“For the third time, we’ll be fine.”
“But I won’t be back untilFebruary!” I whine, playfully using a technicality to garner her sympathy. Today’s the last day of January; I’ll be back tomorrow, but still.
“You should win an Oscar…” Willa walks to her front door with a hand on her belly, extending her other arm with my computer bag dangling. Her head falls to the side, resisting the eye roll I know she wants to give. “It’s less than twenty-four hours.”
I just got in from work and had enough time to hop in the shower and throw a bag together. One of my flex teammates broke her foot, and my team needs me to step in earlier than planned and take over her session in San Diego. Saying I’m stressed is an understatement. Not about the training aspect—that’ll be a breeze—but leaving my girls. In the two weeks since we found out we’re having a girl, my protective instincts have skyrocketed. My sole focus has been staying three steps ahead to anticipate Willa’s needs. That’s kind of hard to do when I’m a few hours away. Not to mention, it’ll be the first time in a month I won’t have her next to me in bed. Grimacing, I rub the back of my head.
Willa’s eyes soften as she watches me. “Tre, we’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, but what about me?” I joke despite the dread rifling through me. Shuffling over to her, I reach out to caress her face. “I’m gonna miss you, Gem.”
She leans into my hand. “I’ll miss you too, sweetheart.”
My heart shoots to the moon.Sweetheart. It’s not a new thing, but ever since she’s started using it, I get butterflies like I’m back in middle school. I take my bag from her and slide it over my shoulder.
“If it makes you feel better, you can video call me to say goodnight. Might even get a little show, if you’re lucky.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I murmur, pulling her to me for a long, slow kiss. Willa’s still on pelvic rest, and it’s getting harder each day to keep our hands off each other. There’s two weeks until her next check-up. If she isn’t cleared by then, I might need to sleep out on the couch just to put myself on ice. Even kissing her like this has me squirming to adjust my jeans.
Willa pulls back and places a palm on my chest. “Sweetheart, you need to get on the road.”Sweetheart. I can’t take it and dip down for another kiss. She puts on a brave face, but the fistfuls of my shirt in her grasp tell me she’s as nervous about tonight as I am. Once I finally let her go, she takes a step back and eases out a whistle of air.
“You call me if you have the nightmare. I’ll answer on the first ring.”
“Go…” She turns me at the shoulders and nudges me toward the door. “I’ll be fine, and you’ll be back tomorrow. Good luck on your first day on the road.”
When I open the door, she grabs my ass, giggling when I jump in the air. “Hey!”
“For luck.” She shrugs, smirking playfully.
Laughing, I step out onto the porch. “Luck, my ass.”
“You’re right. Your assispretty lucky.” She gives me one more kiss and eases the door closed. My dramatic trudge to the truck takes double the time it should.
The driveto San Diego wasn’t terrible. I got caught in the tail end of rush hour traffic, which added almost an hour to my arrival time. But now I’m checked into my hotel and ready to review the employees’ files in the design department I’ll be training tomorrow. I let Willa know I made it with a quick text and pull up the email from my supervisor, Miles, with tomorrow’s bullet points. It’s all generalized professional development, seeing as the design team in the San Diego office had a major overhaul in quarter three. They’re dealing with a bunch of freshly graduated designers who need some corporate structure. I skim to the end of the email and Marla’s name jumps out at me.What the hell? The best part about this trip is being away from her at the office. Scrolling back up, I actually read Miles’s message in its entirety.
The dark cloud that settles over me is menacing as I read. He’s sending Marla down to be on hand for this training. I understand his reasoning—it’s my first session in the field—but the storm threatens to downpour with every new word I read. Knowing Marla, she probably suggested this impromptu trip under the guise of “guidance for the new trainer.” I want to throw my laptop at the wall and say every curse word slamming into my brain right now. I want to block out every Marla-filled memory flooding over me.
I want Willa.
Even just hearing her voice would work to calm me down right now. The urge to disclose to her that I’ll be forced to spend the day with my ex is immense. I don’t want her to ever think I’m keeping secrets from her. Reaching for my phone seems like the best course of action right now.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Willa says, stifling a yawn. My anger cools just from that. “Hang on.” I hear shuffling in the backgroundbefore the call switches to video. Her twists are tied back by her scarf, and she’s wearing one of my old Coast Guard T-shirts. She yawns again. “I wasn’t sure I’d make it.”
“Yeah, sorry. Had to review some things Miles sent over. Uh, so…”We talk about things,even scared shitless. “I have some news.” Willa tilts her head, waiting for me to continue. I focus on my thumbnail under the screen as the grip on my phone increases. “Apparently, Miles is sending Marla down for the training tomorrow. I just found out, and I?—”
“Tre?”
“Yep.”
“Take a breath.”
I do, exhaling a frustrated groan. “If I would have known, I’d have told you earlier.”
“You’ve already said there’s nothing to worry about. Has that changed?”
“No. Never. I just don’t want you to think I’m keeping things from you.”
“I know the kind of man you are, Trevor. You’re more bothered by this than I am.”
