Until There Was Us

by Samantha Chase

  “That sounds great! I’ll see you then!” When Megan hung up, she felt a little more relaxed. This wasn’t a move across the country where she didn’t know anyone; she was going to be with family, and that made her smile.

  With the phone still in her hand, she knew she needed to let her own family know she’d landed safely and was on her way to Summer’s. Her mother had been overly anxious about this trip—and not in an I’m-going-to-miss-you way but in an I’m-very-excited-for-you one. Which was weird. For all the years she had been hounding Megan about moving closer to home, she was suddenly her number one cheerleader for moving to the other side of the country.

  Definitely weird.

  With a sigh because all she wanted was to close her eyes for a few minutes and unwind, she turned toward Summer. “Would you mind if I give my mom a quick call? I should have done it while I was waiting for my luggage, but…”

  Summer laughed. “Go for it. I know my mother went a little crazy when I moved here and was on the phone with me constantly at first. So I understand.”

  With a quick nod, Megan hit Send on her mother’s number and waited for her to answer.

  “Are you there? Was your flight okay? Are you with Summer?” her mother said as a greeting.

  Her anxious tone had Megan laughing softly. “Hi, Mom. Yes, I’m here, my flight was a little less than ideal, and I’m in the car with Summer and Amber right now.”

  “Oh, she brought Amber with her? How sweet! You’ll have to send me some pictures!”

  “We’re in the car, Mom.”

  “I didn’t mean right now,” her mother said with a bit of a huff. “So you’re there and you’re on your way to Summer’s, and…when are you going to start looking for an apartment?”

  “Mom, we’ve talked about this. I’m only going to stay with them for a couple of weeks, and I thought it was okay for me to get here and relax for a few days before I had to spring into action.”

  “I’m just saying…you shouldn’t rely on them for everything because they’re already so busy with Amber and Summer going back to work, and…maybe you should ask them if they know of any vacant apartments near people they know. Plus, you’ll need to make some friends of your own and maybe start socializing so—”

  “You know what…our connection…bad…call you…weekend…”

  It was childish, and she wasn’t proud of it, but now was so not the time to deal with the whole lecture on her social life.

  Beside her, Summer started to laugh, and Megan smacked her playfully on the arm.

  “Megan? Megan, are you there?”

  “Can’t hear…go…soon!” And then she hung up and immediately turned her phone off.

  Yeah, not her finest reaction to her mother, but her mind was spinning with too many other thoughts right now to add that to it.

  Yes, she was living someplace new, was starting a new job, and was going to be meeting new people. And yes, it was a chance for a fresh start. None of this was news to Megan. Actually, she was looking forward to the opportunity. Her life in Albany had been…well, she was in a serious rut. She’d been working ten hours a day, six days a week, and the only people she’d socialized with were her coworkers.

  Maybe socialized wasn’t quite the right word. More like…saw them frequently—like whenever she came out of her office.

  Which wasn’t often.

  Her muscles were starting to tense up again, and she forced herself to relax. This move was supposed to help her break out of her rut—force her to meet new people and be someone who didn’t spend her entire life holed up in her office staring at a computer screen. All around her, people were meeting and having lives and falling in love and starting families. And as much as she argued how missing out didn’t bother her, the truth was that it did.

  Megan had always wanted to be the girl who had a ton of friends who went out for girls’ nights and went away for weekends together. And then she wanted to meet a man and fall in love and have the kind of family she had grown up with.

  Maybe it wasn’t for everyone, but Megan wanted the American dream—it was a little outdated, and she’d learned to keep that ideal to herself because so many people felt like it wasn’t something a modern woman should want. But she did. She really, really did. And the only way she was going to achieve it was to force herself to break out of her comfort zone and put herself out there—meet people. Go out. Date.

  Sigh.

  The last time she’d gone out on a date was…

  Nothing was coming to mind.

  “That can’t be a good sign,” she murmured.

  “What’s not a good sign is you talking to yourself when I’m sitting right here,” Summer said. “Seriously, you can’t let your mother stress you out like that.”

  “Easier said than done.”

  “Which part of the conversation did you in? The move? Finding a place of your own? Or the socializing?” When Megan gave her a quizzical look, Summer smiled. “Sorry, but your mom’s voice carries.”

  “Oh.” Okay, so this was exactly the kind of thing she wanted—a friend she could talk to when she was stressed out. “It was the socializing.”

  “I knew it!”

  “Yeah, well, it was more the implication of what it entailed. It isn’t just making friends, it’s dating too.”

  “And that’s a problem…why?”

  “I’ve always been busy, and after my breakup with Colin, I didn’t want to get involved with anyone.”

  “He was a major jerk, Megan. You should be relieved to be rid of him!”

  “I am. I am. But…it wasn’t easy to get over. Things were a little—”

  “They were ugly and intense,” Summer said. “I get it. But that was more than two years ago. You can’t tell me you haven’t dated since then.”

  “I’ve been busy.” Unfortunately, she couldn’t blame the lack of dating on her work schedule. It certainly didn’t help, but it wasn’t the real reason for her lack of interest.

  It was Alex.

  Yeah, there it was. And moving to Portland was asking for trouble, but Megan couldn’t help it. Her family was surprised at how she had readily agreed to this move, but the truth was…she was curious. Curious to see if her memories of one incredibly hot and wildly sexy physical therapist and their time together were accurate.

  Not that she was looking for a repeat performance. Not really. Okay, she totally was. But it was more than just the sex. Kind of. Megan had a feeling if things had been different and geography hadn’t been against them, their relationship could have gone somewhere. At least that was what she’d been telling herself for the past two years. The logical part of her brain, however, told her that she needed to see Alex in person in order to know whether she was remembering things correctly or if she was still looking at him through sex goggles.

  She groaned. Maybe seeing Alex was something she should ease into. No need to rush out and ask about him or look him up—but considering he and Zach were friends, they were bound to run into one another eventually. And for all she knew, he could be involved with someone or married. And just because she hadn’t moved on didn’t mean he hadn’t.

  Maybe there was a way she could casually bring him up without being too obvious.

  The memory of how they’d danced together and then walked around the estate where the wedding had been held and talked and laughed played through her mind as her head rested on the leather cushion. They’d flirted from almost the moment he had walked over and asked her to dance. Then they’d gone walking through the garden that was lit with twinkly lights, and Alex had surprised her with a kiss. And that was the moment she knew she wasn’t going to her hotel alone.

  The man kissed like a damn fantasy.

  To this day, Megan couldn’t remember ever getting so completely swoony over a kiss.

  Either way, Alex Rebat had turned her wor
ld upside down with one kiss and then proceeded to keep her there for two incredible days.

  And nights.

  They’d kept in touch for about three months after the wedding, but…she’d screwed up in typical Megan form. Just when she thought she was capable of being in a relationship, she’d gone and ruined it. Unable to help herself, she sighed.

  “You okay?” Summer asked.

  And the thing was, she probably could tell Summer about her fling with Alex. After all, what harm would it do after all this time? But now wasn’t the time. She needed to focus on something—anything!—else.

  But the image of Alex and her tangled up together refused to budge from her mind, and she wanted to growl with frustration. Why was she still thinking about it?

  Because it was the most exciting weekend of your life!

  Oh, right. That.

  Maybe it was the dress her mother had insisted she wear when she normally didn’t wear dresses, or the champagne she’d had when she wasn’t normally a drinker, but everything about that weekend had almost felt like it was happening to someone else. Megan could still remember her shock when Alex had approached her and asked her to dance. Men didn’t normally ask her to dance. She was the friend, the buddy, someone to hang out with or ask advice for dating other women. It was something she’d gotten used to, and even when she dated, she wasn’t the overly romantic type. She didn’t do the girly-girl thing.

  And yet…the second Alex had wrapped his arms around her, it was what she wanted more than anything else.

  Heck, if she ever ran into Alex again—and she was pretty sure she was going to—he probably wouldn’t recognize her. Now he’d see who she really was: a no-nonsense computer girl who dressed for comfort and wasn’t the least bit…girly.

  Another sigh.

  For the most part, Megan was okay with who she was. She didn’t feel the need to read Cosmo and let it dictate the kind of woman she should be. But lately a little bit of discontent had been sneaking in.

  It was probably because she was in need of a change.

  It was the rut.

  So here she was, out of her rut and starting a new life. Sort of. You can’t take the geek out of the girl, but you can take the girl out of her rut.

  “Okay, I didn’t mean to make you get all quiet,” Summer said. “Let’s talk about something fun! We’re going to get some takeout tonight, and Zach and Gabriella are coming over and we’ll hang out and relax. Doesn’t that sound great?”

  Megan laughed softly. “It does. Sorry about zoning out there. I guess I’m trying to get a grip on too many things, and you know me, I can’t ever seem to make my brain shut off.”

  “We are seriously going to work on that. Stick with me, little cousin, and I will show you all the wonders and benefits of taking time for yourself.”

  If only it were that simple, Megan thought.

  “I have plenty of distractions to offer you. My precious baby girl, for starters. She is a surefire distraction. And then there’s Maylene.”

  “Maylene?”

  Summer nodded. “Our dog. She’s a pug, and she’s incredibly playful and sassy, and when she’s around, there is no way you can zone out the way you just did. She won’t allow it.”

  “She sounds like the perfect dog for you,” Megan teased.

  “Oh, she is. And trust me, you’ll feel like a brand-new person in no time.” She smiled brightly before she let out another happy little squeal. “This is going to be so great!”

  Megan wished she could be that optimistic.

  * * *

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Alex did his best to smile and clap with the rest of the people in the large Catholic church, but honestly, this was getting old. Not weddings per se, but…okay, yeah. Weddings. Six of them in the past two years, and he’d been a groomsman in all of them. And while it was great to see all his friends so happy and in love and starting their lives with someone, he was seriously getting tired of putting on the tux and standing to the side and posing for pictures and just…ugh.

  Technically, he was the last single guy out of his circle of friends.

  Was it hot in here all of a sudden?

  He adjusted his collar—which was suddenly choking him—and watched as Violet and George made their way out of the sanctuary. With his smile firmly in place, Alex stepped forward to hook arms with the bridesmaid he was paired with—Kaitlyn. She gave him a smile that conveyed what she’d been hinting at all weekend—she was available.

  Great.

  That was another perk that had stopped being enjoyable about five weddings ago—the interest in a no-strings-attached hookup. It was like there was some sort of target on him, or maybe he was throwing off some kind of vibe, or maybe someone in the bridal party had a big mouth, but whatever it was, Alex had no interest in hooking up with anyone.

  Been there, done that, and…

  He was over it.

  As annoying as these weddings had become, the bottom line was he was tired of watching from the sidelines. It was something he wanted for himself. He wasn’t getting any younger, and at thirty-two, he was ready to settle down—a wife, kids, a dog…yeah, he wanted all of that. Last year he had bought a house with the mind-set that it was something he would share with the woman of his dreams and together they’d build their lives there.

  But so far, he hadn’t found anyone he would consider sharing a life with.

  Okay, technically that wasn’t completely true, but…

  “Bridal party! We need you to quickly form the receiving line so we can start greeting guests and keep to our timeline for pictures!” Linda, the super-perky wedding planner, called out.

  Alex watched as she moved everyone into position before giving the all clear to her assistant to start letting wedding guests come out to greet them.

  Great. More smiling. He was already over this day and wanted nothing more than to loosen his tie and go to his hotel room—alone—and watch a little TV, order some room service, and maybe work on his schedule for the upcoming week.

  Not that it changed much. As a physical therapist, Alex worked with some of his clients on a long-term basis. Right now, he had four he had been meeting with every week at their homes for almost three months. Then there were his clients at multiple rehab facilities in and around downtown Portland. Those clients were more traditional—knee or hip replacements, recovery from surgery or car accidents—nothing that required long-term rehab. His private clients were of the more challenging variety. They had injuries that couldn’t be dealt with in a four-to-six-week time frame. Which was why he met them in their homes.

  These were clients who had started out in the traditional setting and then were able to go home but still had a lot of recovery time ahead of them. All of his current clients were great—eager to get their mobility back and resume their lives as close to normal as they could get. Their attitudes made Alex’s work easier, and he enjoyed being able to help them achieve their recovery goals.

  To be honest, most of his clients—although challenging at times—were a pleasure to work with. Only once had he been so challenged that he seriously almost reconsidered his profession.

  Zach Montgomery.

  Alex remembered the anger and hostility Zach had thrown at him from the moment they met. It had been shocking and more than a little intimidating to take him on as a client. Zach’s reputation in the PT world had preceded him. So Alex had gone in as prepared as he could—or so he’d thought. It didn’t take long for him to realize that Zach’s injuries were the least of his problems.

  The psychological trauma from his injuries had been far worse.

  Luckily, Alex had forced himself to hold his ground and push back, and now the two of them were friends. Good friends. As a matter of fact, it was Zach’s wedding two years ago that had started this whole st
ring of weddings Alex found himself in.

  Not that one had anything to do with the other, but he could look back and say it was the first of many weddings for him to act as a groomsman.

  Beside him, Kaitlyn elbowed him playfully. He looked down at her in confusion.

  “You’re frowning,” she whispered. “We’re supposed to be smiling. Linda’s been watching you, and no doubt you’re going to get a lecture when we leave here on remembering to keep your smile in place all day.”

  He nodded.

  “If you’d like, I can make sure you keep a smile on your face all day…and all night,” she said seductively.

  Alex studied her for a moment—long black hair, big green eyes, and…he wasn’t feeling it. She was tall and willowy, and yet…there was no pull of attraction there. So rather than answer her, he immediately turned back to the couple waiting to greet him as they made their way toward the bride and groom.

  At that first wedding, he met the woman he’d never been able to forget. Now, when Alex thought about spending a weekend with someone who kept a smile on his face, he envisioned a curvy and petite woman with honey-blond hair and big brown eyes.

  Megan.

  It was crazy to keep thinking about her. You’d think after two years, he would have stopped. And it wasn’t as if he hadn’t dated since then. He had. Just…not a lot. There was no crime in that, but Alex knew he needed to face some serious facts.

  Megan lived on the other side of the country.

  She was a workaholic who didn’t believe in taking time off for herself.

  And clearly, their weekend together must have meant more to him because he’d been the one to try to maintain their connection. They’d planned a couple of weekend getaways that had fallen through, but the one time he’d actually flown to NYC for a weekend, she’d never even shown up. It had become abundantly clear that he was more invested in the relationship than she was.

  She’d been the one to say that they weren’t meant to be.

  At the time, he’d believed her. Hell, he’d had no choice but to believe her. But the more time that had passed, the more he thought about the things they’d talked about. The way she laughed and how she looked when she smiled and…