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“You should stay though,” she says, eyes flicking over my face as she smooths a hand over my cheek. “Take the morning off, boss’ orders.”
I smile even as I lean into her touch. “No, things to do, it’s all good,” I say, kissing her once more before I throw off the covers and head into the shower.
I spend the day on edge, my nerves frayed as I imagine every car that pulls into the carpark as being driven by Mel. I can’t believe I’m even contemplating the possibility of her showing up here, but I know I have to. I know it’s something she’s capable of and the only thing I know is that I need to tell Lu about it before it actually happens.
The last thing I need is those two coming face to face with each other.
“Jack?” comes Tommy’s voice, forcing me back to the present.
“Yeah,” I say, walking out of the shed.
He nods, his expression neutral as he walks up to me. Although no more has been said about the whole Lu and me thing, I know he still has issues with it. Our conversations are strictly work related these days, but they’re tense and it’s obvious there’s an unspoken hostility there, on both sides.
And while I know now it doesn’t come from a place of jealousy, but as more of a big brother protective type of thing, it still pisses me off that he thinks I’m not good enough for Lu. That I could ever hurt her like he assumes I will.
“Looks like those parts have finally arrived,” he says, handing me an invoice. “Earlier than we thought,” he continues, even as my heart starts to pound in my chest at what this really means. “Means we can get that crusher back up and running and you can…”
“I can what,” I say, my words harsh as I cut him off.
Tommy stares at me, his mouth set in a firm line. Eventually he shrugs, offering a, “get back to whatever it is you were doing before this,” as though that’s what he’s really thinking.
I shake my head, shoving the invoice into my back pocket. “Where are they?” I ask.
Tommy tilts his head. “Up at the office.”
I nod, swallowing hard as I wonder if this now means Lu knows they’re here too. “Thanks,” I say, before turning and walking off.
When I get up to the office, I see the two huge boxes sitting outside Lu’s office. She isn’t inside though, and I can’t help but say a silent thank you that maybe she doesn’t yet know.
Even though it’s going to take me a week or so to install them, another week to put the crusher back together and maybe a week of tests, I know we’ve both been silently dreading their arrival. As though their delivery puts an end date on this thing that’s been going on between us.
It’s not what I want, not by a long shot. But at the same time, I’m still no closer to finding a way to change that.
Exhaling, I know staring at these boxes is not going to give me the answer, so I rope one of the guys into helping me and together we carry them back down to the shed. The invoice is still in my pocket, burning a hole there because I haven’t left it on Lu’s desk like I normally would.
After we unpack the boxes and I check everything is there, I call it a day, finishing up earlier than I normally would, because my mood has gone from on edge to well and truly pissed off.
As I walk back to Lu’s house, my brain turning over the events of the last twenty-four hours, I can’t help but think back to the other day and the tiny idea I had as I drove home from the supermarket. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I call up google and type the details into the search bar. When I get the information I’m looking for, I type in the number and hit call on my phone.
It’s answered immediately, the woman announcing the name of her company and asking how she can help. I quickly explain what I’m after and we set up a time to meet later this afternoon.
After I’m done, I head inside to check over some figures on my laptop before sending an email to my dad, asking for both his advice and his interest in what I’m thinking about doing.
It’s a ballsy move, but one I’m suddenly realizing, I’m actually prepared to take. And while it might actually be an answer to one of my seemingly ever-growing list of problems, I’m still not quite ready to tell Lu about it yet.
So after I grab the keys, I quickly type out a text letting her know I’m running some errands, before I jump in her car and head out to meet this woman, all the while the guilt of keeping yet another secret from Lu burns a hole in my gut.
On my way back from town, I stop off and grab us some dinner. I’m later than I thought I’d be and I’d texted Lu a few minutes back telling her I was on my way. She didn’t ask what I’d been doing all afternoon and as much as I wanted to tell her, it was still too soon, for so many reasons.
So instead, I stop in and grab us a couple of pizzas and garlic bread, as well as a tub of her favorite ice cream before heading back toSomerville’s.
“Hey,” she says, as I walk into the kitchen where she’s already pouring me a glass of wine.
“Hi,” I say, leaning in to kiss her. “Should we eat outside?” I ask, nodding toward the back deck.
“Okay,” she says, giving me a strange look, as though she’s trying to decide whether she should ask. She doesn’t and instead picks up our wines and some plates and follows me outside.
We silently grab some pizza and bread, an awkward silence settling around us. Eventually though, we both speak at the same time. Lu’s, “Is everything okay?” almost lost in my confession.
