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“Hell with the peep show,” Mattie chimes in once more. “Charge in like you own the place.”
“Why did I ever think you’d offer assistance without blowing it up?” I ask, feeling the heat in my cheeks but unable to hide my smile. She is insane, but I adore her. I should have called Lucy she is the voice of reasoning, well most of the time. Unless she and Emma are in the same room then they tend to gang up on me and I’m left with no other choice but to take it in stride.
“You know better than to expect simple from me,” Emma laughs. “When will you learn?”
“Probably never.”
“But really,” she chimes in. ‘“Go live, have fun, and do all the things you know I’d do.”
I hear Mattie say something low but again, I don’t ask.
“I’m not sure I know of anything you won’t do.”
“True.” She doesn’t even try to deny it. “You don’t have the girls. You love the guy, you’ve missed him since the day he left, even though you tried to pretend you didn’t.” I know Mattie is hearing all of this. “He adores you and your girls. And its Jayson, he’s a great guy, you know you’re safe. Go enjoy life, stop holding back because some prick didn’t realize how lucky he was to have you. Jayson knows, believe me when I say Dr. Jayson Lincoln wants to build a life with the three of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Trust me,” Emma sounds so sincere. “I have the inside scoop, now go have some fun.”
She ends the call before I can say anything more. Lowering the phone to the counter I look around the kitchen, the quietness of the house really hitting home. She’s right, I do love him and there hasn’t been a day since he left thirteen years ago that I haven’t missed him at least once at some point.
Before we were a couple, we were friends and he was always someone I could count on. Even when we weren’t together deep down, I knew if I needed him, I could have reached out.
We were young, we had no idea how to make a long distance love last. But he’s here now, he’s here and the next step, it’s up to me.
twenty-five
. . .
Jayson
I’m standing in the kitchen, reaching inside the refrigerator for a beer when I hear a light tapping on the backdoor. Leaning over to look out the window above the sink to see a shadow moving along the back patio.
I set the bottle on the counter, peeking around the wall and get a glimpse of blond hair in the window at the top of the door.
Stepping in closer I pull back the curtain at the side of the door and see the side profile of Zoey as she looks around the backyard, toying with the belt on her jacket nervously.
Excitement for the unannounced visit rushes through me.
I flip the lock, opening up the door and she turns around to face me, her eyes scanning over me from head to toe. I try not to smile at the delightful look in her eyes when she sees me shirtless but the corner of my mouth wins the battle as it tips up in a grin. I still run daily, I still do nightly sit ups and pushups, I take care of myself, and she seems pleased.
“This is a nice surprise,” I say breaking the silence as I step aside allowing her to enter before closing the door behind her.
“If you were busy, I could go.” I notice the way she has yet to look me in the eyes, as she moves in further and turns around looking over the space. “I probably should have called first.”
“Hey.” Reaching out, I touch her hip and wait for her to face me. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Zoey finally looks up and our eyes lock, she shrugs and smiles at the same time like she is unsure. “This is so unlike me.”
“What is?” Confused by what is going on, or not going on, I know when I left her place last night things seemed okay. Hell, they seemed great considering the two of us were breathing heavy and didn’t want the night to really end.
She steps in closer to me, appearing nervous as she holds the ties in front of her that have her long jacket cinched together. The hem hits mid-thigh and until now it hadn’t hit me that her legs were bare. It’s a nice night out though, the cool air feeling good after a hot day, so I guess it’s not too farfetched to imagine her wearing a skirt or shorts. It’s the jacket which strikes me as strange though. It’s thin, so maybe?—
“It took me twenty minutes to drive the five it would normally take to get here,” she confesses, biting her lower lip.
“But I kept talking myself out of it, thinking I’d only embarrass myself showing up here.” I want to argue that she can come here any time day or night and I’d be happy to see her. But she steps closer once again and I scan over her as she begins to tug on the ties of her jacket.
My heart races, there is something different about the way she is looking at me, and the way she moves.
