Page 18 of Almost Always

“Raff…I…” she wasn’t sure what to say, because there was nothing in the world she could say in response tothat. They’d done the best they could in the first few years apart with phone calls that lasted hours. Life kept getting in the way and despite all their good intentions, it became really difficult to stay in touch. Moving on was the only way to deal with it, even though it hurt like hell. “We should have put in more effort.”

He nodded, rubbing a hand over his beard. “Fuck life for constantly getting in the way.”

“Fuck it, indeed.”

Callahan huffed and they handed over a dollar each. He artfully folded and shoved the money into his pocket. She smiled, but kept her focus on the man across from her as he seemed to struggle with his thoughts—the wrinkle between his eyebrows and the twist of his lips were enough of a sign.

“Raff.” He looked up and she continued. “We can wish and hope that we’d done better in the past, but maybe we can try again now. We’re still friends, right?”

His shoulders tensed briefly before he said, “Yeah, friends.”

“Let’s start over. We live in the same town and like the same ice cream shop, so we’re bound to have more run-ins.”

“I’m sticky,” Callahan mumbled and before either of them could say anything he was out of his chair and pushing through the crowd.

She smiled and said, “He’s a cute kid. Looks a lot like you.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.”

Probably not for the rest of us if he also turns into a heartbreaker, she thought to herself. It made her wonder about the mother and what she looked like. Whether she’d passed on any of her beautiful genes to the kid. Callahan returned as she started to reply and he looked sheepish at the large wet patch on the front of his T-shirt.

“How did you manage that?” Rafferty asked.

“It was an accident?” Callahan offered, blushing.

Daisy pressed her lips together to stop from laughing, because between father and son, the expressions were hilarious.

“It was nice to meet you, Miss Daisy.”

Oh. She startled, but smiled. “Nice to meet you too, Callahan.”

“We do need to get going,” Rafferty said softly, with what looked like regret in his eyes. “The dog is home alone and this one doesn’t like that.”

With a chuckle, she scribbled her number on a napkin and held it out to him. “For whenever you’ve got time.”

He smiled and tucked the napkin in his pocket. “Always have time for you, Hero.”

“You better catch up with him,” she said, gesturing to where Callahan was already halfway to the door.

“I’ll see you soon, okay?”

She nodded and lifted a hand in a small wave. “Looking forward to it.”

Leaning back, she watched them walk out, climb into a car and drive off. With one hand pressed to her racing heart, she closed her eyes and let the last hour fully sink into her soul. The person she once thought was her soulmate was living in the same town she called home. All those feelings she thought she’d buried? Resurfacing with a vengeance.

I am so screwed.

CHAPTER 7

He stared at the soft sunlight as it danced across the beams above him, his mind fixed on Daisy. It had been four days and in the moments when he wasn’t busy, she was all he thought about.

She looked nothing like the girl he once knew, and yet looked the same. The caramel swirls in her eyes still hooked him, as did her plump lips when they curved into a smile. When she shrugged out of her jacket, he had to hold himself still so he wouldn’t do something like touch her. To find out what her skin felt like against his callused hands. The black tank top dipped so low, he had the best view of her cleavage and the top of her breasts. She’d never worn jewelry back in the city, but the four thin gold necklaces glowed against her skin. Her strong, toned arms and shoulders were distracting on their own, but when painted in bright colors and familiar flowers, it was a miracle he hadn’t leaned across and licked her.

She made it worse by telling him that some of those flowers were forhim. His tattoos for her—and there were more than the daisies and initials on his bicep—were well hidden so she didn’t know how much she’d impacted his life too. Sitting across from her eating ice cream was probably the most random thingthat could have happened. He wondered how differently their meeting might have gone had Cal not been there with him. It was the one time he was grateful to his son for being a cockblock.

Speaking of his son, soft mumbles and huffs of breath came from beside him. He looked at the little boy taking up most of the space in his large bed and smiled. Of late, Cal had been having nightmares he couldn’t explain—the monster under his bed or a complicated fantastical story. On those nights, he could crawl into Rafferty’s bed. He’d made sure to bring it up at Cal’s first session and the therapist assured him that they’d work on it.

The night before, he’d insisted that a fire monster was tickling his feet. After a quick investigation, he let Cal sleep in his bed. It wasn’t like he had anyone sleeping over anyway.

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