by Ann, Natalie
In front of her were three trays of flowers. All different colors, shapes, and sizes, in varying stages of bloom, perking up the little room.
Placing her briefcase on the floor, she bent down and lifted the card lying on top. Hesitantly, she ran her nail under the edge, opened it up, pulled out a piece of paper, unfolded it and read. I know you wanted to start off slow. Let me know if you want a hand with these. Phil.
Wow. Talk about sweet. And so typical of Phil—always finding a way to make another person smile. He knew how much she loved plants. Well, everyone knew that. But he remembered how she had always said she wanted to plant flowers outside in the spring and watch them bloom all summer long. That she couldn’t wait to have a place of her own and a little bit of yard to work in.
She held the letter close to her chest for a few moments, crouched down and touched a few of the flowers, running her fingertip over their petals.
Excitedly, she jumped up, grabbed her briefcase and dashed into the house. She couldn’t wait to get her laptop out and research everything he picked out. She had to know everything about them. Which ones needed sunlight, which ones needed more water and so on.
First she had to make a call. He picked up on the first ring. “Thank you,” she said, a huge smile filling her face. If she looked in the mirror right now she would bet her eyes were glossy, too.
“You’re welcome.”
“I can’t believe you remembered.”
“I remember everything,” he said softly.
No doubt, there was a double meaning there. “Are you still working?” she asked, hearing him chuckle. She knew he was on to her.
“I’m finishing up a few things. Hopefully no more than thirty minutes if I’m lucky.”
Before she could think better of it, she asked, “Do you have plans for dinner?”
“No.”
She wasn’t sure, but it sounded like there was some anticipation in his voice. “I’ve got more salad left over,” she offered, teasing.
“A salad sounds perfect.”
Smirking, she amended, “I wouldn’t torture you like that. Besides, you ate the rest of my steak. How about pizza instead?”
“Even better,” he said cheerfully.
“Well then, you can pick it up on your way,” she said. “I’ll place an order. Tell me where.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll order and get it. I promise no more than an hour.”
“An hour?” she said incredulously, though she added a hint of humor to it. “You just said thirty minutes. Now you’re telling me I’m being pushed back to an hour.”
“Forty-five minutes tops,” he stated.
“Deal.”
Hanging up the phone, she had enough time to change, take a quick shower and run down the road to the liquor store for a bottle of wine and grab some beer.
Now she needed to figure out what the heck she was going to do about Phil. Her time was running out. She couldn’t leave him hanging and didn’t want to either.
In all honesty, she didn’t think she could wait much longer. Not after that kiss on Saturday night. But they needed to come to terms on what they really had, or where they were going. Lay the groundwork.
She’d had all these expectations in her mind when it came to Phil and their relationship. Now she was so confused and had to reconcile her thoughts before she could proceed mentally.
Believed Him
Sophia opened the door to Phil almost forty-five minutes later. “Right on time.”
“I was afraid to be late,” he said with a trace of the dry humor she always loved from him.
“What, you aren’t afraid of me, are you?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.
“You don’t really think I’m going to answer that, do you? Even I know better than to give up any advantage.”
“What advantage is that?” she asked, following him to the kitchen where she’d already placed dishes on the kitchen island along with his favorite beer next to a glass.
He eyed the beer, then turned his attention back to her and put a smile on his face. “You won’t tell me what you want out of a relationship.” He kissed her briefly on her pouting lips. “I won’t tell you any advantages.”
The kiss threw her for a loop. But it felt nice just the same. Maybe this could be okay. The laid-back bantering they always had, mixed in with a little romance, alongside some sexual tension and flirtation. She would have to play it out some more.
Right now, though, she was hungry. “What kind of pizza did you get?” She pulled the box out of his hand and set it in front of the plates, then opened the top. “Mushroom,” she said appreciatively. She didn’t miss that the other half was pepperoni. He got points for that, splitting it the way he did.
He grabbed the bottle opener she laid next to his beer, opened it and poured. Holding the glass up to her, he said, “I’ll give this one away. Some advantages to knowing each other so well.”
“Very true.” For the heck of it, to throw him off, she reached up and gave him a little kiss on the lips too. He didn’t seem as startled by her action. If anything, the look of warmth he gave her had her heart racing for a whole different reason.
“Let’s eat while it’s still warm,” he suggested, pulling out a slice with mushroom and setting it on her plate, and one of the pepperoni for his. “So how was your day?” She suppressed the urge to giggle, but he saw. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me,” he encouraged.
What the hell. “It just sounded so domestic. ‘Honey, how was your day?’”
He chuckled. “I guess.”
“Is that how you were with Linda?”
She couldn’t miss the change that came over him and regretted even bringing it up. But she wanted to know. Not everything, but parts. She needed to know to help her understand. There was no way she was telling him about her aversion to being the rebound girl. It couldn’t be avoided now. She was that girl. All she could do was try to keep control of the situation, if that was even possible. “Sorry.”
“No. It’s fine. Old news. It’s not like you didn’t know about my relationship with her. Or that she hasn’t changed much, based on the dinner last week.”
“As much as I find myself curious what finally broke you two up, I will refrain from asking details. It’s none of my business. And I apologize for the question. It actually came out without thought.” She took a sip of her wine and tried to form the next sentence in her head. “I can only explain it as letting myself lapse back into what we had before. That would have been a normal question in the past.”
“Don’t apologize. I want you to be like you were before with me. I want that connection back between us. That means you don’t have to guard what you say. You didn’t before and I don’t want you to again.”
He threaded his fingers through hers. “There are things that happened between Linda and me that are better left unsaid. The truth of the matter is, she wasn’t the person I thought she was. I suspect she felt the same way about me somewhere along the line, too.”
“Okay. I’ll accept that. I know there is more. I’ll be honest, because we’ve always been honest with each other. I don’t like to lie to anyone. Not saying I haven’t, or won’t, but I don’t like to. And I don’t want to lie to you. But it was pretty obvious she still wants to get back together with you.”
She held her breath, hoping he took that comment for what it was worth and offered her something. Anything that would make her believe there was no chance of him and Linda getting back together. Deep down she knew it, but she needed it confirmed.
“She does. She has been very obvious about it, and persistent. Just as clear as I have been about it not happening. If it makes you feel any better, I can tell you right now, there is no chance in hell I will have anything to do with Linda ever again.”
His tone, his mood, and his demeanor all took on a note of something dangerous. Almost dark. Something she had never witnessed from him before. And she believed him.
>
***
“Do you want some help planting your flowers?” he asked her after they both had eaten their fill and the leftovers were wrapped up. Pepperoni for him to take home, mushroom for her left in the fridge.
“I guess I could use some help,” she said coyly.
“So I’m making it past the second chance date?” He fought back his laugh when she choked on her wine. Sometimes knowing each other so well might not be the best thing, at least in her eyes.
When she was done coughing, she said, “I guess so.”
He knew all about her second chance dates. She had a rule that every person deserved a second chance. He never knew why, and never really asked. But plenty of instances she would tell him about the horrendous first dates she went on and then told him she would schedule a second one.
It made no sense to him at all. Really, the only thing he thought of at the time she brought them up was that he was glad he wasn’t on the dating scene. The thought of the things she encountered would be enough to make him go into seclusion.
“I can work around your schedule,” he offered.
“That’s nice, but I’m pretty swamped this week still. They’re getting plenty of light in the mudroom, and I’ll keep them watered. I’m thinking sometime this weekend. I’m flexible if you have plans.”
“I can be available for whenever you want me.” He didn’t miss the dilation of her eyes at that statement, the double meaning reaching her.
She nodded her head, then placed her empty glass of wine on the table. Her second and last one, she’d said earlier. And here it comes, he thought. “We need to figure out where we go from here,” she said, looking in his eyes and holding his stare.
“Do you need it in writing?” he asked, trying to make light of the situation. It wasn’t funny to him, but he didn’t see the need to plan it all out either.
“Of course not.” She smiled back at him. “I guess I need some guidelines. We keep talking about the way we were before, and about moving forward. What are we? Friends, dating, something in between?”
“We will always be friends. I think it’s more than dating. It’s way beyond that for me, at least. It always was, if you want to be honest. I asked you before what you wanted from someone out of a relationship. I understand not wanting to lay it all on the table, but I need to ask if you even want to be in a relationship right now?”
He watched her eyes wander over his face. Then she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, gave him a soft caress, then dropped her hand away. That action, the softness in her, all those things he longed to see directed toward him filled him with emotions deeper than he thought possible. “I want to be in one, yes. But I don’t want to lose your friendship. You mean a lot to me. Your whole family does. I’m unsure of where to go, or how to handle this if something goes wrong.”
Those thoughts had crossed his mind also, but then he brushed them aside. He wasn’t looking for something to go wrong, not when he had been waiting for this for what seemed like forever. He refused to even consider the possibility of it.
It wasn’t the time to say that, not yet anyway. “You will never lose my friendship. Or my family. There is no worry there. Whatever happens to us, I will always be there for you, Sophia. I can promise you that.”
Her eyes watered and a gentle expression crossed her face. “Thank you for that. Your family means the world to me. You know enough about my family life to know I’ve never had anything stable before. I don’t want to risk losing the one stable family in my life.”
“You won’t.” He pulled her off her barstool until she was standing between his legs and held her close, his arms wrapped tightly around her, trying to reassure her.
A moment later she sat back down. “I’ll make the same promise to you.” She picked up her napkin and blotted her eyes, then laughed. “Great, you’ve seen me cry on only our second date. That’s a wonderful impression.”
He chuckled. “We aren’t dating,” he reminded her. “I’ve seen you do more than cry.”
There was no way to miss the shiver that ran through her body with that statement. “So you have.”
Before he got sidetracked, because he really wanted to address that comment, he had one more thing. “We need to tell my family.”
That got her attention fast. “So soon?”
“Yes. Hear me out,” he said when she started to speak again. “Kaitlin didn’t tell us about Ryan for almost a month. It was hard to accept that she had been dating him without anyone’s knowledge. My parents were hurt by it, but they never let on.”
She nodded. “Not everyone would accept it, and Kaitlin knew that going in.”
“We all accepted it. From the moment she told us. She had worried for nothing. My parents adored Ryan; he was one of the family.”
“Your brothers didn’t feel that way.”
“Don’t let them fool you. Alec was more hurt that Ryan kept it from him. They’ve always been close.”
“Not Ben,” she pointed out. “I know Ben gave Ryan a hard time for months.”
“Ben is Ben, and everyone knows how close he and Kaitlin are. But he came around too. Besides, that situation was different. Ryan didn’t have the best reputation with women, and we were all very protective of Kaitlin.”
“You still are,” she said, teasing him.
“True. Regardless, my parents would be thrilled about us. Are you afraid of Kaitlin’s reaction?”
“Honestly, no. I think she will be happy for both of us. I’m more afraid of if things go wrong between us. Kaitlin means the world to me. I don’t want to lose any of that.”
“Stop looking for problems that may never happen. Let’s take it one day at a time.” He hated to bring this up, but he had to. No use putting it off. “Besides, I think Ben knows about what happened after the wedding.”
“What?” she shrieked. “How?”
He flinched. “It’s Ben. Ben always knows everything. I’m not positive. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I’ve gotten some looks from him lately. Just odd looks, at odd times that make me feel guilty.”
“Like what?”
“Like the day Kaitlin and Cori announced their pregnancies. Did you notice that Ben looked at me when he asked if anyone else had an announcement to make?”
“No,” she said, drawing out the word.
“Yes. Then, since you’ve been in town he has made a few comments about you in passing. Nothing major, but they all had double meanings to them. I can’t put my finger on it, but if he doesn’t know, he at least suspects.”
“Okay. I’m going to try to block that out. I don’t want your family to know about that night.”
“Why? It’s not a night I’m likely to ever forget,” he added with a little smile, but then said more seriously, “Or the morning after.”
“I really want to forget that.”
“Accidents happen, Sophia. I will tell you because I want to clear the air…I didn’t appreciate you not answering my calls afterward. Maybe you would like to tell me why you didn’t?”
Squirming on the stool, she finally answered. “I didn’t know yet. And I was trying to block it all out. Phil, I was stressed. You can’t imagine how I felt. I’ve never had unprotected sex, or ever had a condom break before. And here I am having drunken sex with some guy when it happens.”
“Some guy?” That got his hackles up. “We were far from drunk on top of it.”
“Don’t take it personally. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just saying that I wasn’t due to even get my period—” She paused when he cringed. “Sorry, you better get used to it, hearing about girly functions, if we’re in a relationship,” she added with a little giggle.
“Sorry, men cringe over that. But go on.”
“I wasn’t due to get my period yet. Then when I was due, I was a few days late,” she said looking away from him.
“And you didn’t think that was something I wanted to know?” He felt the frustration rising more and tried to block it
out, but it was hard.
“Phil, I’ve never been regular before. A few days late is the norm for me. I told myself I would give it five days max before I took a pregnancy test. On the fourth day I knew I wasn’t pregnant. Between the stress of what happened that night, my promotion and the move, there was so much going on in my life. I told you the very next day.”
He thought back to when he saw her at Ryan and Kaitlin’s when Kaitlin made her pregnancy announcement, followed by Cori’s, and how he had barely heard a word of it. Because, minutes before, he was breathing a sigh of relief to know he wasn’t going to be a father too.
She had looked pale that day, shaken herself, but underneath it all, relieved. It made sense thinking back to the timeline of it all. Breaking through his thoughts, she added, “I was scared, Phil. I was wrong to avoid you, and the situation, but beneath it all, I was terrified.”
He stood up, pulled her up next to him, and held her close. “I would have been there for you. You weren’t alone. I had some of those same fears for those three weeks, and I didn’t have any knowledge of what was really going on.”
“I know,” she said, sniffling some more. “But I knew I was going to see you the day after I got it. And I really wanted to tell you in person rather than over the phone. At that point, I figured one day wouldn’t have made a difference. Only I was scared to see you again.”
Running his hand up and down her back, he soothed her, feeling the tremors in her body. “What were you afraid of?”
“That you were going to be mad that I avoided you. You had every right to be. But I was more scared that my fear of running from what happened might have ruined our friendship.”
“Never. I already told you—it won’t happen. Ever.”
All Set
Phil woke up Saturday morning eager to see Sophia. He still had a few hours yet, so he decided to get some work done. Only every time he started something new, he had to stop and redo it. He was just too distracted.
It had been a long couple of days. After he left her house on Tuesday he felt for sure they were on the right track. Things could finally move forward and they could tell his family and start going out together. Spending time together. Sleeping together.
