Page 103 of Work with Me

“Rick. What are you doing here?”

“I’m picking up my kid. He slept over. I guess I know what you’re doing.” His lip curled.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” I put my hands on my hips.

“It’s no secret you fucked things up. You’ve been crawling here every day like a loser, trying to win her back. Pathetic,” he sneered.

Blood pounded in my temple. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“No, you don’t. But when you drag your ass back to California, your tail between your legs, guess who’s still going to be here?” He didn’t wait for me to unclench my jaw. “That’s right. Me.”

A kid, bulkier than Noah and with Rick’s green eyes, hopped down the porch stairs and ran to the passenger side of Rick’s car. He tossed his backpack into the backseat and slid in behind it. “Alicia said thanks for the flowers.”

She didn’t like flowers. And yet she’d taken them from Rick. Fuck. Maybe he was right. Maybe he could outlast me. Maybe proving he was good with kids would win him points I could never hope to earn.

Rick smirked at me. “See you around, Jay. Maybe.” He didn’t wait for me to step back before he pulled forward.

I fetched the coffee and muffins from my car. Gritting my teeth, I carried them up the front sidewalk and braced myself for whichever hostile Weber would answer the door. Maybe I was making a fool of myself. Maybe I’d fail in the end. But for now, I’d keep trying and hope that Alicia would remember how good we’d been together, that she’d loved me once, and give me another chance.

Cooper’s donation hit the foundation’s account on New Year’s Eve. Along with Weston’s donation and several others, we had an excellent start, and I doubled the total with my own donation. I might’ve been the worst one-day boyfriend ever, but I was doing what I’d said I’d do for kids.

I toasted the new year with a local IPA and went to sleep.

On New Year’s Day, I strode up Alicia’s front walk with a sack of donuts and a new sense of purpose. I’d spend the day researching neurological studies and earmark a few scientists to ask to join my foundation’s board. Then maybe I’d—

I froze on the bottom step. Alicia stood behind the screen door wearing another UT hoodie and a pair of soft-looking lounge pants. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and her face was makeup-free. Two spots of color bloomed high on her cheeks. She was beautiful.

“Come on inside.” She rubbed her arms. “It’s cold out there.”

“Cold?”

She pushed open the screen door, and I bounded up the stairs and crowded into the foyer with her. She looked more delicate than I remembered, swallowed up by her oversized sweatshirt. Or maybe my brain had mixed up her physique with her strong spirit.

Standing there, the bitter-orange scent of her tea filling my nostrils, I was back in the Synergy communal kitchen the Monday after I’d kissed her the first time, desperate for more. I gripped the drink carrier and the paper bag to keep from touching her.

“Happy New Year.” Her feet were bare, and she had to look up at me. Not like in the office, when her heels took her almost to my height. I wanted to drop everything and take her in my arms, kiss those pink lips, bury my fingers in her silky hair. The cardboard drink carrier trembled.

“You can set that in the kitchen.” She nodded at the drinks and then turned to shut the purple door.

Something brushed against my ankles. I looked down, and the cat twined around my leg, looking up at me. He meowed. Good thing I was wearing jeans. When he attacked me, he’d only shred the denim. I braced. But then the little fucker purred.

“Good boy,” I whispered.

He unwound from my leg and stalked toward the kitchen.

I followed him through the living room and past the tree. Ornament boxes lay on the carpet around it, and one side of the tree was bare.

I set the donuts and drinks on the round kitchen table and turned. Alicia stood on the threshold between the kitchen and the living room, the tree lights sparkling behind her in a halo. Was this real, or was I still sleeping? I dug my fingernails into my palms, but everything was numb.

If it was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up.

* * *

ALICIA

He was startingto scare me. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him this quiet, not even when he was coding. “You haven’t said a word. Are you all right?”

“I—” His voice came out hoarse, and he cleared his throat. “I didn’t expect to see you. Maybe I got into an accident on the way here, and this is all a figment of my head trauma. I was afraid if I said anything, I’d wake up.”

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