“I don’t feel so tough at the moment.”
“How about we start with food? I’m starving, and the way those jammies are hanging on you tells me you haven’t been eating. Let’s go get some burgers at that place up the street that we ate at the last time I was here.” Reese had always been thin, and not eating for a few days had her looking slightly gaunt. Anytime she lost any weight or looked pale, I couldn’t help but let that fear seep in. I’d never admit it to her, but Reese’s battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma had changed me in many ways. I’d been with her every step of the way, from her first treatment, until we’d been told that she was in remission. It was the first time in my life that I’d been overcome with the fear of losing someone that I loved fiercely. So, yeah, I worried about her. All the fucking time.
“I could eat. I haven’t had anything outside of dry Cheerios in the last three days.”
“Up,” I said, pushing to my feet and tugging her to stand. I reached into my duffle bag and unzipped it. “I brought you a surprise.”
The corners of her lips turned up when I pulled out her favorite white cowboy boots. She hadn’t thought she’d need them when she’d left for London, but Reese was a country girl at heart. She loved her boots almost as much as she loved her horse.
“Ahhhh… Do you remember the day my parents gave me these?” She held them against her chest. They were slightly dinged up, but they were her favorite.
“Yep. You wore them every day for a month, even down to the cove in your bathing suit.”
“Hey, good boots are like a good man. They’re even better when you break them in.” She chuckled, but I still saw the pain in her eyes.
“I’m here. The boots are here. Let’s eat.”
“Fine. Give me five minutes to change and brush my hair.”
“All right,” I said as I scrolled through my phone and answered a few emails.
Five minutes later, Reese came strolling out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of jeans, a navy hoodie, and her white cowboy boots. Her golden-brown hair was pulled back into a braid that hung over her shoulder. Her face was clean of makeup, and she was fucking gorgeous.
She’d never had to try. She’d always been the prettiest girl I’d ever known, and I’d told her as much more times than I could count.
“Better?” she asked.
“Well, you don’t smell like despair anymore,” I said, wrapping my arms around her and breathing her in. She smelled like violet and amber.
It had always been my favorite scent.
Reese Murphy had always smelled like home.
She laughed and took a step back, reaching for her phone and purse as we made our way out into the crisp fall air.
Once we were settled at our table, we both sipped our iced tea and waited for our burgers.
My phone vibrated multiple times, and I glanced down to see several messages from my agent.
Angelique
You’re in fucking London? I talked to you a few days ago, and you were chilling at home. I’m guessing you went to get Reese?
Angelique
When I said to find a girlfriend, I didn’t mean for you to leave the country to make it happen. But I am so here for this.
There were several texts from my siblings in the group chat, with screenshots of the selfie I’d taken with the driver who’d given me a ride from the airport.
“Good Christ. The fucking driver posted a photo of me and him, saying I was in London to see my girl,” I groaned.
She put her glass down just as the burgers were set in front of us. “What did you tell him?”
“That I was in fucking London to see my girl.” I reached for my burger and took a large bite.
“Well, you’re a superstar now, Chewy. You can’t say things like that. What is Angelique saying? Does she want you to clear it up?”
“Hell, no. With this whole Jessica Carson disaster, she wants me to be in a relationship. But you know I haven’t been going out. I’ve been keeping a low profile.”
“Don’t let Jessica force you into hiding.”
“That’s the thing. Like I’ve told you before, I just haven’t felt like it. I don’t know. I guess I’m enjoying some downtime, you know? It’s been a tough year with you gone, and now that I’m done filming for a little bit, I’m not busy at work, and I guess I just haven’t had any desire to go out on a date.”
She nodded as she bit off the top of a french fry. “I get that. I’ve been in a real funk, too. I mean the work… I told you that it was amazing. But I haven’t gone on a single date in the past year because I thought I was kind of still engaged. I just didn’t think it was really over. So, it looks like we’re both in a rut.”
“You still want to get back with that dude after this?” I asked, shaking my head and crossing my arms over my chest.
Reese and I didn’t disagree often. We’d always had one another’s backs. But when it came to Carl, we didn’t see eye to eye.
I’d never cared for the guy.
“I’m the one who left. I put my job before my relationship. He’s not the bad guy here, Chewy.”
He was always the bad guy in my mind.
“You did something that you wanted to do. He’s always done what he wanted to do, and you’ve supported him.”
She shrugged. “You’ve hated him ever since senior year soccer tryouts.”
“Damn straight. It was a timed two-mile run. He cut it short one lap. It was the honor system. I never trusted him after that.”
I’d set the record that year for the fastest two-mile run on our soccer team, and that bastard cuts a lap and tries to say he beat me? I led the whole goddamn race. It took a lot to piss me off, but the fact that he was a cheat and dating my best friend—I’d never forgotten it.
It’s all about integrity, man.
And Carl Barley didn’t have any.
He might be a doctor now, but the man would always be the guy who not only cut the run short but also said that he’d set the record for the fastest time. He’d tried to double down. Thankfully, Coach Dugger was paying attention. Carl then pretended it was an oversight.
Oversight my ass, you cheating bastard.
She chuckled before letting her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah? So, you’ll come home with me?”
She closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair. She hadn’t had more than two bites of her burger and a few french fries. “I’m a mess. I have no plan now.”
“Bullshit. You’ll live with me. I was hiring you anyway to decorate the house. The renovations are done, and now I need to finish furnishing the place, get window coverings, and all of that. You’ll be living there while you get it put together. It’s a perfect plan. And I’ll be the first client at your new business, so get ready for everyone in town to be knocking down your door.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“It’s all coming together.”
“It’s a start. I’ll just do what I can to avoid them. I’m not ready to see him with her, you know?” I heard the hurt in her voice, and rage coursed my veins. I’d always been protective of Reese, and that would never change.
“I’ve got you. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“I’d be lost without you, Chewy.”
“Well, you’ll never be without me. And I’d be the one who’d be lost. It’s been the best year of my life professionally, and I felt really—off. I didn’t like you being gone. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m proud as hell of you, but I missed you like crazy, Miney.”
She smiled. The first real smile I’d seen since I arrived.
“That’s because we’re peas and carrots, right?” she teased. It’s what our mothers had always said since we were young.
And damn, had they been right.
Because this girl had always completed me in a way I’d never understood.