One More Promise

by Samantha Chase

  “Neither will Ethan. They don’t believe in working their employees like that. And trust me—don’t argue with them about it. You won’t win,” Summer said.

  So far, none of this was going like she’d planned—first the topic of shopping and now her work schedule. Megan picked up her menu and forced a smile. “Okay! What are we ordering?”

  * * *

  “I think you seriously need to just give up. You’ve gotten soft. Maybe think about taking up something like…badminton. Or knitting.”

  Zach growled as he paced away and then back again, and all Alex could do was grin.

  “It’s okay. It happens to everyone. You know…you’re old and out of shape. Maybe we should think about going for a stroll in the park where you won’t exert yourself so much.”

  The words his friend was muttering were quite colorful as they bounced off the racquetball court walls. Even though Zach had done better, Alex was still kicking ass, and as much as he was enjoying it, he could tell Zach no longer was.

  “Fine. No strolling in the park. How about you pick the next challenge?” he suggested.

  That perked Zach up. “And you can’t complain?”

  Alex laughed. There wasn’t an activity the two of them had ever done together that he hadn’t enjoyed. “Bring it.”

  “Painting.”

  “Not a…wait. What?”

  Zach grinned. “We’re painting the nursery this weekend,” he explained. “And the guest room, bathroom, and hallway.”

  “Isn’t it a little soon to be painting the nursery?”

  “We’re going with a neutral color since Gabriella and I decided that we want to be surprised by the sex of the baby,” Zach explained. “Once we decided on that, we realized we were going to be seeing an influx of guests once the baby came, so we thought we’d spruce up the entire guest side of the house. I already recruited Ethan to come help me while Gabriella and Summer go shopping with Megan and…”

  Everything in Alex stilled. “Um…Megan?”

  “Oh, right. I didn’t tell you about that,” he said with a small laugh. “My cousin Megan just moved here from Albany. She’s staying with Summer and Ethan and is working for me now because we’re changing computer systems and she’s kind of an IT genius. We’re only a week in and…”

  Zach’s words faded away as Alex tried to come to grips with the fact that Megan Montgomery was here in Portland. Minutes away. It had to be a sign, right? It had to be the reason why she was suddenly on his mind. The thought of seeing her, talking to her…touching her again, it had Alex’s blood pumping in a way that racquetball hadn’t.

  “I’ll do it!” he suddenly blurted out, and Zach looked at him like he was crazy. Which he was. After all, Zach had been talking about computer systems, and here he was shouting out about painting. And there was no guarantee he would see her. Yet. But there was at least a chance.

  “Um…okay. Great. Do you want to come over tomorrow morning?”

  No. Tomorrow was too long. Hell, Alex wasn’t even sure how he was going to get through today!

  “You know, it would save a lot of time and make the weekend more efficient if we prepped tonight. That is, if you’re ready. Maybe call Ethan and we can get a jump start on it.”

  Not questioning Alex’s sudden enthusiasm, Zach agreed. “I had planned on doing some of that tonight—taking off switch-plate covers, taping the trim, that sort of thing.”

  “How about I bring over a couple pizzas and help?” Alex quickly suggested.

  This time Zach laughed. “Dude, you’re awfully excited about this. Painting a secret passion of yours?”

  No. But your cousin is…

  He laughed nervously. “No…no, it’s not that. I’ve been bored lately, and I had nothing planned for the weekend, and really, I am happy to lend a hand.”

  Zach didn’t look like he believed him, but he didn’t push him about it. “Great. Well…um…actually, Ethan, Summer and Megan were already planning on coming over tonight, but the more the merrier, right? I was planning on burgers. Why don’t you bring the beer. And maybe ice cream for the girls. Gabriella’s been craving all things chocolate.”

  “I don’t think that’s a pregnancy craving. That’s an all-day, everyday female thing.”

  “Either way, grab the most chocolaty ice cream you can find—and maybe some butter pecan for the guys—and the beer, and I’ll grill. Deal?”

  Alex shook Zach’s hand and did everything in his power to hide the goofy grin he felt tugging at his lips. “Deal.”

  They left the court and went to the locker room to shower and change before they went their separate ways—Zach to work, Alex to his morning client. He was going to have all day to think—obsess, really—about what he was going to do and say later on when he and Megan were face-to-face.

  He’d have to play it cool and then…wait. What if she didn’t remember him? What if—like he’d been fearing—their weekend together had meant more to him than it had to her?

  “Don’t go there,” he murmured and then cursed. He was mildly disgusted with himself.

  Why? Why after two years was he still thinking about this? About her? It was a weekend! Granted, it was a damn spectacular weekend, but still. He was a grown man who’d had more than his share of…well…great weekends. He’d been in relationships, and he’d been in love. Although right now he couldn’t conjure up the face of even one other woman.

  Only Megan’s.

  Knowing he had to get back on track, he walked in through the front doors and waved to Cindy at the reception desk. Then he made his way to the PT room to set up. His client today—Nathan Adams—was suffering from degenerative disc disease. He and Alex had been working together for months out of Nathan’s home. Three weeks ago, Nathan had been in a car accident and was now dealing with not only his preexisting issues but also the injury from the accident. Alex had scheduled them for a two-hour session rather than their usual one hour because he knew they were going to need to take things slowly. This was their first session since the accident, so Alex wanted to have time to talk with Nathan about how he was feeling before they got started with movement and exercises.

  As he set up his station, Alex chatted with other therapists and found that being around like-minded people was enough to get him focused on the job rather than his personal life. He loved what he did—loved helping people—and the dream was to someday have a facility or practice of his own. While he was building his client list, it wasn’t enough to support him yet. After all, the goal was to get the patients well enough that they didn’t need him anymore. Working for others wasn’t an issue—not really. But there were times when Alex wished he could be his own boss, buy his own equipment, and try some new therapies the more traditional facilities tended to shy away from.

  Someday, he thought.

  The house he’d bought had a space over the detached garage that was currently set up as an apartment, but he’d considered transforming it into therapy space. It was basically a large studio apartment with a small kitchen area, but it had a massive full bathroom with a spa tub and separate shower. Alex knew with a few modifications he could turn it into the perfect space for clients. The only drawback? It was on the second floor. There was no way most patients would be able to get up there.

  In the past several months, he’d tried to come up with ways to make it work—adding an elevator seemed the most logical option—but the cost to do so was a little more than he wanted to invest, and the change would mean losing space in both the garage and the apartment. And right now the garage was fully utilized for his second car and storage. The space had been a perk when he purchased the house, but now it sat vacant. Eventually he’d figure out what he wanted to do with it.

  “Depressing thoughts for another time,” he murmured and decided to get his head focused on what he was here for. Therapy.

  Placin
g a stack of towels on the table beside him, Alex looked up as Nathan was wheeled into the therapy room by one of the nurses. Damn. He looked rough. There was still a lot of bruising on the man’s face, and as he got closer, Alex could see him grimacing in pain. Today’s session, unfortunately, wasn’t going to ease anything.

  There was going to be cursing and crying and probably a whole lot of begging for them to stop. Alex was sympathetic to it, he was, but he knew if they could get over these first few sessions, they’d start to see results, and the healing would begin.

  He smiled broadly as he walked over and held out his hand.

  “Nathan! It’s good to see you, buddy!” he said. “Are you ready to get started?”

  * * *

  “So then I was thinking how I could get from the pool to the house without anyone seeing me,” Summer was saying while laughing. “And Megan grabbed two cushions from the patio set, and we ran into the house!”

  Megan wiped away tears as she laughed at the memory. “It was the last time either of us dared one another to go skinny-dipping!”

  Zach was standing in the kitchen putting the meat on a platter while Gabriella stood beside him slicing tomatoes, and they were laughing too. “I’m glad I didn’t witness that,” he said. “Although I’m sure Ryder wishes he didn’t remember it!”

  “No one was supposed to be up,” Summer argued lightly. “We thought we were so smart going out to the pool when everyone was asleep. We had no idea Ryder had snuck out and was trying to sneak back in!”

  Beside her, Ethan leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and then bent to kiss baby Amber on the head. “Tell all these stories now while our daughter is too young to understand them. I don’t want you giving her any ideas.”

  “Oh, stop,” Summer said, playfully swatting him away.

  “Although,” Megan said with a grin, “Amber is going to have a new cousin soon. There’s no telling what kind of mayhem they’ll get into together. Especially if this new cousin is a girl.”

  This is good, Megan thought to herself. It was a Friday night, and here she was laughing and hanging out with her cousins and their wives and feeling very relaxed. Happy. She’d survived her first week, and she hadn’t worked beyond five o’clock any of those days. Gabriella had made sure of it. Although now would be as good a time as any to talk about the things she needed to do starting next week.

  “I think I need to look at cars,” she said.

  “What’s the rush?” Summer asked. “You know you can borrow mine anytime.”

  She smiled at her cousin. “And I appreciate that. But this is something I’m going to have to do eventually.”

  “Well, of course it is,” Gabriella commented. “But you’ve only been here a week, and I guess we’re just making sure you’re not overwhelmed by all of us and looking for an excuse to not be with us.”

  Megan laughed. “Guys, don’t be silly! That’s not it at all! I know I’m going to be living in Portland for a while, and I want to start making my own way. I appreciate the hospitality, and I love being here with you. But I’m a practical person, and I don’t like to feel like I’m not pulling my own weight. I don’t want to be a drain on anyone, and honestly, I feel bad enough about the timing of my move.”

  “Why?” Zach asked.

  With a sigh, Megan looked over at Summer and Ethan. “You guys just had a baby and have had people in your house ever since. I would think you’d be looking forward to having the place to yourself by now.”

  Summer waved her off. “This is different. You’re living in the guesthouse, and you’re working. My mom wanted to stay in our guest room so she could help out when Amber woke up at night.”

  “But she was here for a while, right?”

  “Yes, she was,” Summer said with a small laugh before she turned and looked at Zach. “Do you remember how long Mom stayed when Amber was born?”

  “Didn’t she leave like two weeks ago?” he asked.

  “No, more like a month, but she was here for almost two! And don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the help, and I loved how she had time to bond with Amber, and it gave me time to sleep, but…oh my God! It was glorious when we had our first night of it being just the three of us. Right?” she asked Ethan.

  He nodded vigorously. “Your mother is a perfectly delightful woman, but there is something to be said for being able to walk around in my boxers in my own home.” Then he chuckled. “I learned that lesson fast. You do not want your mother-in-law seeing you with morning wood.”

  “Dude,” Zach murmured but then started to laugh. “I can sympathize, and yet…I almost wish I could have seen the look on your face!”

  “It wasn’t so much the look as the scream he let out,” Summer said playfully. “Mom was mortified, of course, but later on she gave a nod of approval.”

  “What?” Ethan cried.

  “Baby, you have an amazing body,” Summer cooed as she leaned over and kissed him. “There’s no shame in it.”

  “There is when your mother-in-law thinks that,” Ethan grumbled. “It’s just…wrong. And gross. And now I’ll never walk out of the bedroom in my boxers again.”

  The look on Summer’s face showed how much she didn’t believe that statement for one minute.

  “Anyway,” Summer went on, “it was great having Mom here—and Aunt Monica and Aunt Eliza—but they were a little exhausting at times.”

  Zach laughed. “I have to admit, I was a little surprised how the aunts came and stayed for as long as they did. Nothing against you, Summer,” he quickly corrected, “but I would have thought they would have waited to come when you had the christening and then stayed for a long weekend with everyone.”

  “I think it was an excuse for them to get away for a bit. There were several days when I didn’t see them at all,” Summer said.

  “They did come over and spend a lot of time with us,” Gabriella said. “They both were so curious to talk to Zach about how he was feeling and about the physical therapy he did after the accident that we finally referred them to Alex.”

  Megan choked on her drink and began to cough. Zach was immediately at her side, patting her gently on the back. “You okay?” he asked.

  Slowly, she nodded and did her best to catch her breath. “Yeah…um…sorry. It went down the wrong way.”

  “You sure?” he asked, and Megan nodded again. He rubbed her back for a moment before returning to his prep work.

  “Anyway,” Gabriella went on, “we never found out why they had so many questions or were so curious about the whole thing, but they spent a lot of time talking to Alex.” She paused. “Come to think of it, we never asked him what it was all about.”

  “You can ask him tonight,” Zach said. “He should be here any minute.”

  And just like that, Megan started choking again. This time Ethan came over and patted her on the back until she caught her breath.

  He carefully moved her glass away. “Maybe wait a while before you try that again,” he teased. Everyone laughed, and Megan did her best to join in, but inside she felt like she was going to be sick.

  “I’m good,” she said after a moment.

  “You didn’t mention Alex was coming,” Gabriella said as she began putting a salad together.

  “I asked him if he could come help us paint this weekend, and he said yes and even volunteered to help out tonight.”

  “Well, that was nice of him,” Summer said, placing Amber on her shoulder and rubbing her back.

  “He’s bringing beer and dessert,” Zach said with a grin. Then he looked at Ethan. “And I thought we could shoot some hoops before dinner since the rest of the night will be a snooze fest of unscrewing switch plates and taping trim.”

  “Yes!” Ethan said with relief. “I was hoping there was going to be something else to do!”

  “Hey, you volunteered,” Zach reminded him.r />
  “I know, but that’s because I’m a nice guy and a good friend. Doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to be bored out of my mind,” he clarified.

  “Megan, did you meet Alex at our wedding?” Gabriella asked.

  Immediately, she felt her cheeks warm and knew she was minutes away from a panic attack. “Um…I don’t think so,” she said and then quickly excused herself. It wasn’t until she was in the bathroom that she finally allowed herself to breathe. She knew she was going to see Alex eventually; she just wasn’t expecting it to be quite so soon. Looking down at herself, she groaned. Sure, he couldn’t come over after she’d gone shopping?

  It was impossible to do anything about what she was wearing, and as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, she cursed the fact that she hadn’t even had the good sense to bring a little lip gloss or anything with her. Closing her eyes, she silently counted to ten and forced herself to leave the bathroom.

  The doorbell rang as she was walking by the front door, so when Zach asked her to get it, how could she say no? Letting out a slow breath, Megan reached a shaky hand toward the door and pulled it open.

  And basically forgot how to breathe.

  Yeah, he was everything she remembered and so much more—sandy-brown hair, tall, lean build, and muscles that made her want to reach out and touch them.

  Or lick them. Whatever.

  He was wearing dark sunglasses, so she had no idea if he was as surprised to see her as she was to see him, but he smiled as he softly said, “Hey, Megan.”

  And just like that she was practically a puddle on the floor.

  “Hey,” she said and wanted to curse how breathless she sounded. Stepping aside, she motioned for him to come in.

  “Thanks.”

  Her cheeks heated, and she couldn’t make herself look directly at him. “Everyone’s in the kitchen.” And when she walked past him, she could almost feel him. Swallowing hard, she led the way to where everyone was and quickly took her seat. Then she took a minute to congratulate herself on not acting like an idiot in front of him.

  “Alex!” Gabriella said with a smile as she walked over and hugged him. “Thanks for coming over.”