Wearing his shirt.
That meant something to chicks. They didn’t wear a guy’s shirt unless they liked him.
Or unless they really liked the shirt.
He was willing to bet it wasn’t the shirt.
Not stopping to think, he pointed at her in the mirror, mouthed the words ‘don’t move,’ and bolted out the door.
It took him less than thirty seconds to make it into her upstairs office.
He was a little surprised to find himself out of breath. But she’d done exactly as he’d said. She’d not moved an inch. In fact, she was still looking into his bedroom.
And then she turned her head and stared at him over her shoulder. Her smile was bright. Too bright.
“Hey, Chaz.” She was trying to sound breezy. “I thought you’d already left town.”
She looked incredible.
She didn’t look so forlorn as when he’d first met her. He’d kind of been hoping she’d pined for him.
Except it was good to see a sparkle in her eyes.
“I just got my orders. Vacation’s over.” Did she look disappointed at his words? Maybe a little?
“I’m putting the house up for sale.” Her smile faded.
“Yeah, I saw the sign.” He crossed one foot over the other and leaned against the doorframe.
He’d flustered her. “Oh, yeah,” she kind of whispered. And then, apparently realizing what she was wearing, crossed her arms over her breasts.
Too late, sweetheart, I already saw it.
She’d been remembering.
And missing him.
But he needed her to crack. He pushed himself away from the doorframe and took three steps toward her, cutting the distance between them in half.
“Are you running toward something this time? Or away again?” He needed to push but not too far. He wanted her to be strong.
He wanted her to meet him somewhere in the middle.
She relaxed for the first time since he entered the room. “Toward something,” she said. “I got a great job up in Denver.”
She was moving to Denver?
And then she smiled for real. “The bandages are gone. How’s the arm? Better?”
He raised his right arm halfway and made a fist. He didn’t have all his strength back but he would soon. It was great to just be able to pick things up again. “Much.” And then he couldn’t help himself. “Imagine the fun we could have now.”
She glanced away from him but not before he could see that her eyes were almost entirely green. “It was fun, wasn’t it? I mean, it wasn’t ever meant to be anything more, was it?” She was trying to sound casual but her voice broke on the last few words.
Chaz froze. “Penny, I’ll be working out of Denver, too. They want me to be a recruiter for this region.”
“You’re gonna be in Denver?” Her eyes lit up for just a moment and then she shifted her gaze to the floor. “That’s great, we’ll have to go out for drinks sometime.”
He wondered if that was it.
