"He's smart," Ursula said, watching Taylor watch her best friend. "Taking her out before he lost his chance."
Taylor didn't look at her, his jaw clenching. "Yeah," was all he could manage.
"Wouldn't want a good man to miss out on a woman like that. That would be a tragedy." Taylor did look at her then and what she saw made a sigh form deep inside of her. She knew what was in his eyes, in the muscle clenched along his strong jaw, in the flexing of his hand at his side. And maybe he didn't, or couldn't, but she hoped that he would figure it out and soon. "Do you want a drink with that pie?"
"Hell yes," he said and she smiled.
22. Midnight Affairs
There were many earthly things that Eloise could say were supremely unjust. And one of those was that not every nice, kind, handsome man that takes you on a lovely date where the conversation flowed easily and laughter was shared is meant for you. Eloise Willow had, like most women her age, many bad dates in her life. Leaving those bad dates knowing you did notwant to see them again was obvious and easy enough. But after a date like the one she just had with Graham Bledsoe, who had been nothing short of wonderful, to have him walk her up the steps of The Lost Souls House knowing she would not want another date, it felt unfair.
He held her hand and kissed her cheek and she felt nothing but a simple warmth. It didn't spread throughout her body and tangle into her thoughts like fingers tangling in hair during a passionate kiss. And his smell, clean and warm, didn't confiscate her senses. In fact, she swore that another man's smell was weaving around like a ribbon inside of her throughout her date as if he had pressed it inside of her as a reminder.
It wasn't fair that when Graham looked sweetly at her like he'd had the best time, she was looking at him knowing she wasn't the woman for him.
That maybe, she wasn't the woman for anyone.
And maybe that would have been alright in an independant, strong woman kind of way where she knew she didn't need a man to make her feel whole. But there was a man, who she could feel inside of this very house, who made her feel things she'd never felt before. Without him she would be whole, of course. But there was an inkling in her core that knew she'd never feel that from anyone else; cursed or not.
The world was cruel. So many earthly, supremely unjust things.
She closed the old wood door behind her and took in a breath slowly, holding it in her lungs and counting to five before she walked down the floral wallpapered hallway to find Jenson, Ursula, Bess and Taylor sitting around the island playing cards. Empty plates with pie crumbs littered the island. A few flickering candles passed their vanilla smell throughout the room. Bess's face looked brighter than it had in a while as she made a move in their game that pulled a groan from Jenson and a high-five fromUrsula. And Taylor White sat smiling and at ease with cards in his large hand and a sleeping pregnant raccoon in his lap.
A wave of sadness rolled through her.
"Hey you," Ursula's voice touched her and she smiled.
"Hey, guys."
Taylor looked up at her and that sadness pulsed and filled her.
"How was your date?" Ursula asked and she did not miss her dear friend's eyes shift to watch Taylor.
"Yeah, you guys make out?"
Ursula lightly smacked Bess's arm and Jenson said, "Don't answer that," with a narrowed look at his niece, who laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. The relief of Bess joking with her rather than spearing her with her impressively deadly glare was wonderful.
"I will not," she agreed as she sat with them. Taylor's eyes did not waver from her, their piercing blue lighting her up, slowly taking over that sadness that had bloomed like moonflowers inside of her.
"Who's winning?" She asked.
They finished their game as Eloise ate decadent bourbon pecan pie, watching and laughing with them. She joined the trash talking, firmly supporting team Bess and Ursula and throughout it all, she would catch Taylor's smell. It had wrapped around her like it meant to stay, embedded in her skin.
How could something so comforting cause so much sadness?
"Ursula said you need help with refinishing furniture for the cafe?" Jenson asked as they were cleaning up.
"Yeah, I found extra tables and chairs to make a space outside, but they need weatherproofing."
"I have stuff in my truck and some more at one of my sites. Happy to help."
"Thanks. That would be great."
The brushing of Taylor's hand as he handed her a plate made her breath catch. He was washing, she was drying, and her insides thought they were doing something far more than that. She needed to get a handle on herself.
"So did you?," he whispered, his voice low and tickling against her skin.
"Did I what?"
