Page 36 of Mr. February

Just as she finished her hair and makeup, her phone dinged with a text message. She expected Gloria with some pithy or sarcastic comment, but her headache throbbed again when she saw Chad’s name. Despite the voice in her head demanding that she ignore it, she clicked on his name and read his message.

“Where are you? I need to talk to you.”

Jenny was grateful she left her car at work since they had better security than her apartment complex. She couldn’t fathom why Chad thought she wanted anything to do with him after the things he said. Then again, Chad thought very highly of himself and spent almost no time thinking about other people.

She turned her phone back to vibrate and slipped it into her jacket pocket. Jenny checked her image in the floor-length mirror in the bathroom. She didn’t look any worse for the wear after drinking too much. It’s amazing how much a hot shower—and major embarrassment—could eliminate a hangover.

When she headed into the sitting area, Wade was noticeably absent. She’d been nervous about seeing him again after her emotional outburst, but this was worse. Disappointment filled her when it became clear that he left.

Obviously, a put-together guy like Wade would want to have nothing to do with her when she was apparently having an early mid-life crisis. Tears threatened to fall, but she forced them back. She had no one to blame but herself for overreacting at every turn.

Jenny shrieked when the door made the chiming noise as Wade used his keycard to let himself back in the suite. He grinned when he saw her and held up a coffee in each hand.

“Perfect timing! The in-room coffee was pitiful, so I thought I’d help you feel human again.”

He passed her a cup. Jenny took a sip before she moaned. It was exactly the way she liked her coffee.

“When you finish your coffee, we can head down to breakfast,” he said. “Or you can bring it with you.”

Before Jenny responded, Wade’s phone rang from his room.

“Hang on. I thought I had that in my pocket.”

In a few strides, he crossed to his room to answer his call. Even with his door mostly closed, his voice carried clearly. Her dawning horror must have shown on her face because he rushed to her side as soon as he ended his conversation.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Jenny tried to play it off.

“Nothing. I just remembered something I forgot to do at work, but it’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? You looked like you got some bad news.”

“How about you? Everything okay at work? The walls here are kind of thin, aren’t they?” she asked nonchalantly.

“Yes, everything’s fine, yes, the walls are thin, and, yes, we can avoid talking about it if you’d prefer. Shall we go have breakfast now?”

Chapter 12: So Close, Yet So Far

WADE

Breakfast could have been worse, Wade decided as they headed to the first session. After several stilted minutes while they waited for breakfast to arrive, he took the initiative and addressed the elephant in the room.

“Look, I shouldn’t have said anything about being able to hear you in your room, but I’ve never been very good at shutting up. Plus, with three sisters, I don’t have much of a filter. It’s nothing you should be embarrassed about. Everybody does it. It’s a normal part of the human condition, especially…”

He let his words trail off deliberately as he attempted to provoke a reaction other than mortification and despair. Jenny was having a rough couple of days. Maybe he shouldn’t push her, but he felt like it was the better choice.

If they tiptoed around it, it would just become anotherthinggetting in the way of knowing each other better. Talking about it,joking about it, would make it something they could laugh about and move on from.

When it became obvious that he wasn’t going to finish his sentence, Jenny huffed a breath and asked.

“Especially what?”

She sounded cross, but that was a million times better than earlier, when all the blood drained from her face, and she looked like she was about to faint. It was time to pour on the charm or make himself the fool, so she’d feel less like one.

“When you have all of this taunting you, hour after hour.” He gestured dramatically to himself and winked. “So close, yet so far. No one would blame you.”

Wade hammed it up while preening outrageously for her amusement, and she let out a reluctant chuckle. After that, it still took another cup of good coffee and half a pancake before she thawed. Things were not quite as relaxed as they’d been in the car, but they were better than earlier, so he considered it progress.

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