Page 12 of While You're There
“He?”
“Fielding. He’s out there, and he insisted on being seated in your section instead of just parking his stupid-hot body at the bar like he normally does.”
Tori scrunched her eyes closed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. A pit of guilt festered in her stomach as she thought about how she had been intentionally ignoring Fielding over the last few weeks. They had texted a few times, and he knew her follow-up appointment hadn’t been good, but she hadn’t actually seen him in person since the day after she had a panic attack at his house.
“You better tell him tonight, Tori.”
She glanced down at her left hand. She had purposely left her ring at home just like she had for every shift she had worked since getting engaged. She told herself she didn’t want anything to happen to the ring while she was bustling around Clinton’s. Not having to answer any prying questions about her engagement was just an added bonus.
“Tor.”
“I know, I know. I wasn’t trying to keep it from him, I just…”
“Yeah, I know. Just get it over with. It’ll be okay. Jake told me I could take off early, but I’ll stay for the rest of your shift, even if he wants me to clock out.”
Tori squeezed her best friend’s arm appreciatively, steeling herself for the difficult conversation she’d been avoiding for weeks.
She spotted him the second she stepped out of the kitchen. Fielding was seated in the booth closest to the windows. It was big enough for at least eight adults. Even his six-two frame looked small in such a large space.
“Hey, you,” she offered as she approached the table.
“Long time no see, Victoria.”
He hadn’t even looked at her yet, but she knew he was pissed.He has every right to be, she reminded herself. She had basically ghosted him. She felt guilty that she hadn’t made more of an effort to reach over the last few weeks. There was also a residual embarrassment swirling around inside her because of the panic attack she’d had in front of him.
“I know. I’ve just had a lot going on…”
Fielding glanced up at her then, his eyes searching her face. “Yeah. I figured that much out on my own. I’ve called you multiple times. I’ve texted you. I’ve been worried about you. And now I feel like a loser coming here and demanding to be seated in your section, like this was the only way I could see you.” He gripped the edge of the table as he started to slide out of the booth. “This was stupid. I’m gonna go. I shouldn’t have expected…”
“No! Don’t go. I’m sorry, Field. I know I’ve been a shitty friend. But I want you to stay.”
He continued to rise out of the booth, taking his time to straighten to his full height. Tori was increasingly aware of the intensity of his gaze as he continued to stare down at her. What was he searching for? Eventually he shook his head and cleared his throat.
“Fine,” he relented. “That was way too easy, though. You must have some sort of magical spell cast over me, Victoria Thompson. Are you a witch? I don’t know that much about witches. I’m going to have to look that up. I feel like I should have at least made you work…”
“Oh, stop,” she interjected, giving him a solid shove that did nothing to dislodge his footing.
“I missed you,” he murmured, finally meeting her eyes and offering her a head tilt and a half smile.
“I missed you, too.” It was the truth. She had spent more time with Fielding over the last few months than she had with anyone else in her life. Rhett’s absence had left an impossibly bleak hole in her heart, but she discovered that she felt less lonely when she was with him.
“Will you hang out with me if I move to the bar?”
“I’ll do you one better. I just put in my dinner order, so I’ll sit and eat with you.”
Fielding reached out and wrapped her into a side hug as they approached the bar together. Tori stiffened slightly in response to his touch before catching herself. She wouldn’t be worried about Jake or Cory hugging her, so why was she so on edge about Fielding’s gesture? He was her friend, and a good one at that.
Jake gave Fielding a one-nod chin lift when he slid onto a stool on his usual side of the bar. “Long time no see, Haas.”
Fielding rolled his eyes. “Pretty sure I woke up on your couch still drunk this morning, man.”
Tori grinned at the boys’ easy exchange. She had missed this: hanging out at Clinton’s, listening to their banter. She walked past the bar and headed back to the kitchen to check on her food.
If she thought she was going to have a moment to herself, she was wrong. Lia was waiting for her at the point-of-sale computer, and Jake was shoving through the door behind her, hot on her heels.
“Tori, you’ve gotta tell him you and Rhett are engaged.” Her chest tightened in response to Jake’s demand. His mouth was set in a hard line, his eyes as dark as his tone.
“That’s exactly what I told her,” Lia added as she placed one hand on her hip.
