AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She released a breath and hugged me. “Okay. Good. We’ll get through this, then. I just know it.”
I hugged her back, resting my cheek on her hair. And I knew she was right. Because after our talk, something just felt...better.
36
LUCY OLIVIA
So Vaughn and I decided to take a bit of time apart.
Er, I decided, anyway. Vaughn just kind of reluctantly agreed with me, unable to argue with anything I said after the scare he’d given me.
But dammit, I still couldn’t believe he’d been so low that he’d considered taking his own life. Just thinking about that sent a cold, panicked sweat over my entire body. I wasn’t willing to do anything that might send him in that direction again.
He continued to rent space in my garage apartment, though. We worked out a schedule so we wouldn’t overlap time in the kitchen together. Except by the next weekend, I was missing him like crazy. And it didn’t help that he texted me constantly, making me fall deeper and deeper in love with him with each message.
On Tuesday, he wrote…
VAUGHN: Had my first appointment with the grief therapist today. She said my big talk with you this weekend was like its own breakthrough session. So… Can I come see you now?
I grinned, thrilled he still wanted to see me at all. But then I sighed and rolled my eyes because…
LUCY OLIVIA: Don’t you think you need to make sure you’re fully healed? Patience, my love. We’ll see each other again, I swear. All in good time.
The next morning he texted me again, while I was getting ready for work.
VAUGHN: Had a dream about you last night. It was so incredibly dirty. Too bad I can’t demonstrate it for you, since you want me to stay away and all.
I laughed and had to write a little something back, just to mess with him.
LUCY OLIVIA: Was I going down on you in the backseat of your Charger while we were at a drive-in theater? Because, wow, I had that same dream last night, too! What a strange coincidence.
He replied almost immediately.
VAUGHN: Wicked woman! This is not helping me want to stay away until I’m “healed.”
Despite his flirty messages, however, he didn’t abuse his key rights and force his way back into my living space so he could see me. He used the utility room, restroom, and kitchen as usual, and I hated staying away when he did, but I made sure we remained apart. And the fact that he respected my rules made me fall even harder for him.
Thursday night, I was just about to feed Ava and put her to sleep when he called.
“Hey,” I said, happy to hear from him but also concerned. “Everything okay?”
“It’s great,” he answered, sounding more upbeat and excited than I’d ever heard him before. “I think I had another breakthrough session today.”
“You did?” I blinked. “So you had two meetings this week?”
“Yep,” he answered, not at all ashamed or rueful about that fact, which made me smile, glad for him. “But she said I’ve been doing so well that we’re already going to cut back to once a week starting next Tuesday.” With a laugh, he added, “My boss was happy to hear that. I’ve taken on so many new projects during this past year that I think my extra-long lunch breaks this week were more than he could handle.”
“But…” I shook my head, confused by how healthy and happy he sounded that I pulled the phone from my ear, momentarily uncertain if this was indeed Vaughn I was talking to. Then I frowned, growing worried about how upbeat he was. Maybe it was a false high, like a manic episode before a person fell into a bigger decline than before. “Isn’t that moving kind of fast?” I asked, biting my lip with worry. “Don’t you need some time to—I don’t know—even let whatever the therapist said soak in?”
“That’s exactly what my problem was, we discovered today,” he said, sounding eager to share. Then he paused and fumbled a moment before asking, “Are you busy? I kind of wanted to tell you all about it.”
My heart thumped hard with flattered honor that he wanted to share any news with me. “And I definitely want to hear about it,” I assured him. “Do you mind if I put you on speakerphone? It’s just me and Ava playing on the floor in the living room right now.”
“Tummy time?” he asked, sounding affectionately interested. “Can she roll from back to belly yet, or is it still just belly to back?”
“Still just belly to back,” I answered, and I don’t think she’d ever done that intentionally; it just seemed like the accidental result of excessive wiggling.
“Thank God,” he murmured in relief as I set the phone on the floor between me and the baby. “At least I haven’t missed that one yet.”
