The sun had set behind a bank of rain clouds by the time June arrived in Portland, after another plane change and a goodbye to her friends with lots of promises to let them know the minute Lance contacted her. As June climbed into her car she’d left in long-term parking, the familiar surroundings started to rush back. Although her car, and everything in it, was familiar, June felt that she was different. She had changed. The old, insecure June was no more. In her place was the June who had renewed hope, who was falling in love with a great guy, and who’d finally let go of her bad relationship with Kevin.
June turned on her car, then wrapped her hands around the steering wheel. If she really had changed, then she wasn’t going to let small worries keep her from calling Lance. He said he’d call her once he was back in Vancouver, but it wasn’t like June had to follow any rule book. She’d spent the past several days with the man—she ought to have some confidence in their relationship.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she picked up her cell phone and called Lance’s number. It rang three times before he answered. “Hey.”
The sound of his low voice sent a tremor through June. “Hey,” she said, her mind suddenly racing. She hadn’t planned what to say. “I just got to Portland.”
“Good news,” he said. “How’s the weather?”
She looked down the long end of the parking garage. “Looks like rain.”
He chuckled, and his voice seemed to reach across the Pacific and wrap around her. She really missed him. Which might make her a bit crazy.
“So...” June started. “Just wanted to say hi. I won’t keep you.”
“You can keep me,” Lance said.
June blushed at the way he’d turned her clichéd phrase into something more personal. His flirting was a good sign, especially now that they were apart.
“Good flight?” Lance said after her silence.
“Yeah, we all took naps,” June said. “It will take a few days to get readjusted, I’m sure.”
“Agreed,” Lance said. “Well, I’m meeting Steve and his family soon.”
“Oh, no problem,” June said. “Thanks for answering.”
“Thanks for calling.”
The phone call was way too short for June, and she hung up after saying goodbye, wondering if she’d sounded too forward or eager or clingy, or whatever it was that drove men away early in a relationship. She didn’t want to be any of those things, but the emptiness that had started growing inside of her after she left Maui was only getting wider.
June exhaled. She’d called him. He’d answered. It was a nice but short conversation. She had to allow herself to be content with that. And then... when he returned... She had to hope she wasn’t about to get her heart broken.
The drive back to her apartment raced by as her thoughts stayed preoccupied with all things Lance. When she stepped into her apartment, the first thing she noticed was the stale and musty smell. Even though a light drizzle had started, she opened all the windows, then surveyed the refrigerator to see if there was anything that needed to be tossed.
Her cell buzzed, and her heart stuttered as she grabbed for it. Instead of Lance’s name, though, it was Kevin’s, her ex-boyfriend. She stared at the incoming call in disbelief. Talk about poor timing, or perfect timing, depending on how one looked at it.
“Hello?” June said, answering her phone. It had been months since their break-up, and now with Maui behind her, and Lance on the horizon, she knew she’d never be interested in someone like Kevin again.
“Hey, babe,” Kevin said.
The way he’d called her babe had seemed charming and romantic when they first started dating, but when June found out he called every woman babe, she stopped being flattered.
“It’s been a... long time, Kevin,” she said.
His chuckle was low and dry. Almost raspy, as if he’d taken up smoking again. “Yeah, I’ve missed you.”
June closed her eyes and leaned against the kitchen table. She didn’t want to deal with this—with Kevin. Before Maui, she might have let him wriggle his way back into dating her, but she was post-Maui.
“What do you miss about me, Kevin?” June asked.
He paused, and June knew her question surprised him. When he next spoke, his voice was less confident. “Everything, June. I don’t think I could narrow it down to one thing.”
“Try.” She sat on the kitchen chair and smiled to herself. She was enjoying this.
“Uh, you always look great and dress nice,” Kevin said, his tone returning back to what he must think was sexy-sounding.
“Thanks,” June said. “Although, when we broke up, I became really depressed. I gained about fifty pounds since I last saw you.” She had a hard time saying it all without laughing.
There was a long silence on Kevin’s end. And June had to literally cover her mouth with her hand to keep from giving herself away.
“I’m sure you still look great,” Kevin said, completely unconvincing. “Being healthy is what’s important, right? Are you exercising?”
If June hadn’t been so over Kevin and completely lying to him, she would have been angry at his question. Instead, she said, “I twisted my ankle, so the doctor told me to take it easy for at least a year, maybe two.” She really should hang up now and give the guy a break, but it was too late now.
“Oh, wow,” Kevin said in a slow voice, as if he was trying to decide what to say next. “I’m really sorry about your ankle. Hey, uh, I’ve got another call coming in, but it was nice catching up.”
June didn’t even bother saying goodbye, because Kevin had already clicked off. She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet on the kitchen table. She sat with her phone in her hand, listening to the sound of rain through the open windows. She wasn’t entirely happy with saying those things to Kevin, but it had been cathartic. She was definitely a different June, and she had Lance to thank for it. She hoped he wouldn’t break her heart for real.
June paced her apartment floor. It had been a week since she’d returned from Maui, and she’d spent the past five days working in the Portland office and attending corporate reviews and meetings. Lance had texted a few times—eight times, to be exact—but they were all really general, completely platonic texts. Nothing about missing her. Nothing about getting together soon. Until about an hour ago.
Are you free tonight? he’d texted.
June had bolted upright from her office chair when she’d read it. Yet, she made herself wait nine minutes before responding. I am. What do you have in mind? As soon as she sent it, she regretted it. Was she being too eager, too obvious? After her disaster phone call with Kevin, she was starting to second-guess everything. She’d been pretty cruel to Kevin and now couldn’t hold herself on a pedestal any longer when it came to relationship games. And she so didn’t want to be playing any games with Lance.
She liked him, and he liked her, so couldn’t they make it work? Even with the geographical distance between them.
Lance’s next text had read: I can come to your place. We need to talk.
June had sent over her address, and Lance hadn’t given her any more clues. It was nearly killing her. He’d said about 8:00 p.m., and it was now 8:25 p.m. June once again stood by the window and gazing down into the parking lot, she watched for any cars pulling in. Or a car she didn’t recognize already parked. And then she saw him, or who she thought must be him. He wore a dark jacket, and his hands were in his jeans pockets as he scanned the numbers of the apartments while standing on the sidewalk below.
She stepped back from the window as he lifted his head to look up. She didn’t know if she could wait to find out what was going on one more minute. Fortunately, Sydney and Maria hadn’t been bugging her too much about the non-responsive Lance. When she’d told them she and Lance had been texting, that seemed to satisfy them for the time being. But she hadn’t told her friends about this newest development. She wondered what she’d be telling them after Lance left—good news or depressing news?
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The knock on her door startled her; she’d been lost in her thoughts. She exhaled slowly, then crossed to the door, casting a frantic glance about her place, only to see that everything was clean.
As she swung the door open, she wasn’t prepared for her own reaction at seeing him. Coming face to face with Lance again opened a flood of memories she’d only been allowing herself to think about before falling asleep at night.
Lance didn’t make a move toward her but gazed at her, his eyes scanning her face, as if he was looking for something in her own expression.
“Hi Lance,” June said, attempting a smile. Why was he so somber?
“Hi,” he said simply.
“Come in,” she said, her nerves buzzing inside of her at the sound of his voice. She hadn’t heard it since that phone call in the Portland airport. She stepped to the side, and Lance walked in, passing by her so June caught his scent. Her grip on the doorknob tightened; his familiar scent almost undid her.
She shut the door with a shaking hand and took a deep breath before turning to face Lance.
He was slowly walking about the front room, looking at the artwork on her walls—which amounted to random flower paintings she’d collected at garage sales over the years. His hands remained in his pockets, and he still hadn’t smiled at her.
She stayed in the entryway, not knowing what to do. When he finally turned toward her, she asked, “Do you want a drink or anything?”
“Uh, no, it’s okay.” His blue-green eyes again scanned her face.
He was nervous, and June didn’t think that was a good sign. In Maui, he’d been confident, seemingly sure of what he wanted, but here in her living room...
“Would you like to have a seat?” June asked, cringing at her own formality.
Lance scrubbed a hand through his hair. He looked behind him, as if noticing the couple of chairs and couch for the first time. Then he sat on the edge of one of the chairs.
June took the couch, sitting on the edge as well. She had a feeling this might be a really short talk. She had no idea what he might say—had he gotten back together with his ex-wife? Maybe he’d had a girlfriend this whole time and was feeling guilty. At least he was doing the stand-up thing and telling her in person.
“Look,” Lance began, his hand combing through his hair again. “First, I want to apologize. I haven’t been blowing you off. I mean, I’ve sort of been avoiding this talk.”
Both June’s heart and stomach plummeted. “This talk” could only mean one thing. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She blinked rapidly and kept her gaze on Lance. She was a big girl and could listen to what he had to say. It had been too good to be true on Maui. They’d clicked too perfectly. They’d related too easily.
She clasped her hands together tightly as she waited for him to continue.
“Right after you called me in Portland, I checked my e-mail before going to see Steve,” he started in a hesitant voice, as if he really didn’t want to confess what he was about to tell her. “There was a lawsuit notification from Kerri. She’s suing me for half the company—the company I started before we were married. Yes, she worked for me, but she was always on payroll, even when we were married. I didn’t want her doing sweat equity like me. At one point, I almost added her as a partner, but I never got around to it. When we divorced, I was grateful I hadn’t.”
June could only stare at him. This wasn’t even close to what she was expecting to hear, and she had no idea where he was going with it.
“I never made it to Steve’s that night,” Lance said. “I called a friend of mine who’s a lawyer, and he referred me to another friend of his who could handle my type of case. So, long story short, it’s already getting really ugly.” He closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his face. “The last day in Maui was spent in phone calls and emails and research as to what I’m up against. She’s claiming I doctored the accounts and cheated on our taxes and hid money from her.” He opened his eyes again and met her startled gaze. “So basically, my life’s going to really suck during this process—and it will take several months, possibly for a year or two.”
“I’m really sorry,” June managed to say. She felt like she was floundering. Kerri was an absolute witch, and June could already see the toll it was taking on the Lance she’d gotten to know in Maui. “Can I help you with the case? I’m good with numbers.”
Lance’s expression brightened for a moment; then the worry descended again. “I can’t ask you to do that,” he said with a sigh, rubbing his hands on his jeans as if his palms were sweaty. “I feel like I’m dog-paddling in a huge ocean. Even though my lawyer is confident we’ll beat Kerri in court, it’s going to be a pain to fight.”
June nodded. She didn’t know a lot about court cases, but from everything she’d ever read or heard, she knew they dragged on and on. She tilted her head and studied the strong, gorgeous man sitting across from her and noticed the way his shoulders hunched and he kept moving as if he wasn’t able to relax or get comfortable.
He wasn’t getting back together with his ex, and as far as she knew, he didn’t have a secret girlfriend somewhere. He was the Lance she’d met in Maui, her Lance, and he was hurting.
“Hey,” she said in a quiet voice, rising to her feet and crossing to him. “Come here.” She grasped his hand and tugged him upward. He followed her lead and stood, confusion marking his handsome features. She wrapped her arms about his torso, and seconds later, his arms came around her. Nestling against him, she said, “You’ve got a lawyer, and he’ll figure everything out. If he’s confident you can win, then you have to trust in that. We have to trust in that.”
Lance drew back, looking down at her, but not releasing her. “That’s the other thing. I can’t ask you to go through this too. It’s not fair. I can’t focus on anything else right now, and I’m barely getting my work done as it is.” He released a frustrated sigh. “Even though I’m exhausted, I can barely sleep.”
“That’s because you’re trying to do it all yourself,” June said. “Let me help. I’ll come to your meetings with your lawyer, and I can help with whatever—research, verifying numbers, anything.”
He stared down at her for a moment, his gaze uncertain. She couldn’t stand the pain in his eyes, couldn’t stand the thought of another woman putting it there. Raising up on her toes, she kissed his cheek. “I’m serious, Lance. I want to help. You don’t have to do this alone.”
Slowly, he nodded, still looking at her, as if he was afraid she’d back out of her offer.
“How can I ask you that?” he asked. “I mean, Maui was great—the best week of my life—but you didn’t sign up to be in the middle of this crap.”
“I didn’t sign up, you’re right,” she said. “But neither did you. And that’s how it is in relationships. We can help each other.”
He lifted a hand and touched her cheek. June sighed and leaned into the warmth of his touch.
“How can I help you, then?” Lance asked, his voice softer, his eyes filling with hope.
“Hmm,” June said, running her hands up his chest, then circling them around his neck. “You can start by kissing me hello.” She tugged him toward her, but she didn’t need to. He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers.
It was only a feather-light kiss, then Lance drew away. “Thank you, June.”
She smiled, and he smiled back. Her heart soared at the sight of some of the light returning to his eyes as he gazed at her. This was what she wanted—he was who she wanted. Whether it was in the Portland rain or beneath the Maui sun, Lance was worth it.
“Kiss me again, Lance,” June whispered. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
Lance chuckled, and June’s heart lifted. She’d been so afraid, so worried. But Lance still wanted her, still cared for her, and that was all that mattered. They’d work together on the rest. Lance kissed her, pulling her tightly against him, and June’s body heated wherever he touched her.
“I thought M
aui was paradise,” Lance said between kisses. “But being wherever you are is paradise, June.”
June could live with that. She gave herself over to Lance’s touch and decided it was time to create new memories together.
Maria smoothed the striped skirt over her hips, wondering if the pattern was too bold for the employee meeting that morning. The company emails about the new dress policies had been quite clear, and over the past couple of weeks she’d worn less color and fewer accessories and tried to tone down her colorful and patterned wardrobe. But she wasn’t about to purchase a new wardrobe for a job she’d been working at for nearly a year. Successfully, she might add.
She bypassed her favorite silver hoop earrings and picked up the gold love knots that were almost too small to see. Then she twisted back her dark wavy hair and added a plain black clip. There. Her image in the mirror said she was conservative, didn’t it? She’d even chosen a pale pink lipstick versus her usual candy red.
Maria grabbed her purse and keys and phone and headed out of her apartment in a trendy community on the edge of Seattle. The drive wasn’t far in miles, but Seattle traffic could be horrible.
Her phone notified her of a series of text messages coming through from her best friends, Sydney and June. The three of them had graduated from high school together and had been college roommates at Washington University. Now they were spread out along the West Coast at their various jobs. Twice a year, they got together for girls-only weekends.
Good luck this morning, Sydney had texted.
Update us after the meeting, June added.
Maria worked for a small Internet marketing firm, which had recently been acquired by a larger company. That was when the emails had started coming in with all the new company policies, sent out by their new manager, Walker Harris, whom they all would meet this morning for the first time. The new company policies included that lunch was restricted to forty-five minutes; quarterly reports were now monthly reports; no plants or other organic matter was allowed (which she planned to fight); and everyone was expected to work one Saturday a month.
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