Page 68 of Crumbling Truth
Tilting her head up to look at me, Esther said, “I’ll take care of Toni while you’re gone. And don’t worry about the Carolcade. I can manage it on my own if I have to.”
My arms tightened around her as I dropped a kiss to her lips. “I know you can, but I said I’d help and I want to be there.”
She didn’t respond, just snuggled into my arms and nodded. We started the movie, something sappy and Christmas-themed, and half an hour later I got a text from Billy.
Can’t meet us till Fri at 2 pm. Can you get here?
I groaned aloud and shot back,I’ll make it happen. Thanks man.
Send me flight details, I’ll pick you up.
Esther’s fingers tangled in my shirt, just over my ribs. “What’s up?” she asked, sounding like she’d almost dozed off already.
“The meeting is Friday afternoon,” I said, reluctant to even speak the words aloud, but the woman on top of me just shrugged one shoulder as she pressed her lips to the center of my chest.
“It’ll be fine, Theo.”
With one hand threaded into her hair, I used the other to book the only flight option with seats remaining. I’d have to leave Thursday afternoon, and without knowing how long the meeting would run, I bought a ticket home for Saturday morning. After forwarding the information to Billy, I set my phone on the coffee table and pulled a blanket off the back of the couch to drape over both of us.
I knew she was right, but I was still anxious about being away from her. As the main character of the movie finally kissed her love interest under artistic swirls of snow, I tried to dissect the uneasiness that roiled in my stomach. It felt simultaneously like I was overreactingandnot taking it seriously enough.
Was I worried for her safety? Was I concerned about letting her down? Or was I simply afraid that putting distance between us would damage what we’d been building?
Maybe it would remind her that she was perfectly fine on her own, that she didn’t need anything more than an incredibly hot, intense affair. Maybe I would be reminded that I’d built my life and my business from scratch down in Asheville and that walking away from it was as stupid as it sounded.
Or,my heart whispered,maybe you’ll realize you can’t live without her.
I tamped down every maybe and what if, brought my focus back to Esther’s warm, soft body sinking into mine, and watched the big city girl on the television screen fall in love with the small town doctor who’d won her heart.
If only real life were that simple.
Chapter Thirty
Esther
Theowasabundleof nerves in the days that followed. I couldn’t quite parse whether he was worried about this client meeting, afraid of flying, or just that reluctant to be apart again, but I was too busy to reflect on it in any great depth. Event prep was soon underway and if letting Theo pour his nervous energy into rolling out allergy-friendly Christmas cookies was all I could do to keep his mind off things, so be it.
Despite my offer to drive him to the airport, he saw the chaos of my kitchen on Thursday morning and steadfastly refused.
“You have work to do,” he insisted, “and this way I can haul ass back here when I fly home Saturday morning to help you get the truck loaded.”
“Theo, listen to me. If your flight is delayed or you need to stay longer, I swear to you that I will befine.You can repay me in orgasms after you get home if you’re feeling guilty, but I can manage the Carolcade alone if I have to. Do what you need to do. It will all be fine.”
He looked unconvinced, but after I set out the final batch of cookies to cool, I took his hand and led him to the bedroom to get his mind off his imminent departure. This time felt different somehow, like he was desperate to memorize every inch of me, to make sure I memorized the feel of him, the heat and the strength and the reverence of his touch.
When he finally needed to leave for the airport, I kissed him goodbye, told him to text me when he landed, and calmly accepted the way he fussed over me, reminding me to lock the doors and check the cameras and keep my phone with me at all times. Finally, I shoved him out the door, blew one last kiss, and made sure he heard me throwing the deadbolt.
Once he was gone, my tiny, cozy house felt cavernously empty.
I kept myself busy until Theo’s text came through several hours later, but I was determined not to turn clingy just because he was away. Instead, I thanked him for letting me know, wished him sweet dreams, and tucked my phone back into my pocket.
We hadn’t slept apart since that very first night, so after feeding Toni her dinner and spending half an hour placating her with pets on the couch, I crawled into my own bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long time before finally falling asleep.
Though I’d expected Friday to crawl by in his absence, I was so busy decorating cookies and finishing up more batches of the most popular cupcake flavors from the tree lighting ceremony that the hours flew past. I took a mid-morning break to spend time with Toni, who was sweet as pie around me, so I sent Theo a photo of the fluffy ginger cat curled up on my chest with her head tucked under my chin.
What I would give to trade places with that rotten feline right now,he replied.
I scratched her cheeks and texted back,Starting to think you cut your arm on something else that day you said she clawed you. Look at this sweetheart, she wouldn’t hurt a fly.
