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“Soon, baby. I’m going to pack my bag and in a few hours we will be back in Boston.”
Dropping his grip on me, Preston took a step back as I jutted my lower lip out. Walking backward toward the door, Preston slowly shook his head. “What are you doing to me?”
Placing my fingers over my lips, I felt as if they were still tingling. “The same thing you’re doing to me, apparently.”
Flashing me a smile that made my knees about buckle underneath me, Preston turned, unlocked the door, and raced toward his room in the attic.
Quickly racing to the guest bathroom, I grabbed everything and threw it into my bag. Taking in a deep breath, I glanced at myself in the mirror.
“Oh my.” Leaning in closer, I took a good look at myself. The last time I’d looked at myself closely, I’d had bags under my eyes, my face was too thin, and my eyes looked blank. The reflection I saw in the mirror now was of someone who was happy. My eyes were a sparkling blue again and I saw life in them.
Smiling, I quickly wrapped my hair up in a bun and applied a light shade of pink to my lips.
Closing my eyes, I thought back to what Jake had said to me on the phone a few weeks back.
“Harmony, it’s time to start living again. It’s time to get your sparkle of life back. If you would only just allow your heart to open.”
Taking a deep breath, I slowly blew it out. “It’s hard, Jake. I’ve lost so much and to open it again and risk losing it all over…I’m not sure I can.”
“I know, Harmony. I know. But trust me, the moment you let that wall you’ve built around your heart fall, you will never regret it.”
Wrapping my arms around my body, I thought about last night and how amazing Preston had made me feel. The idea of how much I needed Preston still scared me, but that wall had finally fallen and I couldn’t wait to start over with Preston. Closing my eyes, TJ’s smile appeared. My heart would forever have a piece missing. I knew that there would always be a part of me forever lost. But Preston had given me hope. Life was moving on.
—
A week had passed since my birthday and things couldn’t have been better. Preston had stayed with me at my condo every single night when he wasn’t on shift. I felt so alive. Even my friends from school and work said they saw a difference in me.
Feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket, I pulled it out to see Jake was calling me.
“Hey!” I said with a smile.
“Hey, back at you. You’ve been radio silent the last week. When do I get to take my baby sister out to dinner and drinks to celebrate her twenty-first birthday?”
Laughing, I said, “Sorry. I’ve been kind of busy.”
“Mmm, let me think about this. I sent Preston a text a couple days ago asking if he wanted to hang out on one of my rare days off and he said he had been really busy. You’re busy. That leads me to the conclusion that you’re getting busy together.”
Feeling my face blush, I continued to throw a load of laundry into the washer. “I’m not even going to give you the satisfaction of knowing that I heard that.”
Laughing, Jake said, “I knew it. Harmony, I can hear it in your voice, sweetheart. You sound…happy.”
Leaning against the washer, my smile weakened as the guilt came flooding back with the thought of my being happy without TJ in my life. Pushing it aside, I walked into the kitchen and checked on the roast I was making for dinner. The smell of rosemary filled the air. Preston would be getting off later so it would be a late dinner, but that didn’t matter. It could sit in the Crock-Pot on warm.
“Jake, I am happy. Preston has this way of making me feel like I’m the center of his world and I’m not used to that.”
“He better fucking make you feel that way or I’ll kick his ass. Doesn’t matter that the guy can probably bench-press me ten times, I’ll still pound his face if he hurts you.”
Giggling, I took out a peach cobbler from the oven and set it on the cooling rack as I leaned over and smelled the heavenly smell of sugar and peaches. “Stop it. There will be no ass kicking or face pounding.”
Jake mumbled something to someone, then continued talking. “I hope not. I really like his uncle’s pub.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “How is Sandy?”
Jake became very quiet all of a sudden. “Jake? Is everything okay between you guys?”
“Yeah. Everything is great. I…um…well, I…I kind of…”
“Holy hell, spit it out already.”
