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“You’re killing me slowly.” He sighed. “Boring scrambled eggs it is.”
While we were in the middle of eating our breakfast, there was a knock on the door. I got up and answered it.
Colt, Mia, Zip, and Joni stood at the threshold, sans children.
“Hey!” I beamed.
“Hey,” Mia said, quickly looking me over. She held a plate of chocolate chip cookies and Joni had brought chocolate pudding.
“Come in, come in,” I said, backing up.
They hugged me, mindful of squeezing me too hard. I waved Joni and Mia over to my bed.
“Hope you don’t mind,” I said, as I picked up the fork and continued eating.
“Not at all,” Joni said. “But damn, that looks good. I had oatmeal and it just didn’t do the trick.”
We chatted while Zip and Colt laughed and conversed with Smoke. We didn’t dwell too long on my situation—I didn’t want to talk about it. And with each day, it was moving further into the past. I still mulled over what Doc had shared with me and I planned on talking to a therapist. But I didn’t want to bog down my friendships with the intensity of what I’d been through. About what Smoke had been through.
There was another rap on the door and Mia jumped up to answer it before I could even think about moving.
Allison and Torque joined the visitor group. Torque placed a covered glass dish on the table, along with the food Joni and Mia had brought before nodding at me and then joining the men on the other side of the room.
“You guys spoil me with food,” I said, hugging Allison when she sat down on the bed.
She placed Tank in the middle and he crawled across the bedspread. Joni grabbed him before he could get away. She tickled his belly which made him giggle.
My heart saddened when I thought of what I’d lost, but when I glanced at Smoke, I saw him watching me. He sent me a smile of understanding and we shared something in that moment that let me know it was all going to be okay.
My heart cracked open even more when Tank took a sudden interest in me by crawling into my lap and falling asleep.
“That was unexpected,” I said with a smile. I brushed my hand across his head. “But very welcome.”
“Tell her the news,” Joni said to Mia.
“News, what news?” I asked.
Mia looked at me. “Boxer and I want to formally ask you to design the bar.”
I blinked. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Mia smiled. “When you’re feeling up to it, you’ll come over to the space and we’ll tell you our vision.”
“Oh, also…” Joni pulled out her phone. She unlocked the screen and scrolled through her photos before flipping the cell toward me. “We no longer have a wall.”
“You’re going to love it when it’s done,” I said.
My phone buzzed with a text from Rach.
Rach
We stayed up all night just catching up. Nothing happened.
I frowned. That wasn’t a good enough story. Chase had never gotten over Rachel and Rachel was a widow with a son who deserved to find love again.
“What’s wrong?” Mia asked.
“What? Oh. Nothing. Just thinking.” I set my phone aside, but it buzzed immediately.
