by Jean Oram
“What do you mean?” She tried to stay relaxed, but every cell went on hyperalert.
“Here. Us.”
“Friendship is a commitment. This is no different.” She had to believe the idea that love would always find a way. “Did I ask for more than that?”
“But you deserve more.” There was something in his eyes, as if he was searching her expression for an answer.
Sometimes we simply have to step out of the way to let love reign, to let it guide us, soften our edges and make us whole.
She was trying to get out of her own way and let love do its thing, but it didn’t seem as though Todd was quite there yet.
“If you’re going to say you don’t deserve me,” she said hurriedly, “you’re my best friend and after earning my degree I wouldn’t have traveled the world with someone undeserving. I would have gone and gotten a real job.” She turned in his embrace, her voice kind, yet firm. “We don’t even know what this is yet. Let’s just take it as it comes. Right now we’re friends with benefits.”
Neither of them were going to run.
Not this time.
* * *
Hours later, they made waffles and eggs, sipping coffee like a real couple. Like friends.
Nicola smiled over the rim of her cup, determined not to make anything big out of what they had. Because they had their friendship. And they had benefits. Very awesome benefits, and right now it didn’t need to be anything more than that.
“So, sexy man. Any plans for the day?” she asked.
“I’m thinking I may take my best friend to bed in an hour or so.” He pretended to check his nonexistent watch. “If she’s available.”
Twiggy, who’d been begging for Todd’s waffle scraps, let out a little yip.
Nicola laughed, then pretended to flip through a day planner. “It looks like you may be in luck, Mr. Haber. She’s got an opening in her schedule in about forty minutes.”
“Schedule?” He leaned closer, his gaze predatory. “Talk dirty to me, baby.”
She giggled as he pushed his empty plate away, standing in his boxers and T-shirt. In one swift move he had her over his shoulder and was tearing back to the bedroom, the dog barking in excitement.
“Tell her to free her schedule immediately because her boyfriend’s in town.”
Boyfriend? It didn’t get any better than this. Heck, the way she felt right now she’d leave Blueberry Springs and follow him to the moon if he asked.
He tossed her onto the bed before shucking his shirt. The lack of oxygen in her system hit sudden low levels and she sucked in a dizzying breath, trying to pull her gaze away from his firm chest and tapered waist. He was hers to drink in and the knowledge sent her body spinning into a new round of dizziness.
“What are you doing next weekend?” she breathed, releasing the hair clip that had her hair pinned back. Her short locks tumbled down to frame her face.
“Whatever you’re doing,” he replied confidently.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
She scooted toward the head of the bed, discarding her pj pants in the process. “It’s boring.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I’m helping out at the continuing care center. There’s this old lady named Gran who cracks me up, and I promised I’d help her rearrange her suite when her boyfriend was out playing horseshoes.”
“She doesn’t have family?”
“She does, but they’ll be keeping Reggie busy. It’s a clandestine mission and we could use some muscle.” She knelt, crawling forward to trail a hand down Todd’s bare biceps. How had she not noticed just how incredibly sexy her best friend was? It must have been some sort of form of self-preservation that had denied her from noting the panty-melting levels of hotness he possessed. She licked her lower lip, watching him through her lashes.
His gaze darkened as he joined her on the bed, saying in a low rumble, “Then consider me there.”
His lips met hers for a lingering kiss. She cupped his cheeks when they broke apart, nose to nose. “This is even better than I could have imagined.”
“I agree,” he growled, pulling her hips to his.
“You’re…” She took a deep breath, her eyes darting over his face, searching for answers, clues.
“You look worried.”
“I—you mean a lot to me.”
He sat back on his heels. “You mean a lot to me, too.”
“I want this.”
Really want this.
So much so it scared her with its intensity. Every time they came together it was more powerful, more consuming. It was exciting and thrilling and yet she still feared it would all come crashing down. She wasn’t sure she could survive losing him again. Survive losing this. Because as much as she kidded herself, she was in deep. She wanted forever.
“I want this, too, Nic.”
“Promise we’ll always be friends,” she asked desperately. “No matter what.”
“I promise.”
Knowing it was all she could ask for, she closed her eyes and finally let herself fall.
Chapter 6
“Why are you grinning?” Jill’s hands froze over the stack of folders she’d just heaved onto Nicola’s desk. “You’re never this happy about hordes of paperwork.”
She leaned a hip against the desk. “This means you either had an absolutely horrible weekend—like Mandy. Ugh. Did you hear? She barfed all over the sidewalk. Liz thinks she’s preggo, but it’s obviously that awful flu that’s going around. Everyone’s yakking all over the place.” She shuddered, and Nicola let out a disgusted sound at the mental image.
Jill cheerfully continued, “And so after your horrid weekend you find the idea of mind-numbing work incredibly appealing because it’ll take your attention off your sorrows. Or…” She paused for dramatic effect. “You had an amazing weekend with someone and can’t stop grinning because—” she bent lower so she couldn’t be seen over the cubicle wall, and whispered, “―you can’t even walk straight today, the sex was so incredible.”
Nicola tried to hide her growing and very telling smile.
“No!” Jill clapped a hand over her mouth, yanking the chair from Don’s neighboring cubicle so she could sit beside Nicola. “Todd?”
She nodded vigorously.
“No. Way.”
“Yes. Way.”
“And it was good?”
Nicola fanned herself for effect.
“Where’s my chair?” Don called out. He handed Nicola a cup of coffee over the cubby wall. “Jill, quit stealing my chair. The arthritis in my ankles—”
“Sorry!” She popped up with a grimace and wheeled the chair out of Nicola’s cubicle, then caught sight of the reindeer cup in his hand. “That was supposed to be put away last Christmas!”
“I like this cup.”
“No. I specifically told everyone to bring me all holiday-themed stoneware and you did not.”
Nicola gave Don a smug I-told-you-so look behind Jill’s back. She’d been warning him for months to keep his favorite mug hidden so Jill wouldn’t snatch it and pack it away.
The office staff had nearly undone her with their pranks last January by hiding decorations as she strived to de-holiday the place. Then, one by one, they’d put a Santa back up here, a string of garland there, slowly driving her mad. Christmas stuff had become a hot button for the poor woman.
Don shrugged while taking a sip of his coffee. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Jill scowled at him, hands on her hips. Maintaining eye contact, she pointedly sat in the not-yet-returned chair. “For that I’m going to fart on it.”
“Because stealing it from a man who’s only a year from retirement isn’t undignified enough?”
Nicola shook her head as the two continued to bicker in the aisle, opening one of the files Jill had brought her.
“Oh, fine,” Jill said finally, returning to Nicola’s cubicle in a huff. “He always wins, doesn’t he?”
“Pretty much,” she confirmed.
Her friend made herself comfortable on the edge of the desk. She crossed her arms and leaned closer. “Tell me all.”
Nicola waited to ensure Don was happily seated again, then hurriedly filled her friend in on the details of her weekend.
“Did he say ‘I love you’?”
“No.”
“But you love him?”
“It might be love,” she said coyly, rearranging her stacks of sticky notes.
“It so totally is. Amber and Mandy called that one.”
“I’m sorry,” Nicola said suddenly, knowing Jill had backed away from him, but could still have a crush on him. “You and Todd…”
“Nah.” She waved a hand through the air. “He’s cute, but obviously into you. More fish in the sea and all that.”
“Sorry.”
“For falling in love? Never apologize for that.” She dipped a hand into the bag of candy drops on Nicola’s desk. “Is he going to come to your next date night?”
“Social night?” Nicola teased.
“Yeah, whatever. Everyone knows it’s just a hookup in disguise.”
“We’re going to help Gran rearrange her suite in long-term care.”
“Romantic. You’ve already skipped the honeymoon and moved on to the domestic stuff. Wedding in a week? Or will that be matching jackets and finishing each other’s sentences?” she teased, then slipped away with a silent wave as their boss came closer, looking as though he was on a mission.
Nicola frowned at Jill’s parting words. Was their plan too boring for their first official, full weekend together as a couple? Was she unconsciously trying to sabotage their relationship by making it as dull and uneventful as possible, so he’d make his exit sooner rather than later?
But what about the woman he’d been seeing in February? He’d tried to stick around to make it work. Maybe he was ready for this and she was just looking for reasons to freak out.
Andy cleared his throat, standing in her cubicle doorway, looking stressed. “We lost another lease. When can I expect a miracle?”
“About the time some deities decide to make it so.” Nicola handed him a poster for her events. “We’re already under way and the preliminary feedback is good. These things take time, Andy.”
He rubbed a hand down his face. “Okay. Just…”
“It’ll be okay.”
“If it doesn’t work we’ll all be out on our ears.”
Nicola nodded, dread growing in the pit of her stomach.
No. If this flopped and she did end up out on her ear she could go travel the world with Todd again. Sure, not an ideal way to end her love affair with Blueberry Springs, but life was life and it was what you made of it.
She let out a chirpy “You betcha!” then knocked Andy in the arm with her fist and began punching in the number for someone who’d called during her break for more info about the social nights.
Andy didn’t move.
She held the receiver, keeping the plunger depressed so the call wouldn’t connect. “Yes?”
“Is there something wrong with you?”
She felt taken aback. “What do you mean?”
Her boss continued to stare at her. “You’re…different.”
She thought about that for a moment. “Andy, I’m happy.”
“Oh. All right then. Carry on.”
She shook her head, blinking at the comment. Her mental train temporarily derailed, she hung up the phone and dived into the files, determined not to work a minute of overtime today.
At lunch she hurried to retrieve Twiggy from home, then headed to the park, where her dog could do his thing while she chatted with Todd over the phone. She didn’t want to miss chatting today since he had to take an overnight work trip tomorrow and they probably wouldn’t get a chance to chat again until later in the week and all she wanted to do right now was spend every second with him whether in person or over the phone.
She’d just settled onto the bench with her cell and sandwich when she heard a familiar voice call out, “There she is!”
It was Aunt Mary Alice calling out to her, Aunt Liz in tow, two of the town’s biggest gossips, as well as most helpful ladies Nicola had ever met.
Mary Alice gave her a hug that smelled of lilacs as Twiggy wound his leash around her ankles.
“You gave up smoking for good?” Nicola asked, untangling the dog and not at all missing the stale smell of cigarettes that used to surround her aunt.
“I did. Forty-two days now.”
“Nicola,” Liz said, settling beside her on the bench. “I want to do a series of articles about your mystery dates.”
“Social nights,” she corrected automatically. Her aunt had done articles for various papers following her travel adventures. She’d always brought out the fun in Nicola’s exploits and made her feel as though she was truly doing something exciting. Living the life and all that good stuff.
Liz added as an aside to her sister, “Those forty-two days feels like forty-two years.”
“I’ve been good,” Mary Alice protested.
“Right.” Liz pursed her lips. “You noticed my head was missing, did you?”
“You finally lost it?”
“No, you bit it off.”
The sisters began bickering, proving that Mary Alice quitting smoking wasn’t all just a bouquet of lilacs.
“I’m going to chat with Todd.” Nicola picked up her lunch to move benches, unsure whether they’d heard her or not.
They promptly turned back, their attention focused like missiles locked and loaded. Uh-oh.
“What’s this about you and Todd being in love?” Mary Alice asked.
“Did he propose?” Liz inquired.
“Is he moving to town?”
“You’re not leaving again, are you?”
Nicola lifted her hands, silently waiting for her excited aunts to take it down a notch. She considered which question to answer first, but ended up just grinning.
“You’re in love,” Liz said with a sigh of contentment.
“Finally,” Mary Alice added.
“Or at least finally fessing up to it,” Liz commented.
“Took them long enough.”
“All that moping around.”
“Oh, that was bad, wasn’t it?”
“We haven’t said the words yet,” Nicola interjected, before they could dig into how awful she’d been while she and Todd hadn’t been talking. “But, yeah, it’s good. We’re happy. So, just…you know. Chill a bit, okay?” She had visions of the sisters tag-teaming Todd with questions about his intentions and sending him running for the hills. She didn’t exactly want them drilling her for information, but she’d willingly take the hit if it offered Todd protection.
“So he’s your boyfriend?” Liz asked.
“Yes.”
“I thought you said he was a playboy,” Mary Alice mused.
“Think he’ll be good to her?” Liz asked her sister, as though Nicola wasn’t there.
“If he doesn’t, we know what to do.” The two shared a look that made Nicola uneasy.
“She’s just like her father,” Mary Alice said, nodding.
“I am nothing like my father.” Indignation welled up inside Nicola like a flash flood. Her father was a grumpy lump who never went anywhere or did anything. She was nothing like that.
“Same expression,” Liz murmured, patting Twiggy’s head as he jumped up on the bench beside her.
“Todd and I are taking it slow,” Nicola said, feeling as though she needed to reinforce that point so her aunts didn’t scare him away with wedding plans and shotguns.
“That’s not what I heard from her neighbors,” Mary Alice muttered to Liz, who choked on a giggle.
Nicola sucked in a sharp breath. Oh, no. Not all over town.
Yes, of course all over town. This was Blueberry Springs.
“So,” she said cheerfully, trying to wash her mind of the humiliation. It didn’t matter. She and Todd
were happy. So happy. The neighbors and town could just get over it.
Her phone vibrated in her hand and she glanced at the screen, her heart lifting. “It’s Todd.”
“Well, don’t keep him waiting,” Liz said, jumping to her feet. “You have a lunch date to keep.”
“Long distance relationships are difficult,” Mary Alice said, giving Nicola a quick hug. “You must miss him.”
“Mary Alice!” Liz nagged, pulling at her sister.
“You two are perfect for each other!” they called in unison as they moved away.
“I know!” she called back, waving her phone before answering it.
They were perfect. Neither of them wanted fast or crazy. They only wanted each other, and the rest was just details.
* * *
Nicola skipped into work, her new, permanent grin fully secured. She and Todd were everything she’d dreamed of and they had been rocking a relationship for a full three weeks now.
She sighed happily as she sat in front of her computer, zipping through the approvals of several property setbacks that had come in since yesterday. Tonight she was going to drive the two hours to the city to hang out with Todd after work. She didn’t have a social night to run until tomorrow night, which gave them almost twenty-four hours together. They planned on going to the movies, then back to his place. They would spend the night blissfully wrapped up in each other, then laze around all morning. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend her Friday and Saturday than in the consuming whirlwind of happiness she felt when around Todd. Her boyfriend.
He hadn’t run.
She wasn’t boring just because she wasn’t traveling with him.
They were rocking this.
“Nicola?” her boss asked, breaking her stride as she moved on to the next task, tackling it with fervor. The faster she finished, the faster she could duck out for the weekend. With the extra hours she’d been putting in, organizing the social nights, she was sure he’d let her go early if she was done with her paperwork.
Once in the city, she’d stop at the deli Todd liked and pick up supper. Maybe their favorite tequila, too. And those candy hearts with the little messages on them. It was long past Valentine’s Day, but maybe she could find some at the specialty candy store a few blocks from his place.