is making me dizzy. I have to remind myself that she wants to talk about something and it doesn’t sound good…but her electric blue eyes are calling to me.
Oliver.
Oliver.
“Oliver?” Julie giggles. “Are you with me?”
Oh, I’m with you, baby.
I clear my throat. “I’m here. What do you want to talk about?”
The air around us grows tense as she thinks about which part of her story she wants to tell me first. Carefully, her mouth opens and closes and a chill runs down my spine.
I know what she’s about to tell me.
Except that she fucking doesn’t.
“What are our plans for tonight?” Her milky skin flushes. “I want to spend the night with you doing something cheesy.”
How about spending the night telling me all about your marriage?
I lick my lips and focus on her crystal blue eyes. “Don’t you have more finals tomorrow?”
She shakes her head. “No, I made a special arrangement with my professors. I took all of my finals early this morning. I’m free until my next set of classes starts after Christmas.”
Not really trying to hide it, the smile on my lips broadens until it hurts from how far I’m trying to stretch them. I have her all to my fucking self for at least two months.
Two glorious months.
“I was thinking maybe we could move into the new house before Christmas—you know it’s my favorite holiday and I wanted to get a ridiculously large Christmas tree and decorate it…” She realizes that my eyes are following her every small move and the flush on her cheeks brightens. “I mean, we can move whenever it’s good for us, I just thought—”
Screw her secret. I don’t care about that shit right now. All I care about is wrapping her soft, small body around mine and breathing in her strawberry deliciousness. School plans, opening two businesses at once, secret marriages, and my secret with Lucy can all kick fucking rocks.
I’ve never wanted her more than I want her right now.
“I’ll move in that house tomorrow if you ask me to.” My head dips down to catch her falling eyes. “Haven’t you learned by now that I’m with you? If you ask me to move to France tonight, I would. Julie…” My too-lon
g brown hair falls into my eye. “You are everything to me. Every. Thing. You want to move into the house before Christmas? Tell me the date and I’ll make it happen. You want a huge ass fucking Christmas tree? I’ll buy you two. I’m yours.”
The way she bites her bottom lip is dangerous for me. “I know, you’ve told me.” She blushes harder and looks down at her lap in embarrassment. “Maybe we can stay in and shop online for stuff for the house?” She yawns and finally relaxes into the sofa. “I’m mentally exhausted from today; it’s been a long and interesting twelve hours.”
I put her head into my lap and stroke her head gently. Her body vibrates and she sighs with satisfaction into the air. “Tell me about your day.” My voice cuts through the air like a chainsaw. “What happened that was exhausting?”
Okay, Oliver, you dick. Do a little fishing for information.
She purrs beneath me and it takes every ounce of self-control I have to keep my dick from trying to escape my pants. “Well, I took three finals in five hours for starters.” She yawns again and snuggles deeper into my lap, massaging places that I’m trying to not focus on right now.
“That would be frustrating.” I lean my head back and focus on the softness of her honey blonde hair twisting through my thick fingers. “I don’t think I had it that bad in college.”
She snickers. “I’m sure you didn’t, you probably breezed right through.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her head lifts beneath my touch and when I look down, her eyes are staring into mine. We lock together and her pouty lips turn into the sexiest grin this woman’s ever shown me. “It means that you’re smart and resourceful; you probably had no problems getting good grades. What did you think I meant?” The sexy grin widens and her eyes cloud over.
It’s hard to fucking swallow. I want every inch of her body touching me and it’s getting harder to resist the urge to take her on this sofa. I don’t know how, but I’m keeping my dick under wraps for now even if she’s playing me like a damn fiddle.
“Oliver?” Her silky voice tickles my ears. “You know that about yourself, right?”
