by Parker, Ali
“I’m sure I could manage it,” Harry said.
Reed slapped him on the shoulder happily and sent us on our way.
I let out a long sigh of relief as soon as we were back in the car. It had actually gone well. I had been so nervous about it all week, and now it was over and I didn’t have a thing to worry about.
“I really liked Reed!” Winnie announced from the back of the car, and I knew that her opinion was the one that Harry would take above all others, so I was glad to hear it.
“We should get together like that again sometime,” Harry said. “Maybe with his fiancée.”
“Oh, trust me,” I said. “Lizzie’s a lot. You’ll maybe want a little time to work up to it before you let her in on the game.”
“She can’t be that bad, can she?” Harry asked.
I laughed and pulled a face. “Try Reed but times ten,” I warned him.
He laughed and shook his head. “Well, if I’m going to be keeping you around, I think that’s a risk I just have to take,” he told me softly, and he gave me a smile that I knew was meant just for me and me alone.
I smiled back. I couldn’t help it. God, I loved being around this man. I just adored everything about him, and nothing was going to change that anytime soon.
“Am I going to see you guys at the shelter tomorrow?” I asked, glancing around at Winnie.
She clapped her hands together and nodded. “Of course you are!” she replied.
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but before anything could actually come out, he closed it again and shook his head, smiling. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to argue with Winnie. And besides, he didn’t look like he wanted to anyway.
We could use the help, but I could use the chance to see him more.
“Well, I suppose you are,” he agreed, and he grinned at me.
I found myself already looking forward to getting a chance to see him again the next day. Things were going so well, and I felt like I was on a roll.
Why would I have wanted to stop now when things were going so very well?
Chapter 40
Harry
Now that I had been to the shelter without Raina by my side, I felt like I knew everything a little better. Like all of this could run a little smoother now that I knew what I was doing.
I strode in, knew just where to sign in, and I greeted Raina with a kiss over the counter as soon as I laid eyes on her. She had a slightly fluttery smile on her face, like she couldn’t quite believe that I was here.
“So good to see you again,” she murmured.
I nodded in agreement. “Wish I could have taken you home with me last night,” I replied, dropping my voice to make sure that nobody around us heard what I was saying.
She pressed her lips together to keep from giggling loud enough to attract attention, and Winnie bounded up behind me to join us. I wiped the smile off my face before she caught on to the fact that we were having a conversation that likely wasn’t appropriate for where we were right then.
“Well, I think I have some dogs to check up on,” Raina announced to her. “You think you could come keep me company while I take care of that?”
“Yeah!” Winnie agreed enthusiastically.
Even though the shelter was hardly where I had imagined that I would be spending my Saturday, I didn’t mind at all. It meant that I got to see Raina again, and right now, it felt like there wasn’t anything in the world I wouldn’t have done to make sure that happened.
“Well, Harry, I could use someone to help me clean out the kennels,” Marjorie said as soon as she spotted me. “Think you could give me a hand?”
“Happily,” I agreed, and I gestured for her to lead on.
Only a few months ago, I would have balked at the thought of doing something like this in my spare time, but now, I couldn’t think of a nicer way to spend my weekend. Doing some good in the world, making Winnie happy, and getting to spend time with the only woman who had been in my head for months now.
As I cleaned out the kennels, swept the floor, and washed off the muddy pawprints that speckled the concrete, I couldn’t help but think about how much everything had changed since I had met her.
Maybe it was too soon to be thinking that far into the future, but I could already imagine what a life would be like with her at my side. I was crazy about her, and the future looked a whole lot better with her as a part of it.
I was happy with her, and I had been from the moment that we met. And she had called me her boyfriend when she had introduced me to her brother. That meant she saw us at the same place that I did, and that was all I could really ask for.
I adored her. I just wanted to know that she felt the same way about me.
“All right, I think you’ve earned your rations for the day,” Marjorie called to me once I had been at it for a couple of hours or so.
My back was aching, and I knew I could have used a break, but I would have been happy to do it all day long if she had asked me to. I just wanted to make life easier for Raina, and if this was what I had to do to make it happen, so be it.
“Think I could trouble you for a coffee?” I asked her.
She nodded. “I’m sure I don’t have anything as impressive as what you’re used to, but we have a pot in the staffroom. Come on. Let me pour you a cup.”
Winnie and Raina were already waiting there by the time I turned up, and Winnie was chattering happily to the older woman.
“And what about the studying?” Winnie asked. “Was it hard?”
Raina waved to me in greeting as she answered her. “Yes, but when you’re passionate about it, it doesn’t feel like hard work,” Raina replied. “Look, Harry’s here!”
“Yeah, and I think I’ve earned a coffee and a break,” I replied. “You guys have been hanging out here while I’ve been breaking my back out there?”
“Sorry for stealing your Saturday,” Raina replied, raising her eyebrows at me, daring me to come out with more protest.
I waved my hand. “I guess I can let it slide for now,” I replied.
We chatted a little over the coffee, and I found myself wondering how I had ever spent my weekend doing anything other than this. It was so much fun. I spent all that time up at the office, looking at spreadsheets and sending emails, and it was a good feeling to do something tangible to make the world a better place with the time that I had off.
“I’d invite you out for lunch, but I don’t think that I have the energy to go looking for somewhere to eat,” I told her. “How about we head back to my place?”
“I would love that,” Raina said.
“The housekeeper’s there, putting together food for Winnie for the week,” I said. “So we might be able to scavenge some food from her.”
“She doesn’t let me have anything,” Winnie replied, pulling a face.
“Well, I’ll see if I can talk her into it,” I said, ruffling her hair and putting an arm around her shoulders. I felt so affectionate toward her all of a sudden. She was a good kid, and I was lucky to have her in my life.
“I’m sure I can do some persuading,” Raina suggested. “And I can see Tink, right?”
“Sometimes, I think you only spend time with me because you want to see more of that dog,” I teased her as we headed out to the car.
It started to rain as we climbed into the vehicle, and I drove us back across town to my place. I was glad to have a little more time with her. I wanted to talk about the boyfriend situation, to see if she really meant what she had said when she had described me that way to her brother.
When we got there, Paula, the housekeeper, was flitting around the kitchen with the radio on as she made Winnie’s food for the week.
“Oh, hello!” she called to us in greeting. “I didn’t expect you back until later.”
“Well, we thought we might be able to scavenge some food from you,” I said.
She grinned and pointed to the collection of plates she had on the counter. They were full of fruit, mea
t, and bread that she was carefully portioning out into Tupperware for the rest of the week.
“You know I have everything measured out,” she warned me, but she didn’t stop us as we grabbed some little snacks. “I’m sure I’ll find a way to make it up.”
Winnie headed over to give her a hug. Tink was at our feet, and I leaned down to pet him. The house was full of noise, but I liked it that way. It made me feel safe, happy, and comfortable, like nothing bad could happen as long as it was so busy and full of life.
Tink and Winnie headed up to her bedroom once Paula had shooed us away from the food that she was working on. We grabbed a bowl of grapes and headed through to the living room together.
Sitting down on the couch, I put my arm around her, not even thinking twice. I just wanted to be close to her any way that I could. Being around her all day and having to hold back had been something like torture for me. Even last night, when she had just been wearing jeans and a tee to go out with her brother, the way her curvy body had looked in those clothes had been too much for me to take.
“Hey,” I murmured to her.
She looked up at me with a smile on her face. “Well, hey there,” she replied. “Nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you too,” I agreed, and I took a deep breath. I had to come out and ask her. I was sure that she was thinking about it too, and it was better that we got it out there once and for all, instead of leaving the two of us wondering what was actually happening. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
She looked up at me, eyes wide, a little nervous. “Nothing bad, I hope?”
“Nothing bad,” I promised her, winding my fingers around hers and holding on to her tightly. I just adored her, and there was nothing that I would have done to screw things up. I just had to come out and say it.
“You called me your boyfriend last night,” I said. “And I just wanted to know, is that where we’re at now?”
She gazed up at me. “If you want to be,” she replied. “I hope I didn’t go too far or anything. I thought that’s where we were. That’s all.”
“No, no, that’s where we are,” I assured her. “I really like you, Raina. I want to be your boyfriend. If you’ll let me.”
“I want to be your girlfriend,” she replied, and she burst out laughing and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I just said that. I’ve never had a boyfriend. Not really, anyway. It’s strange.”
“In a good way?”
“In a good way,” she promised me. “I never thought that you were going to be that to me. I didn’t think I would be that lucky.”
“I think I’m the one who’s lucky,” I replied, and I nuzzled my face into her hair.
It was strange how long I had been alone and how natural it felt to break out of that rut so that I could be with her. I had thought that it would be a nightmare, bringing someone into my life after everything that I had done to keep people away.
I clasped her face in my hands and leaned down to plant my lips on hers. To seal the deal. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, that she had changed everything that had happened and turned my life onto a path that I had needed to see it on for a long time.
She pressed herself up against me, and I kissed her deeply, telling her everything that I needed her to know without coming out and saying those words. I cherished her. I couldn’t get enough of her. I loved her, even if I knew that it wasn’t time to tell her that yet.
Giggling, she pulled back and stroked my face. “Can’t believe I’m kissing my boyfriend.”
“And I’m kissing my girlfriend,” I replied.
We both giggled.
“All right, you two, enough canoodling on the couch!” Paula called to us, and we sprung apart like we had been caught in the act.
I felt like a teenager again, being so in love and yet having to hold it back from everyone else. Well, Winnie, at least. I didn’t want her to get too attached to the idea of all of us together, just in case something went wrong.
“Guess we’re busted,” I murmured.
“Guess we are,” Raina agreed.
I wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled into her neck. I was happy. Purely happy. Everything was going as well as it possibly could, and I was torn between wanting to see what came next and wanting to hang out in this moment forever, hold on to it for as long as I could.
Chapter 41
Raina
“Ugh,” I groaned as I came back to reality once more.
I felt like total crap. No, that was an understatement. My nose was blocked, my eyes were running, my limbs felt heavy, and I just wanted to pull the covers up over my head and pretend that this day had never even started.
I reached for my phone and texted Rita to let her know that there would be no way I could make it into the office today. I knew that it wasn’t too busy today, and I would have been useless. I needed to take some time to rest up and feel better.
It was Monday morning, and it felt like it. I had forgotten what doing so much took out of me. It was harder to keep up with everything that was going on, with my man and my job and my volunteering. I was just exhausted, and I needed some time to get back on my feet.
Rita told me to stay in bed, and I fired off a text to Reed so that he wouldn’t worry when I didn’t turn up for our morning coffee.
Then I remembered that I was meant to be meeting with Harry this afternoon for lunch. He had offered to come to my work to pick me up and take me out for lunch, but there was no way that I would be able to make it. Not unless he wanted to get infected with whatever I had come down with.
I managed to grope my way to the phone once more and told him that I wasn’t going to be able to make it, offering my apologies and hoping that he didn’t take this as me freaking out about what had happened over the weekend.
We were boyfriend and girlfriend now. We’d actually had that conversation. I had been pretty happy to talk it out with him, but he had seemed nervous.
It was actually pretty adorable in its own way, knowing that he had been so freaked out about the thought of coming clean to me about the way he felt. But I loved him—no doubt about it—and I had no intentions of hiding that any longer.
I fell asleep and dipped into a mess of vivid fever dreams. I hated feeling this way, but my illnesses were usually over with speedily enough, so I knew I wouldn’t be off my feet for too long. There was too much to take care of for that, anyway. No way I was going to let this stop me, not when things were going so well.
When I woke again, it was to the sound of knocking at my door. For a second, I thought I had imagined it, and I was about to go back to sleep before I heard it again.
I sat bolt upright and rubbed my eyes.
A voice called through to me. “Hello? Delivery for Raina.”
I stumbled out of bed and tried to stop the room swimming around me, making it to the door and pulling it open. On the other side stood a young man with a perky smile on his face. He thrust what he was holding in my direction, and I furrowed my brow.
“I think there might be a mistake,” I told him apologetically. “I didn’t order anything.”
“Raina, right?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Then this is for you,” he replied, and he handed me two bags. One had the logo of a local pharmacy printed on the front of it. The other was steaming with something that smelled deliciously savory.
“At least let me give you a tip,” I mumbled.
He shook his head. “I’ve already been paid. Mr. Harry Porter asked me to tell you to get well soon.”
I smiled, even through my bleariness. “Thank you.”
I closed the door and headed back into the apartment. Flopping down on the couch, I tore open the bags to see what he had sent along.
One of them was stuffed full of cold medication, and the other contained a steaming plastic container of soup, along with a cup of piping-hot tea. I couldn’t believe he had gone out of his way to get t
his all set up for me.
He had to be one of the sweetest people I had ever met in my life. He had been sure that I didn’t miss out on our lunch, even though I wasn’t going to be able to make it there under my own steam.
The food was good and actually rallied me a little bit. I was able to drag myself out of bed and head for a shower. Then I changed into some fresh clothes so I felt a little less nasty.
I would be better in no time with him around to help me out. I loved the thought of him, at work, taking time out of his day to take care of me, even if he couldn’t do it in person. God, I loved him. I loved him so much.
I had only known him a couple of months, yet I was already dead certain that it was love that I felt pulsing in my veins. I wasn’t sure I had ever felt it before now, not really, but with him, there was simply no denying the fact.
I adored him.
I loved him like I had never loved anyone before in my life, and just thinking about him, even through the sickly fog in my head, was enough to make my heart sing with excitement.
I went back to bed after I popped some of the pills he had sent my way, and I napped once more. I was already feeling a little more human, and I had him to thank for it.
When I came to again, I figured that the least I could do was offer him my thanks in person. Well, as close to in person as I could get, given the state that I currently found myself in.
I propped myself up on my pillows, wiped my nose, and picked up my phone to check the time. He would be just coming out of work about now, so I wouldn’t be interrupting him. And besides, even if I was, I was so hungry to hear his voice once more.
I dialed his number and lifted the phone to my ear, and a few moments later, I heard his voice spilling down the line.
“Well, hello there,” he said. “How’s the patient?”
“Still feeling pretty sorry for myself,” I admitted. “But a lot better since you sent all that stuff over.”
