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I click on the light switch just inside the door.
“Surprise!” A barrage of voices yells out at once, making me jump and drop my duffle on the floor.
Rhodes pushes in the door behind me with a huge smile on his face. His fiancée runs up to me.
“I’m sorry,” Hazel says as she reaches out to hug me. “I told him a surprise probably wasn’t too good for someone just waking up from a coma, but he insisted you’d be fine.”
I smile and lie. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
She steps aside and lets everyone else greet me—some of the other guys from the firehouse and mostly just people around town that I’ve only met in passing.
My gaze sweeps the crowd of people standing in my living room. But the one face I want to see isn’t here. At least I think she isn't here until a few people step apart and I see her standing in the corner.
She’s got a large tote hanging on her shoulder, and she looks unsure, like she shouldn't be here. I want to tell her she's the only person I want here.
I take a moment to look at Rachel before she notices me. My heart not only starts thumping in my ribcage like it’s trying to get out, but most of the blood in my body decides it’s a good time to relocate from my big brain to my little brain. The sundress she has on hugs the soft curves of her body, leaving little to the imagination. There are too many people around for me to let my imagination wander, picturing what she’d look like after I peeled off the dress and it dropped to puddle on my bedroom floor.
I politely make my way through the crowd of townspeople, stopping to speak with a few here and there but only having a destination in mind. Rachel notices me walking towards her. The smile she flashes me makes it hard to focus on breathing. She’s so beautiful.
“Hey,” I breathe out when I reach her. “When I saw all these people in my house, I was hoping you’d be one of them.”
Her smile grows wider. “I wasn’t sure if I should come tonight or not.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“How are you feeling?”
I can count on both hands the number of times I’ve been asked that in the last twenty minutes, but she’s the first one I don’t give the canned response of “I’m fine.” I wince at the sound of the stereo being turned on.
“My head is aching a bit.”
Concern furrows her brow. “Can I get you something? Asprin maybe?”
I look around and see the sliding door that leads to the back patio.
“I could use some quiet,” I point towards the door. “Any interest in joining me outside?”
The crease between her eyes smooths out, and she looks relieved by the suggestion.
“Yes, that sounds wonderful.”
I take her hand in mine. Surprised I had the will power to wait a full sixty seconds before reaching for it.
Rachel follows me out the door. Neither one of us stopping to speak to any of the other guests. My dining room table is covered with food and drinks to keep them all entertained. They don’t need me anymore.
I close the door behind us, nearly silencing the sound of the party going on inside. I let out a breath I’d been holding. Crowds of people make me feel uneasy on my best day but add recovering from a head injury, and I’m wound up pretty tight.
“Better?” Rachel asks, squeezing her hand in mine.
I look over at her. “So much better.”
We each take a seat on the porch swing, taking in the cool night air. Neither of us says anything, but it doesn't feel awkward. It's a comfortable silence until this moment I only imagined it happening with someone you've known a long time. My thumb rubs soft circles on the back of her hand. The image of sending a lifetime like this moment fills in my mind, and it doesn't scare me.
“I brought you something,” she says, breaking the silence.
I glance over at her and ask in a hopeful tone. “A cranberry scone?”
Her smile falters for a moment. "Shoot, that would have been a good idea if I thought of it."
