She slowly took a few steps closer. “Not since I was a kid, but I’m gonna be honest, you look like you could kill me with a flick of your wrist, so I’m being cautious. Seriously, what’s your workout routine?”
I laughed, enjoying the lightness she was trying to bring to the situation. I shrugged. “I’m a volunteer firefighter as well as working in construction, so that sort of helps.”
“Well, it’s working for you. Anyway, what were you apologizing for?”
I sighed. “Oh, right. That. I have to be transparent and tell you that Cara made me come down here. Well, she said please and asked nicely, so here I am. But I do feel bad.”
“I appreciate your honesty. What do you feel bad about?”
“I may have judged you a little too harshly and haven’t been treating you as well as I should have been. You have to understand where I’m coming from, though. I really care about Cara, and when she told me about your little run-in while she was out with Fallon, it upset me. I’m sure if the roles were reversed and someone said those things to Fallon, you would’ve seen red like I had. But maybe not since you said those things about her, actually.”
She scowled. “I did, and I regret it everyday. Things were complicated between us back then. I was falling for her, and I was jealous watching her be affectionate with Cara. I know there is no excuse for how I reacted, and I apologize to both of them every chance I get. I care for Cara too. Of course, not in the way you do, but I would never intentionally do anything to hurt her.”
“Anymore than you already have?” I took a breath. I was supposed to be apologizing. “Look, you’re right, I care for Cara, more than you could know. I really like her, and she’s mine to protect. I appreciate that you’ve recognized how you fucked up, and since Cara has forgiven you, I need to too.”
She smiled. “I really am sorry for what happened. I’d like us to start over, Vera. I can tell how Cara feels about you, and it seems like we’ll be in each other's lives for a while.”
I tried not to jump up and down. I knew Cara liked me, but to what extent? “I’d like that. I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you since we met. I hope to be sticking around, and I’d like to get to know you better. I can see how in love you are with your wife and how you care for her. I guess I have you guys to thankfor bringing Cara to me. If you two hadn’t gotten together, she might’ve been with one of you and I wouldn’t have her.” She didn’t need to know that I didn’t have her at all.
“In that case, you’re welcome,” she replied.
We continued talking about our beautiful women and she told me the insane story of how they met, and I stuck with the half truth Cara and I agreed upon, that we met at a bar.
I hated to admit it, but Mackenzie was growing on me. She was sarcastic like Drea, but also really genuine when she talked about her friends or her wife. I could tell there was a softness in her that hadn’t always been there. She talked a little about her childhood, as I did mine, but nothing in detail.
I didn’t want to be away from Cara for that long, so we said our goodbyes. Fallon was about to open the door and jumped when she saw me come out. “It’s not what it looks like,” was the first thing I said. A woman coming out of her room was probably not the image she wanted.
She laughed. “Is my wife alive? I’m more worried about you killing her than trying something. And she knows better on the latter.”
She peeked her head past me and I turned to see Mackenzie waving. “I’m alive, dear. We were just talking, actually. All is good.”
I turned back to Fallon, who was smiling. “Good. Glad you ladies figured your shit out. Baby, you can relax. I can see you sweating from here. I trust you, and besides, Cara texted me that Vera was here. It’s nice to see you again, Vera.”
I smiled. “You too. I was just leaving. I don’t want to keep Cara waiting too long.”
“Good idea. Oh, and Vera?”
I had just started walking down the hall when I stopped. “Yeah?”
Fallon’s smile stayed in place, but her eyes were serious. “Don’t hurt her. She deserves nothing but the best. So far, that’s all I’ve seen from you. I hope that doesn’t change.”
I smiled. “She really does. I promise, I would never dream of hurting her.” With that, I turned around and headed back to my room.
When I came back from talking with Mackenzie, I brought a coffee for Cara as another apology. I told her about the conversation and she rewarded me with a kiss when I told her everything, except for Fallon’s parting words. I didn’t want to scare her off with my answer. With my truth.
I asked what she wanted to do since we had several hours to kill before dinner.
“I really just want to lounge around in my shorts and read, is that okay? I mean, you can go out if you want, but you’re more than welcome to stay.”
I shook my head. “A relaxing day in before a social night sounds amazing. Are you sure you don’t mind me staying with you? I won’t bother you. I’ll probably read a book or something.”
She shrugged. “No, I don’t mind.”
After an hour and a half of reading our respective books, I started to get a little hot, so I opened the door to the patio, to get a light breeze in. She looked up and grinned with her eyes closed. “Perfect.”
“Si, perfecto,” I said, looking at her. She was truly a work of art. Flawless even in shorts and a tank top.
She was laying down on the couch, her head propped up on the arm, reading a book. From where I sat on the bed, it looked like a sweet book, with a cartoon cover of a hockey player. I could’ve watched her all day, but I’d rather do something else instead.
