Page 45 of Hold Me Instead
“My mom is crocheting him a blanket.”
Charlie put a hand over her heart. “I love that.”
“He’s pretending not to care, yet he keeps making sure it’ll be big enough.”
“Those two. Sounds like he’s making sure there’s room for both of them.”
“What? No.”
She laughed. “You’re reacting like I mentioned them having sex.”
When he gave her a look, she laughed again. Maple’s tail wagged from her seated spot on the concrete, and he agreed with his dog—they should make Charlie laugh as much as possible.
“I adore their relationship. My mom has always been happiest on her own, but my aunt and uncle had that kind of love before she passed. Pretty amazing to see what it can grow into.” She swallowed. “For their last anniversary, your dad brought a change of clothes to work, bought her favorite flowers, and picked her up for their date. Seriously, how cute is that?”
“That’s sweet,” he murmured, while Charlie squatted to pet Maple’s ears. He appreciated her point of view, despite its glaring contrast to where else he’d failed in life. “How was your evening?” He immediately felt frustrated with himself for mentioning the night she’d turned him down.
“My evening?” She grinned, and he suddenly felt lighter. “Really good, actually. Haven’t hung out with my friends like that in a while. We all needed it.”
He ran a hand through his hair, oddly satisfied.
“We used to do that a lot more, but Cleo’s been working to expand her shop. And my cousin Amber, well, she’s got three jobs right now.” Her words tumbled faster with each new name mentioned.
He watched her rifle through her coat pockets and purse until keys emerged.
“Then there’s Magnolia. She’s prepping toopena shop. It’s on Main Street too,” she added, pointing with a key as though he didn’t know where she meant. “Like Cleo’s.”
He bit back a smile, teasing her hard to resist. “Don’t worry, Harris. I get it. You had ‘plans.’” Adding air quotes as he motioned for Maple to follow him to the door paid off.
“Wait, no, I’m serious!”
“Yeah, it all sounds very true. You had some names in the chamber.”
“People I waswith.”
“Mentioned their jobs. No info on what you did last night, but I’m assuming they’re real people. And that you actually saw them.” He propped open the door with an outstretched arm, and Maple lumbered inside like it was her second home.
“Zachary.”
He turned, grinning, unaware she was directly behind him, and the door jolted him forward an extra inch. Which wasn’t enough, he realized, as he looked down into her face, a conflict of emotions playing across it. A tendril of hair brushed her cheek, enticing him with its flutter. Hugging her had unlocked a new level, inviting physical contact into their relationship. He resisted, wondering when he’d get the opportunity again.
Just bring her more cookies.
Swallowing, he tried to figure out why he was feeling this way. Why his body warmed with her near, or why her scent seemed to imprint on him. Why it made him happy that Maple adored her. He also wondered why he got excited to come to work and see her every morning, or why he saved his least favorite shirts for Thursdays when she might be off. He was curious as to why he looked forward to seeing which scrubs she’d wear and which color in her eyes they’d highlight. The brown tortoiseshell pair of glasses she wore, paired with a green jacket, shocked the hazel swirl of color in her eyes now.
She chewed her lip, and the longer he looked at her, the farther a flush traveled down her neck.
He chuckled, attempting to shake himself away from fantasy territory. To the reminder that he’d like to regain her friendship, and that was all it should be. “I’m just messing with you, Harris. Besides, even if you had been making it up, you’d have every right to.”
Her attempt to look stern was thwarted by a grin breaking free and a small shake of her head. “I wasn’t, it was real.”
“It was real,” he repeated softly.
Her eyes flitted between his. “I’d still like to take you up on your offer,” she added.
His body hummed. “Sounds great.”
“To go over things, of course.”
