Page 51 of Corey
After pressing another quick kiss to her lips, he turned to face his smirking teammates. “Let’s go,” he said, leading the way out the door.
“Good luck, men,” Mitch said, and they all nodded. Once the door closed behind them, he announced he was heading upstairs. “You ladies have fun. This old man needs his beauty sleep.”
The women chuckled and Sera sagged on her stool, her lips still tingling from Corey’s kiss.
“Wow,” Lottie murmured, bright blue eyes wide. “That was some kiss goodbye.”
“So was yours,” Sera said, and they grinned at each other.
“I knew our Wolfman had it in him,” Julia said, sidling up alongside them. “After the bar closes, we’re having drinks in front of the fire, and Lottie and I want all the details.”
Sera laughed, shaking her head. She wouldn’t be sharingallthe details, but, God, it felt good having girlfriends to confide in again. She wished Ellie were there, too, but she’d volunteered to babysit Reya.
Ever since the incident at the mall, Sera had pulled away from everyone, shutting down. Closing herself off in every possible way. She was too scared to go to public places, so meeting people for drinks or going to a club held zero appeal. New friends would’ve been impossible to meet, much less keep,because she rarely left her apartment. And she didn’t want people to think she was weird and overreacting.
But now, things were changing. And for the first time in a very long time, she could see good things on the horizon.
Since Old Glory was so busy, Sera wrapped an apron around her waist and jumped into the fray, helping Julia and Lottie take orders, serve drinks and wipe down every surface once the place closed.
“I don’t suppose you’re looking for a job?” Julia asked after locking the front door. The women sat down at the corner table with hot chocolate. Sera and Julia’s was spiked with peppermint schnapps, but since Lottie was pregnant, she enjoyed hers without alcohol and an extra dollop of whipped cream.
A job would make the situation in Cielo Springs more permanent, and there was no denying how much she’d love that. But was that what Corey wanted? Because if he wasn’t on the same page, she would leave. As much as she enjoyed spending time with these women, she didn’t want things to become awkward, or for him to think she was encroaching on his territory. They all loved and cared for Corey so much, and she refused to do anything to disturb those relationships.
“Well, if there’s a reason for me to stay,” she began carefully, “I would need a job.”
“I think that grizzled recluse of a mountain man just shaved his Yeti beard off for you,” Julia said coyly. “Seems like a reason to me.”
“I don’t know about that. He just said it was time.”
“I bet,” Lottie added with a snicker.
Sera looked from Julia to Lottie and knew they could see straight through her. They were far too perceptive. “Okay,” she admitted, caving to the pressure, “I like him. I like him so much it scares me, because I have no idea how he feels.”
Lottie clapped her hands gleefully. “Aww, sweetie, if you could see what we see, you’d know that man has a serious case of Sera Darling.”
“He doesn’t bring women around, much less suck face in front of everyone,” Julia assured her.
“He’s such a good man,” Sera said. “The sweetest, gentlest soul. And we connect on so many levels.”
“The sexual level?” Lottie asked, innocently batting her lashes.
Sera bit her bottom lip then gushed, “I’ve never had so many orgasms in my life. I swear, when we came together, I saw Jesus, Mary, Josephandthe Three Wise Men.”
Julia and Lottie burst out laughing.
“Cheers to that,” Julia exclaimed, clinking her mug against Sera’s.
“It’s more than that, though. He understands me like no one else does.” She hesitated, not sure how much to share, but then burst like a dam.
She told them what happened at the mall. How she couldn’t seem to forget or heal. The way guilt consumed her and how her life had become stagnant and filled with fear. And, most importantly, how Corey had listened to her, held her and validated her feelings. Julia and Lottie were excellent listeners and offered her sympathetic ears, chiming in every so often with words of reassurance.
And Sera discovered recounting her tragic story had become a little easier with this retelling, the weight of her guilt a little less.
“He hasn’t shared his story with me, and maybe he never will, but he makes my emotional scars feel a little less heavy.”
Julia touched her arm then pointed to the scar on her own face. It was a thin, faded line that ran down her cheek. “Courtesy of Fernando Lazaro. We all have scars. Inside and outside. They’re a roadmap showing where the journey went bad but also showing you healed. They’re proof of your resilience. You didn’t break, Sera. You fought and survived. We all did.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I think Corey and I can help heal each other,” she said, trying to hold her emotions back and failing miserably.
