“I know.” Her hand moves across the table, fingers brushing mine. “That’s one of the things I like about you.”
The touch is brief. Casual. But it sends electricity straight through me.
I turn my hand over, letting her fingers rest against my palm.
“Rachel—”
“I know.” She doesn’t move her hand. “I know this is complicated. I know we probably shouldn’t. I know Jake would lose his mind if he knew.”
“Then why are we doing this?”
“Because it feels right.” She looks at our hands. “Because when you’re around, I feel less alone. Less like I’m barely holding it together.” Her eyes meet mine. “Because I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you either.”
The confession hangs between us. Too honest. Too raw.
Tommy’s voice drifts from the living room. “Mama! The fire truck’s battery died!”
Rachel pulls her hand back and stands up. “That’s my cue. Hold on, baby, I’ll get you new batteries!”
She disappears toward the hallway, leaving me alone in the kitchen with my half-finished coffee and the weight of what I just admitted.
Chapter thirteen
Chapter 13
Rachel
“Mama, I can’t find my blue shirt.”
I’m standing in the kitchen pouring cereal when Tommy appears in the doorway wearing pajama pants and one sock. His hair sticks up in twelve different directions.
“You’re always looking for something. Did you check your dresser?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you actually check, or did you look for three seconds and give up?”
He thinks about this. “The second one.”
“Go check again. Actually, check this time.” I set the cereal box down. “And put on your other sock. You can’t go to school with one sock.”
“Why not?”
“Because Mrs. Cott will think I don’t know how to dress you.”
“You are a bad stylist. That’s why I dress myself.”
He’s got a point, but I’m not admitting it. “Sock. Shirt. Five minutes. Go.”
He disappears back upstairs, and I lean against the counter, staring at my phone.
The text from Doug came through last night at nine-thirty.
Rachel, can we meet tomorrow morning? 9 a.m. at Riverside Coffee. Need to discuss some things about the café.
I knew immediately what “discuss some things” meant. Nobody asks for a morning meeting at a coffee shop to deliver good news.
