I delete the text and start with my work calls so I can quickly wrap those up and resume my research to complete these forms. I’m actually paying for all the filings on my personal credit card, not the business one. I can afford it, for starters. It’s the least I can do to hopefully begin steps toward making amends with Tom.
Burying myself deeply in this work, I don’t realize Tom’s standing in the kitchen doorway and watching me until I look up when I hear Jester maowing.
“Hey. Feeling any better?” I ask. He looks a little better.
He nods and walks over. He’s handsome even in a pair of shorts and an old T-shirt, and with his brown hair damp and mussed from the shower.
Freddy’s never caught dead without his hair perfectly coiffed and usually wears pretentiously expensive clothes, even when dressing “casual.”
I’ve missed Tom’s comfortable style. The way he always accepted me as I was. Never a raised eyebrow or snide remark if I decided I wanted to wear jeans somewhere. Or, heaven forbid, shorts.
When I open my arms wide, he steps into my embrace and I tightly hold him, my face pressed against his stomach. Feeling his arms drape over my shoulders is incredible beyond description. The sweet scent of his laundry detergent and fabric softener mixed with his soap and shampoo hits me and nearly drives me to happy tears.
That was something else I didn’t realize how much I’d missed, the wonderful way he always smelled. Even using the same products didn’t make my clothes smell the same. I think it was due to the water in Miami, maybe.
God, I’ve missed him.
“Am I disturbing you?” he asks.
“Never, baby.” I tip my head back to look into his eyes. “This is the best day of my life.”
He plays with my hair, the way he always did. There were plenty of times in the early days when I sat here working in the kitchen and he would stop by to check on me. Later, I tried not to bring work home so I could be fully focused on him when I was here.
My guy lets out a sigh. “I’m going to need to get my truck later. Feel like driving me?”
I eagerly nod. “Absolutely.”
“Not right now,” he adds. “Once you’re at a stopping point.” He glances at my laptop. “It can wait until later.” I don’t speak because I sense he has more to say.
Sure enough, he does.
“It doesn’t make any sense for you to stay in a hotel. We’ll be almost to Sarcan, anyway. You can get your stuff and bring it back here. If you want to.”
My throat goes dry, hope coursing through my veins. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He plays with my hair again. “I can’t promise you when I’ll be ready to move forward again, but I want youhere. This process won’t go any faster for me if you’re staying in a hotel. And I kind of feel like I got cheated out of my reunion snuggles last night.” A playful smile curves his lips.
Reunion snuggles. That’s what we always called it when we reunited after an absence. “I’d love that. Thank you.”
We remain like that for a long, sweet moment. “Do you think your firm will even let you stay on after they find out what you did?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I handle a lot of big clients, and I don’t have a non-compete clause in my contract. It was one of the concessions I forced from them when I joined. So they know if I leave, there’s a good chance at least some of my clients will leave with me.”
“Won’t the developer you’re supposed to be representing be really upset and complain?”
“Possibly. But I’ve already located several other potential properties in the region that would work better for what they have planned. Farther from Maudlin Falls, too, so it’s doubtful they’ll impact sales at your store. Cheaper property with fewer hurdles to jump to acquire and rezone.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I smile. “This is sort of my jam. I don’t usually handle real estate, but I’ve gained a reputation for seeing the entire chess board and gaming out multiple options for my clients, including some that are better than what they’d originally intended.”
“And if the firm fires you?”
I shrug again. “I made a living before I worked there. I’ll figure it out.”
He runs his fingers through my hair as he studies me for a moment. “Talking about uncertainties in your income used to freak you the heck out.”
“Yep. Still freaks me out. But do you know what freaks me out even more?”
