Shifting Lines

by Abigail Lee

  “She’s with me the rest of the day.” Hannah walked up and placed her hands on her hips. “I have less than a day left with my girl here. You can have her full-time starting tomorrow.”

  “Oh, I’m going to miss your interruptions.” He laughed before kissing me again and walking back to his office.

  “What are we doing?” I asked as we linked arms and walked through the front door.

  “Let’s start with getting pedicures.” She smiled as we climbed into her car.

  We spent the rest of the afternoon at the spa, then shopping before stopping at our favorite cupcake shop. I plopped down on our couch when we walked back into the apartment. The reality that she was leaving tomorrow came crashing down on me all at once.

  “What’s wrong?” She looked concerned when she saw my face. “Did I miss something?”

  “No.” I choked back some of the tears. “I’m just sad you’re leaving.”

  “Oh, Riley.” She pulled me into her arms. “I’m going to miss you, too. But if you cry, then I’m going to cry, and we’ll spend our last day together crying.”

  “Okay, fine.” I hugged her for a second longer before pulling back and wiping off my face. “I’ll just cry tomorrow when I’m all alone.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” She tossed a throw pillow at my head before sitting at the opposite end of the couch.

  After catching up with our friends on 16 and Pregnant, we changed clothes and fixed our makeup before leaving the apartment to go to dinner. We sat in a red vinyl booth at Cheesy’s and picked at a plate of cheese fries until Trey joined us. We laughed and talked about the past semester, and I smiled as I watched my friend lean into the man who made her so happy. I wondered how long it would take her to realize she loved him. We took our time at the diner and later walked into The Green Room to find the remaining members of our group. I ran back to the office and quickly kissed Luke only to find him on the phone.

  “I’m not drinking tonight,” I informed Hannah as I took the bar stool next to her.

  “I’m not either,” she smirked. “I can’t move tomorrow hung-over. Trey would kill me if I threw up the entire drive.”

  Hannah, Brandie, and I sat at the table for most of the night as if we were trying to freeze time. Luke hadn’t stopped by our table, and I hadn’t noticed him walking around. Mel walked by our table, and I got her attention.

  “Where’s Luke?” I called out to Mel, and she only shrugged.

  I pulled out my phone and sent him a text since I hadn’t seen him in a couple of hours. Chances were he wouldn’t hear it since it was so loud in here, but I would find him eventually.

  “Okay, it’s time to dance, ladies.” Brandie pulled Hannah and me onto the dance floor, and we laughed and moved until the lights came on.

  There was still no sign of Luke so I told everyone goodbye and checked in his office. He was sitting at his desk going through a stack of papers.

  “There you are.” I sat down in his lap and kissed his lips.

  “Hey, did you have fun with the girls?” He looked tired.

  “It would be more fun if you would quit working and come hang out with me.” I wiggled my eyebrows.

  “Sorry, babe.” He kissed my forehead and adjusted me on his lap. “I had some stuff to get done tonight, but I’m done now.”

  “What’s this from?” I ran my hands over his knuckles that showed a deep purple bruise. “I didn’t notice this earlier today.”

  He pulled his hands back and ran them through his hair as he leaned back in the chair.

  “I got in a fight with the ice machine the other night.”

  “Seriously?” I questioned. “I don’t think I believe that.”

  He watched me as if he were trying to find his next words. We had always been completely honest with each other up until now. It wasn’t like him to hide anything.

  I raised my hands as if to surrender. “Whatever. Are you ready to go upstairs?”

  He frowned and moved forward to lean his forehead against my chest. “Yeah, let’s go.”

  I kissed the top of his head and held him for a minute longer before standing up and reaching for his bruised hand.

  “And for the record,” I started as we walked up the stairs to his apartment. “You know you can tell me anything. Most of your secrets are safe with me.”

  He laughed as he pushed open his door, and we walked through.

  We walked into my apartment the next afternoon and only found silence. I knew Hannah had left earlier this morning because we had said our goodbyes last night, and she had already sent me a million text messages today. Still, the feeling of walking into the apartment I shared with her and knowing that it was now only mine was overwhelming. I felt the tears spill onto my cheeks.

  “Hey, it’s okay.” Luke took me in his arms and kissed the top of my head.

  “I know. It’s just weird knowing that she really moved away.”

  He let me silently cry until the tears stopped on their own. We made our way to the couch and sat down.

  “You okay?” He placed his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.

  “Yeah. She wouldn’t let me cry yesterday, so I knew it would happen today.” I leaned into his chest and took a deep breath. “It’s going to be quiet around here.”

  “I’ll be louder when I’m here,” he said, causing me to laugh.

  “That sounds good. You’ll have to work on your gossiping skills, though,” I teased.

  “I can’t promise anything in that department.” He laughed. “But I will put up with your crappy reality shows.”

  “Deal.” I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist.

  I thought about the last few years and how much had changed over the last few months. My job was starting soon, and the idea that I was officially an adult had me both excited and nervous. I was ready for this next chapter in my life to begin and grateful that Luke would be there to experience everything with me.

  He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “I love you, baby.”

  My heart swelled at the sound of his words, and I leaned further into his side.

  “I know you’re sad that she moved away.” he went on. “But with her gone, that only means one thing to me.”

  “Oh, yeah.” I laughed. “What’s that?”

  I screamed out in surprise as he lifted me and dropped me on my back on the couch.

  I was laughing when he lowered himself on top of me and whispered in my ear, “It means there’s no one around to interrupt us.”

  6 Months Later…

  My career in advertising had taken off much faster than I’d anticipated. The hours were long, the work was hard, and I loved every minute of it. It only took Hannah a few months in Dallas to realize she did love Trey. When an opening came up in my department, I arranged an interview for her, and she got the job. She was moved back to Austin and living with Trey in a matter of days.

  I was able to arrange my schedule to where I could help at the bar on Thursdays and Fridays. Those were the only two nights when Luke worked past seven. He took more of an ownership role and allowed his cousin Roger to step in and handle the management side of things when the bar was open. He had plans to open two more bars in the next year, and I knew our days and nights weren’t going to get any less busy in the foreseeable future.

  “Let’s take a ride.” He pulled me off his black leather couch where I had been watching some reality show on MTV for the last two hours. I hated that I got sucked into these things.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as I followed him out of the front door.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “No helmet?” I asked, surprised because he always made me wear one.

  “We aren’t going far.” He stepped over the bike and sat down. “Plus, I want you to look around as we’re driving.”

  I climbed behind him on the bike and wrapped my arms around his waist. Squeezing tight, I held on as he took off down the road. I watched as Col
lege Street disappeared, and we rode into a quiet neighborhood. The tall trees were burnt orange in color, and the leaves were beginning to fall. He pulled the bike into a short driveway and parked. The engine died, and I looked up at a two story, brown brick house that had the cutest front porch.

  “Where are we?” I asked as he climbed down and helped me off the bike.

  “I wanted to show you where I grew up,” he answered as grass began to crunch under my shoes.

  “This is the house you grew up in?” I asked. “Don’t people live here now?”

  “The owners won’t care.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Trust me.”

  We walked onto the porch, and I smiled at the two wooden rocking chairs that seemed to have their permanent place. He turned a key in the lock, causing more confusion for me, and pushed open the door. We walked into the house, and it was breathtaking. All hardwood floors and light-colored walls. He led me through an updated kitchen with all stainless steel appliances. The back door opened to another porch that looked over a large backyard filled with trees and a small garden.

  “It’s so pretty.” I continued looking around. “Did it look like this when you lived here?”

  “The inside has been recently remodeled, but some of it looks the same. Let’s go upstairs.”

  “I feel really weird about being in someone else’s house.” I followed him up the stairs. “Even if it is empty. Are you sure this is fine?”

  He didn’t answer as we walked into the master suite. He was watching for my reaction, but I couldn’t breathe. There was a large white four-poster bed in the middle of the room with matching nightstands. The fabric on the bed was light blue and white and the hardwood floor also held a large dresser. This room was an exact picture of what I had once shown him my dream bedroom would look like.

  “What is this?” I asked trying to wrap my head around everything.

  “When my dad passed away, he left the house to Mel. She lived here until about a year ago. When she and her husband put it up for sale, I bought it from them. I’ve been working on the remodel for almost a year now.”

  “Wow,” was the only word that came out of my mouth.

  He was watching me as I continued to look around the room. I walked over to the window that looked directly into the backyard.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “It’s beautiful.” I smiled at him. “I think it’s amazing you want to live in the house you grew up in.”

  “What do you think about living here with me?” He looked nervous.

  Even though we spent a majority of nights together, we still had never discussed moving in together. We both still had our own apartments.

  “You want me to move in and be your roommate?” I asked trying to catch up to whatever he was saying.

  “I don’t want you as my roommate.” He reached for something in his pocket and got down on one knee. “I want you as my wife.”

  I gasped as I looked at the small box, and a princess cut diamond peeked out at me.

  “I love you more than I ever thought possible. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. Be my wife. I promise I’ll make you happy for the rest of our lives.”

  “Yes.” I had tears pouring down my face as I pulled him up into my arms. “A million times, yes.”

  He slid the ring onto my finger as I continued to cry and laugh at the same time. His lips found mine, and I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck. I never would have guessed this was going to happen today, or any day soon, for that matter.

  “So, you don’t mind growing old with me in this old house?” He was beaming down at me.

  “I would grow old with you anywhere.” I smiled. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, baby.”

  “There is one problem, though.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “What’s that?” He lifted me up and kissed me once more.

  “I know a man who owns a lot of guns who’s going to be real offended that you didn’t ask his permission to marry his only daughter.”

  “That was taken care of months ago.” His lips turned up in a smirk.

  “Months ago? There’s no way.”

  “What else would we talk about on an eight hour fishing trip?”

  My eyes went misty as his words sunk in. “You knew way back then that this is what you wanted.”

  “I’ve told you before.” He leaned down and kissed my lips before pressing his forehead against mine. “I knew the minute I saw you that I wanted you to be mine forever.”

  I watched the love in his eyes and was thankful again for the day that led me to this tattooed man. The tattooed man who was officially mine, forever.

  Thank you to my family! Especially my husband who has supported and encouraged me to follow my dream of writing.

  Thank you Jenny Sims for your amazing editing skills! You are the best, and I’m so glad that you spend your time and energy with my characters and misplaced punctuation marks!

  Thank you Tracy McMurphy with Dream Designs for my amazing cover. I love it!

  Thank you Angela McLaurin with Fictional Formats for transforming the interior of my novel into a beautiful work of art.

  Thank you Jess Jduadne for taking the time to read this book before it was ever finished. Your feedback and encouragement were a huge help in me finishing this book. Thank you!

  Thank you to my author friends who I’ve met on this incredible writing journey: Sarah, Shantel, Jenni, Lara, Melanie and Erika. You keep me sane on a daily basis. I would have given up long ago if it weren’t for you!

  Most importantly, thank you to a group of ladies who wanted to put together a Bad Boys Biker Anthology and took a chance on me and included Shifting Lines. You ladies encouraged me to write again and gave me the courage to write this story. Thank you!! I’m so glad that I’ve had the pleasure of working with and getting to know you: Kasey Millstead, Shantel Tessier, Vicki Green, Rebecca Brooke, Nina Levine, Morgan Jane Mitchell, Casey Peeler and Dee Avila. You ladies rock!!

  And lastly, thank YOU for reading this novel!

  Lee is an Oklahoma native who received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Oklahoma State University in 2005. Beyond her passion for writing, Lee and her husband enjoy traveling and spending time with their growing family.

  Lee currently resides in Oklahoma City with her husband, two sons and dog.

  Also by Abigail Lee:

  Stay With Me (Finding Love In Milton #1)

  My Forever Valentine (Finding Love In Milton #1.5)

  Come Back To Me (Finding Love In Milton #2)

  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAbigailLee

  www.booksbyabigaillee.com