AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I wouldn’t ask you to.”
“I know,” he says, caressing my cheek with his fingertips. “But that means I have to explain to Sabrina that we’re seeing each other before I tell Nash. I want you to be a big part of my son’s life, but to do that, and do it right, I have to keep Sabrina in the loop. Do you see?”
“Yes, I do.”
What I don’t see is how I’m gonna get through this weekend without you.
So far, today has gone by so quickly, I feel like my feet have hardly touched the floor. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing… not because I’m looking forward to a weekend without Tanner, but because I’m exhausted, and I need to get home, so I can sit for a while and just absorb the silence. Lunchtime always seems a little crazy, with so much to fit in to a short break, and today it wasn’t helped by Alexander picking on Jessica in the schoolyard. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, but by the time I’d gone over, she’d wandered back to her friends, and he was standing there, a picture of innocence. I didn’t feel like I could act, but it didn’t sit well with me to do nothing, either.
I grabbed a few minutes with Margot and asked her for advice.
“I know he’s a problem, but I’m not sure what we can do,” she said, which seemed extremely unhelpful.
“There must be something. We can’t just let him carry on like this.”
“It won’t pay you to interfere,” she said, then moved a little closer and lowered her voice. “I’m guessing you’re not aware of the connection between him and Miss Montgomery?”
“What connection?”
She smiled. “His mom is Miss Montgomery’s niece.”
“Is that why she behaves like she owns the place?”
Margot laughed. “I think she’d behave like that anyway… but it’s why she gets away with it, and it’s why her precious son feels entitled to do whatever he damn well pleases.”
I shook my head as she walked away, wondering why Tanner hadn’t told me of the connection when he was explaining about Mrs. Knox.
Fortunately, the afternoon has gone by with no further problems, and I’m relieved to get to the end of it, keeping a smile on my face as I wave goodbye to each of the children. I’ve been watching for Tanner ever since I came out here, and notice him the moment he arrives, our eyes locking as soon as he catches sight of me. I have to smile and he smiles back, although Nash interrupts our moment, rushing over to his father. Tanner bends down and says something, and then Nash runs off, toward the little girl I saw him with yesterday. Tanner watches for a second, and then turns to me, striding over.
“Hi,” he says, looking down and taking a deep breath. “I know I said I couldn’t see you today, but I had to. I’ve been going crazy with the thought of not even setting eyes on you until Sunday evening.”
“I know. I feel the same.”
He smiles. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He glances around, then looks back at me, shaking his head. “I wish I could kiss you.”
“So do I, but you can’t. Not here.”
“I know.” He sighs, then takes my hand in his, rubbing his thumb along my knuckles. “I’ll text you later.”
“Okay.”
He stares into my eyes for a second or two, then turns and leaves, walking to Nash, who says something to the little girl, and then takes Tanner’s hand, the two of them leaving, deep in conversation.
I love the way they look together, even though I’m dreading a weekend alone, and I’m just relieved that Tanner’s been so open with me about how he feels. At least I’ve got his words to live on, even if we can’t be together.
It’s weird that we only met last Monday and yet, I miss him so much already. After just three dates, he’s become a part of my life, and by the time I get home, I’m wondering what I’m going to do with myself for the next two days.
The answer is staring me in the face the moment I open the front door.
Unpacking.
It’s still not done, and I guess I might as well use this time to put that right. Especially as Tanner said he was going to come over here on Sunday night, and at the moment, we’d be struggling to find somewhere to sit.
There are also a few things I need to line up for next week’s lessons… so I won’t be idle, even if I have every expectation of being lonely.
The first thing I need is a shower, and I drop my purse on the breakfast bar, along with the day’s mail, which arrived after I left this morning, and head straight for the bathroom.
It’s refreshing to take a shower at the end of a hard week, and I luxuriate for a little longer than I normally would before I get out and wrap a towel around myself, wandering from the bathroom, just as my phone beeps.
