Always You

by Mari Carr

  She laughed lightly. “Hell no. My head hurt like a son of a bitch. You’ll be happy to know I’ve sworn off vodka.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah. I’ve heard that before.”

  “I just got home myself. Thursday night is wine night. With the girls.”

  “Oh, yeah. I remember Zoey mentioning that.” Zoey was a paralegal in Nick’s law office. Unbeknownst to her friend, Georgie tended to hang on Zoey’s every word whenever she talked about work. She’d valued each and every snippet of information Zoey had passed on—be it Nick’s continued addiction to coffee or something funny he’d said or the days he was grumpy.

  “It’s a nice way to get a jumpstart on the weekend.”

  “Zoey seem okay?” Nick asked.

  “Yeah, I guess. As okay as could be expected.” For a few minutes, they talked about Zoey’s diagnosis and their concerns. Nick assured Georgie that Zoey would be able to take off as much time as she needed without fearing for her job. Not that Georgie had needed that reassurance. Nick was a good guy and she never doubted for a minute he’d make sure Zoey was taken care of as she fought the cancer.

  Then Georgie told Nick about an order she’d filled for a customer at the shop and how she was positive the guy was cheating on his wife and the flowers were just a way to appease his guilt. Nick told her there was no way she could determine that by a simple flower order. The banter between them came easily even after a year of silence.

  Georgie secretly wished the phone call would go on forever.

  “Well. I just thought I’d check on you,” Nick said at last.

  “I’m glad you did.” Silence fell. Nick was about to say goodbye, but Georgie couldn’t bear to let him go. What if this was just a moment of weakness on his part and he found the strength to avoid her forever from now on? “Hey, Nick…”

  “Yeah?”

  “You could check on me again sometime. If you wanted to. Tomorrow even.”

  He expelled a laughing breath and Georgie imagined she could see his smile, even through the phone. “Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow, George. Good night.”

  “Night.”

  Georgie hung up and placed the phone on her nightstand, her smile so freaking big it hurt her cheeks. She lay down and tried to sleep, but it wouldn’t come. She was too excited, too happy.

  He’d called her.

  Nick had called her.

  Chapter Three

  April’s flower is the sweet pea and it symbolizes pleasure or good-bye, which explains the message “thank you for a lovely time” attached to the flower.

  * * *

  Georgie stood outside the restaurant, bouncing on her toes nervously, her fingers fiddling with the sweet pea she’d impulsively picked up on her way out of the shop. She’d finally worked up the nerve to call Fist Bump…err…Phillip…she really needed to remember to call him Phillip.

  He wouldn’t understand the significance of the flower she held and she wouldn’t bother to explain it. He’d never been interested in her business since he considered flowers a “chick thing”. Regardless, she would offer it to him, knowing it was her way of saying goodbye once and for all.

  She was four months away from New Year’s and with the exception of her nightly—squee, nightly!—phone calls with Nick, she’d made absolutely zero progress on the rest of her second-chance goal. While she was thrilled Nick was talking to her and that was definitely improvement, it didn’t negate the need for her to find Phillip and Leo and say what she should have said to them ages ago.

  Phillip had been chilly—at best—on the phone when she’d called and asked to see him. She’d been fairly certain he was about to hang up until she mentioned her desire to return the ring. At that point, he’d begrudgingly agreed to meet her for a drink.

  She glanced at her watch. He was fifteen minutes late. Obviously he intended to punish her. She couldn’t really blame him for that. She’d made a fool of him in front of his people—the ones who recalled his glory days as a player and who had begun to look at him as a local celebrity because of his announcing.

  She had probably also diminished the splendor of that damn football field he loved so much, replacing his fond memories of slamming people into the ground with that of her fleeing as fast as her feet would carry her. There was a small part of her that was always surprised his instincts hadn’t kicked in and he hadn’t tackled her that night.

  She heard Phillip arrive before she saw him as a barrage of heavy-metal music filled the air. God. The man would be deaf before he was forty, a fact she’d shared with him countless times. Not that it helped. He still cranked the volume up to eardrum-blasting levels.

  She gave him a friendly wave as he pulled a navy blue Trans Am with a white racing stripe—why was she even surprised?—into the parking space in front of the restaurant. He wasn’t smiling.

  Suddenly, Georgie was questioning this damn resolution. She could have sent the ring back via messenger and avoided what was clearly going to be a very unpleasant scene. Despite the years that had passed since she’d run away, Phillip didn’t seem willing to forgive and forget.

  She felt a strong urge to walk away. Oh, who was she fooling? She wanted to run. Regardless, this time, she held her ground as he approached.

  “Hi, Phillip,” she said with as much calmness as she could muster.

  “Hey, Georgie. Look. I’m kind of in a hurry. Why don’t you just give me the ring and we can get this over with?”

  She reached into her pocket and slipped out the diamond.

  “I’m surprised you still have it. Sort of figured your first stop after you got off that football field was the pawn shop.”

  Georgie frowned. “I wouldn’t have done that.”

  He laughed coldly. “Yeah. Sure you wouldn’t.”

  He held his hand out, but Georgie didn’t give him the ring. She’d come here to say something and, while she was certain he didn’t want to hear it, it was still going to happen.

  “I’m sorry, Phillip. For running the way I did. You took me by surprise, big surprise, with that impromptu ceremony. I freaked out.”

  “It was romantic. Everybody thought so.”

  She wasn’t sure who everybody was, but she wasn’t going to get into an argument on that point. “Well, either way, I shouldn’t have run. I should have simply told you I didn’t want to get married.”

  Phillip scowled. “Didn’t want to get married there or just plain old married?”

  “The last. We moved way too fast. I don’t think we knew each other well enough to jump into forever. We didn’t have much in common when it came right down to it.”

  “You never gave football a chance. I know you would have liked it if you’d let me explain the game to you. You kept watching it like it was some sort of Broadway play or something.”

  She grinned, hoping to lighten the moment. “I guess I could have tried a bit harder to understand it. It just looked really painful.”

  At last, his anger seemed to abate and he shrugged. “That’s what makes it good.”

  “I know I’ve let a lot of time go by. I don’t know if there’s a statute of limitations on apologies, but—”

  “Forget it, Georgie. It was a long time ago.” His voice was kinder now, which made this harder in a way. She’d expected his anger and prepared for it. His understanding made her feel even lousier.

  At least it did. Until he ruined it.

  “We’re cool,” he said as he raised his hand for a fist bump. She tapped her knuckles against his, feeling like a fool.

  Then he added, “You look good. Really good.”

  “So do you,” she said, though it wasn’t true. He’d gained at least thirty pounds, acquired a double chin and lost a significant amount of hair. Unfortunately, he didn’t appear to be taking that into account with his wardrobe. His shirt was just a shade too tight. She suspected he thought that made him look muscular, but all she could think of was someone trying to stuff sausage into a thin casing.

  “So, you datin
g anybody?” he asked, moving closer and invading her personal space.

  She shook her head, not liking the way he was suddenly looking at her, or to be more accurate, her body.

  “You know, we always had a pretty good time together.” He took another step toward her. She retreated. He kept moving as she backed away. Then she hit the wall of the restaurant. “You remember how it was between us? We set the sheets on fire.”

  Seriously? Three minutes of conversation and he thought she’d just jump right back into bed with him. She felt bad for what she’d done, but there wasn’t enough guilt in the world to compel her to sleep with him again. Not that it had been bad sex.

  She sort of wondered if that was what had distracted her from all the other stuff that was so obviously wrong with him. He’d start talking about something boring or annoying, she’d kiss him, they’d end up in bed and all would be well with the world for another day or two.

  “Uh, Phillip.” She recalled the ring and flower in her hand. She lifted them, hoping he’d back away, take the diamond and let her go. “Here.”

  Her plan failed when he wrapped his hand around hers, trapping it against his chest, crushing the flower. He started to lean in for a kiss.

  Georgie turned her head. “Phillip. I didn’t come here for this.”

  “Neither did I. But why fight it? I’m still hot for you and you’re obviously still into me.”

  She frowned. “What are you talking about?” She’d done absolutely nothing to give him that impression. Had she?

  “You called me, Georgie. Wanted to see me. You dressed up all sexy.”

  She was in jeans, sandals and a loose T-shirt that said Until it can make me a margarita, no dog is my best friend. “Sexy?”

  “You know I’m a sucker for a girl in jeans.”

  “Listen, Fis…Phillip. I think you’ve misunderstood. I really just wanted to say I was sorry.”

  “Right. I’ve accepted your apology, so we can move past it. Get back to the good stuff.”

  He’d taken too many hits on the head in football. That was the only excuse she could come up with for his boneheaded logic.

  So she repeated her reasons for being there. Slower. “I called to apologize, give the ring back and say goodbye. That’s it.”

  “And you’ve done that. So let’s kiss and make up.”

  Georgie began to push on Phillip’s chest in earnest, anxious to get away from him, but the man—despite his lacking mental agility—was strong as an ox. “Phillip,” she said, struggling harder. “Let go.”

  He kept a tight grip on her hand, then used his other to grasp her head, tugging her hair painfully in the process. “I love it when you play hard to get. Damn, Georgie. I’d fuck you against this wall right now if I didn’t think we’d get arrested. Come home with me.”

  “Oh my God,” she cried out in frustration. “You really need to let go of me. Right now!”

  Phillip continued to try to kiss her. “Come on, Georgie. You remember what it was like between us. Stop fighting it.”

  “This isn’t what I came here for,” she insisted.

  Then, suddenly, Phillip was gone. One second she was trapped, the next free. That was when she saw Nick, his face furious, his fists clenched.

  “She told you to let go.” Georgie was positive she’d never heard that tone in Nick’s voice. It screamed pure danger.

  “Jesus. Are you still around?” Phillip asked, clearly oblivious to Nick’s fury. Then he looked back at Georgie. “I thought you said you weren’t dating anyone.”

  “I’m not,” she countered.

  Phillip lifted his hand to her, palm up. “Give me the damn ring.”

  She placed it in his hand quickly, careful not to get trapped in case his fingers slammed shut around hers again. Then she dropped the crushed flower onto the ground, the gesture behind it clearly lost at this point.

  He shoved the diamond in his pocket and turned to his car. “I’m not interested in watching you two playing cat and mouse again. I’m outta here.”

  Georgie didn’t bother to respond. She was just happy Phillip was leaving. They watched him peel out of the parking space without speaking.

  Georgie actually preferred that silence when Nick whirled around angrily.

  “What the fuck was that all about?”

  She ignored his question, hoping to distract him. She didn’t want to tell him why she was there. “What are you doing here?”

  Nick pointed behind him. “I work right there.” Then he pointed to the parking garage. “My car’s in there. Where it always is.”

  Georgie hadn’t considered that when she’d picked her meeting place with Phillip. Which was stupid since it was Nick who’d introduced her to the restaurant she’d selected. They used to have lunch there on occasion. “Oh. Yeah.”

  “What were you doing with Fist Bump?”

  She bit her lower lip, then decided to come clean. “Apologizing.”

  “For what?”

  Her eyes widened in a look that screamed Really?

  Nick caught on quick. “Oh. Why now?”

  “It was sort of long overdue, don’t you think?”

  Nick didn’t reply right away. When he did, she was surprised he’d let the subject drop. “Where’s your car?”

  “I parked on the street, a block that way.”

  “Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “I’ll walk you.”

  Though she and Nick had spoken nightly on the phone for nearly two months, she hadn’t seen him since that night at Blue Moon. She’d been dying to ask him to lunch or to her house to watch a movie, but she’d been terrified of pushing too hard or scaring him away. She didn’t want to run the risk of him not calling anymore. She liked telling him about her day and hearing about his.

  She was in this for the long run, which meant she wasn’t going to make the same mistakes she’d made before. Nick had given her a list of reasons why he’d thought their previous relationship had failed.

  Georgie could have told him the reason was actually much simpler and lamer than he’d thought. In truth, she’d simply freaked out and run in a moment of sheer panic.

  But as she listened to all the things he thought had been their downfall, she realized he was right. She’d been slowly pushing him away since the first moment they’d shed their just friends status and fallen into bed together.

  If she had a snowball’s chance of getting him back and keeping him, she needed to show him that she wasn’t the woman she’d been before.

  They reached her car far too quickly. She wished there was some way she could keep him here, with her.

  “Well,” she said reluctantly. “Thanks for walking me back to my car.” Georgie reached for the handle on the passenger’s side door, intent on tossing her purse inside, but Nick caged her in, holding the door closed. She turned to look at him curiously.

  “What the hell were you really doing with that guy?”

  Georgie crossed her arms. “I told you already. I wanted to say I was sorry.”

  “Looked like he misinterpreted the apology.”

  “Yeah. I’m aware of that.”

  “So you weren’t coming on to him?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. Nick had a jealous streak. It was something she’d liked and hated about him all at the same time. It was weird and maybe masochistic, but she’d been completely turned on by it when they were dating. Especially since she’d never seen him act quite so possessively of his previous girlfriends. “Seriously?”

  “He’s a tool, George, and you know it. I mean, I’ve heard of backsliding, but Jesus. Fist Bump?”

  “I’m not backsliding. And it wasn’t a date. At least, I didn’t mean for him to think it was. I just had some things to say to him.”

  “The apology.”

  “Yes. I wanted to say I was sorry. For running off the football field in the middle of his misguided attempt at a romantic wedding.”

  Nick chuckled, and then it grew until he was laughing hard an
d loudly. “If I live to be a hundred, I swear to God that’s going to be the single funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Did you ask him about the tuba player? Always wondered if the poor kid managed to get up.”

  She turned angrily and opened the car door, throwing her purse inside, before closing it and facing him again. “So happy I was able to amuse you.”

  “Don’t get mad. I’m only teasing.”

  She sighed. “I know. And I’m not really mad at you. That just didn’t go the way I expected.”

  “What the hell did you expect?”

  “I hoped he’d say it was okay and we’d say an amicable goodbye. I didn’t expect him to want to have sex with me.”

  Nick gave her a crooked grin. “I’m actually not surprised. You’re a hard woman to forget.”

  Georgie wasn’t sure how to respond to his unexpected compliment, so she just said a quiet, “Thanks.”

  “Even so, it’s been a couple years. You would think he’d have moved on at least a little bit.”

  “I’m sure he has. Maybe.”

  “So you still had the ring?”

  She nodded slowly, knowing what was coming next.

  “You still have mine too, by the way.”

  Georgie’s hand nervously crept to the thin silver chain she wore tucked beneath her shirt, toying with it. She had hoped Nick hadn’t noticed the ring exchange. Fist Bump’s ring had meant nothing to her, but she really didn’t want to give Nick’s back to him. She loved it and was hoping—if all went well—she’d be able to wear it again one day.

  So she ignored the ring comment and threw out a distraction. “I came here today because I made a New Year’s resolution.”

  Nick frowned. “You hate resolutions.”

  “Yeah. I know I do. But the wine girls cornered me. They decided this would be the year for second chances and each of us had to make a plan for how to achieve it.”

  “And your plan included apologizing to Fist Bump?”

  Georgie nodded. “Yeah. Him. And Leo. And…”

  Nick’s smile grew. “Me?”