“But I ran the hardest part of the trail. There were more hills on the first end.”
Yeah, that was a lie. They weren’t any hills.
He winked. “Of course, you did, honey.”
I wiggled my toes again. “So who taught you how to be a good boyfriend? Your last girlfriend was in high school, right? What was her name?”
“Yes.” He paused briefly and then started kneading at the balls of my feet. “Her name was Margo.”
“How long did you guys date?”
“A little over a year.”
“Why did you break up?”
“We didn’t.” He turned on the bench to face me. “She died at the end of our senior year.”
Whoa. That had been unexpected. In the past, before Thatch, I would’ve shied away from going further with this conversation and tried to lighten the tone, but I didn’t want to do that.
“Wow, Thatch…I’m so sorry…I don’t really know what else to say.”
“It was a long time ago,” he reassured. “When it happened, of course, I was devastated. But as time passed, and wounds healed, I knew that my relationship with Margo was a huge part of my life because of the way it ended, not because of the actual relationship we had. We were both young, wild, and selfish. If she had lived, and every day I wish she had, I know Margo and I wouldn’t have been sitting here together on this park bench. I just wish she could have had the opportunity to spread her wings and really fly, really find herself.”
My heart grew two sizes bigger inside my chest. There were so many facets to Thatch’s personality, so many tiny particulars and huge guarantees, but underneath all of that charming swagger and good-natured sense of humor was a good man. The best man.
I reached out my hand and grabbed his, squeezing it gently.
He smiled softly in response. My lips mimicked his, and I didn’t try to stop the permeating affection from showing beneath my eyes. I wanted him to know I cared. I wanted him to know he was easily becoming my whole world.
Phil snorted in my lap. His little eyes peeked open and glanced around the outside oasis.
Thatch grinned down at him and then his eyes met mine again, “Ready to go home?”
Home. I couldn’t deny my first thought was, Home is wherever you are now.
“Yeah, baby, let’s go home.”
“So you’re good to get him to Monarch tonight, right?” Georgia asked as I stepped into the crosswalk with the phone to my ear.
Kline’s birthday party was finally upon us, and we were all just living in Georgia’s world until it was over.
I shook my head and smiled at the near panic in her sweet voice. “I won’t let you down. I’ll get him there no matter what it takes.”
A bike messenger weaved up and around me to cut in front of the pedestrians. Cabs and cars filled the streets, the height of the commuting hour packing a half a dozen extra sardines into the can.
“But, like, you’re not gonna drug him, right?”
A startled bark of laughter had the people in front of me looking over their shoulders. I ignored them and focused on the woman at my ear. “No. I won’t be taking advantage of your husband in any way. But I will carry him there if I have to.”
“Good.”
“Not good,” I corrected. “If I have to physically carry your husband to his party tonight, you better start planning my funeral.”
She giggled. “Okay. At least I’ve gotten a little practice at event planning, so I’ll make sure it’s nice.”
“That’s not really comforting at all.”
“I’ll also make sure Cassie puts a picture of her boobs in the casket with you.”
I smiled at the visual. “Okay, I’m feeling slightly comforted now.”
“Fantastic!”
I heard some guy hoot in the background, and my eyebrows pulled together as I made my way across 5th Avenue. There was never any shortage of people talking to you when you didn’t want them to, men hooting at the attractive women, as though yelling at them gave them a chance, or crazy people forgetting the meaning of personal space. But as hard as I focused my ears, I couldn’t figure out which of those scenarios Georgia was currently encountering.
“Where are you? Do you need me to do anything else? I’ve got about an hour before rugby practice. I’m just running by the tattoo shop to make sure Frankie’s good, but I can skip it if you need something.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ve got everything covered. I’m meeting Cass in just a few minutes, and then we’re going over to the bar to finish setting up.”
Three beats in the space of what should have been one, my heart sped up at the mention of my roommate and lover. It was unexpected but not completely unwelcome. Still, the feeling was overpowering, so I tried to distract myself with meaningless questions.
“What did you tell Kline? I can’t imagine he likes the idea of not being with you on his birthday.”