Page 1 of While You're There
Chapter one
Tori
“Honestly?IthinkIliked it better when you two were pretending you weren’t together,” Jake confessed from behind the bar of Clinton’s Family Restaurant.
Tori felt Rhett smile against her face, his two-day stubble tickling her chin. Jake’s words didn’t stop him from moving his mouth down her jawline and placing another kiss in the crook of her neck. “I love you, Victoria Thompson,” he murmured low enough so only she could hear. “You look gorgeous tonight. I’m so goddamn lucky you’re mine.” His fingers swept under the hem of her skirt and brushed against her inner thigh.
His hand was only resting an inch above her knee, but a thrill of desire zinged straight to her core. She peered down at her legs parted on the barstool and watched his strong, tan forearm flex ever-so-slightly as his hidden hand made delicate circles against her skin.
She let out a breathy sigh. She couldn’t wait to get home—or hell, even just to his old Prelude parked behind the restaurant—and continue this game.
This was the Rhett she remembered from high school. This was Rhett not holding back, not toeing the line. This was Rhett playing full out.
The shift had been sudden but certain. As soon as she agreed to marry him, it was clear he was done holding back. There was a reignited confidence in the way he touched her, spoke to her, approached her. It was like journeying somewhere new and coming home at the same time.
“Seriously? Can you at least take it to the walk-in cooler? You two could obviously use some privacy.”
Tori was too preoccupied to verbally respond to Jake’s ribbing, but she managed to fling a tater tot in his general direction.
“Hey! Don’t mess up my immaculately kept bar, baby,” he scolded as he retrieved the tot from the floor and glared at the pair of them. “I have to close by myself tonight since Mister Big Shot MBA needs his beauty rest for graduation.”
Rhett slowly removed his hand from under her skirt, swiveling his bar stool to right himself.
“Don’t try to put that on me, bro. I barely work here anymore. You would have closed by yourself tonight regardless,” Rhett shot back at his best friend. “I wouldn’t even be in Hampton tonight if it wasn’t for this one,” he reasoned, cocking his head toward Tori.
She couldn’t help but smile and roll her eyes as she looked between them. Hanging out at Clinton’s. Joking around and ragging on each other. Everything about this night felt right.
Well, most everything. As hard as she tried to push down the anxiety that was always threatening to crest to the surface these days, Tori couldn’t help but think about her follow-up ovarian cancer screening from earlier in the week.
Inconclusive.
Those were the results of her pelvic exam and ultrasound. She had been so sure she would be diagnosed with cancer, but that wasn’t the case. Dr. Ritter had explained that without a visible tumor, she couldn’t make an official diagnosis. But between the elevated bloodwork and her genetic history, Tori was sure she knew what was lurking inside her. The dreaded ‘someday’ had finally caught up with her, but she was done running from the fate that had haunted her for so long.
What happened next was up to her. Dr. Ritter suggested a PET scan to try and identify any rapidly changing cells that weren't visible on the ultrasound. She also suggested an exploratory biopsy, but that felt ridiculous and redundant. If Tori was having surgery, she was havingthesurgery: a prophylactic hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo—oophorectomy, just like she had always planned.
She already knew in the back of her mind what she wanted to do. Now it was just a matter of logistics and timing between her school schedule and Rhett’s work schedule.
“I guess I’m just salty you’re taking Tori and Maddie down to Easton tomorrow and leaving me behind,” Jake lamented.
Tori beamed at the reminder. She was excited to head to Easton the next morning, to help Rhett pack up his apartment and move back to Hampton for a few weeks before he had to start his job in Norfolk, Virginia. She was so proud of her boyfriend—no, not boyfriend—herfiancé, and she couldn’t wait to celebrate with him this weekend.
Rhett reached over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “We have to get up early tomorrow, but if we leave right now, we’ll have time…”
She didn’t even let him finish his suggestion before she found his lips, answering his question with an eager kiss.
“What’s this? Is the walk-in cooler occupied?” Mike joked as he approached the bar. Jake snickered at the jab. As the owner of Clinton’s Family Restaurant and Tori’s current employer, Mike Hobbs had had a front row seat to the Tori and Rhett Show over the last several years. Still, his scolding made the blood rush to her cheeks. That, or Rhett’s relentless ministrations under her skirt were really starting to take effect.
“No sir. We’re regular paying customers tonight,” Rhett defended. “I just wanted to take my fiancée on a proper date before we head out of town for the weekend, but that seems to be causing some problems around here.” He cocked one eyebrow, playfully challenging his former boss and mentor.
There was that word again: fiancée. He had found a way to use it as often as possible over the last week since he had proposed to her at his family’s cabin on the lake in Michigan. She instinctively looked down at her ring: a two-carat diamond shone brightly in the center of a gold twisted pave halo band. The ring had been his grandmother’s. Rhett admitted that he knew the ring was intended for her the moment he received it, even though they weren’t even dating at the time. It had been a perfect fit when he slipped it onto her finger Monday night.
“Oh, come on,” Mike replied. “You know I’m just teasing you, Wheeler. I’m happy for you two. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but ya know…”
“Alright, I think we’ve had enough Clinton's hospitality for one night,” Rhett declared as he shifted off the barstool and reached for his wallet. He pulled out several bills, passed them across the bar to Jake, then nodded in Mike’s direction. “I’ve gotta get my girl home. We’re out of here.”
His girl.
Home.
