Until There Was Us

by Samantha Chase

  “I know, I know,” she interrupted. “No one has ever been overprotective of me. Probably because I didn’t date much. I spent more time in the library on Friday nights than I did out on dates. But because I did know how everyone was with Summer no matter whom she dated, I guess I wanted to avoid that.” Looking at him, she gave him a weak smile. “I’m a very private person. I don’t like having everyone know my business, so keeping my family out of it was important to me.”

  “And what about now?”

  “What about now?”

  He laughed softly. “Megan, I think we can both agree there’s still something between us, and if we are going to move forward, I’d prefer not to have to hide it from your cousins.”

  Damn. She hadn’t given it that much thought. Living in Summer’s guesthouse wasn’t going to afford her much privacy when she started dating.

  “I’m not saying we have to ask anyone’s permission,” he explained, “but I’m also not going to lie to Zach.”

  “I don’t see why we have to say anything to anyone. At least not right away. For all we know, this might not go anywhere. I meant what I said that day, Alex. I have a lot on my plate right now, and I’m not ready to start dating yet.”

  His gaze was intense as he watched her, and she wasn’t sure if he was angry or just thinking about what she’d said. It wasn’t as if she was asking him to lie. Not really. Just maybe…keep things quiet until they figured things out. That wasn’t so wrong, was it?

  “Is it dating in general you’re not ready for, or is it dating me?” he asked.

  “Dating in general,” she replied honestly. “This whole move has been a little hard on me. I lived in New York my entire life. I always imagined that if I moved, it would still be in the northeast region where I could drive to see my parents. And then when I was finally asked to join Montgomerys, I thought it would be in my father’s branch or Christian’s.”

  “But I thought Christian was in San Diego.”

  “He is, but in my mind I thought I would stay with my own family.” She shrugged. “There was no reason for me to think that way. It was all in my own head.”

  “Then why didn’t you ask to be placed with one of them?”

  “There wasn’t a need for an IT person in either place. What Zach is doing is new for the entire company, and he wanted to be the first to do it. If all goes well, I’ll work with the IT teams at all the locations—if they need me—to help make the transition go more smoothly. Not that I think I’m going to have all the answers, but that’s the plan.”

  “So you’d be traveling quite a bit,” he observed, his voice neutral.

  “Possibly. I don’t think it will be much, but there is that small chance. It’s still months away from happening. Honestly, I can’t even think about that because there’s so much going on now. I’m frustrated with Zach restricting my hours, and…” But she stopped herself. “I don’t want to think about that right now. We were talking about us. Not work.”

  He seemed to relax a little. “Well, it was your job that caused issues for us in the past, so I think it’s a topic worth discussing.”

  That wasn’t the response she was hoping for. Truthfully, she didn’t want to talk about work, and that was a first for her. “Can we…can we maybe talk about something else for now? It’s not like the topic of my job is never going to come up again, but maybe we can talk about you for a bit and how your job is going, or maybe you can recommend something I can do this weekend to get to know the area a little bit better.”

  He considered her for a moment. “All right, let me ask you something—if you were in New York, what would you be doing right now?”

  Megan looked at him like he was crazy, but after a minute, she replied, “We’ve talked about this already, Alex. Working.”

  He chuckled. “Oh yeah. That. Every Saturday?”

  “Yup.” She nodded. “The company I was with didn’t have a new system like what Zach’s doing, and because it was older, I was constantly doing updates and trying to find ways to make it run more efficiently, speed things up, that kind of thing. It was a challenge, and it pretty much consumed me.”

  “What about when you weren’t doing that? Did you…I don’t know…go to the library? Museums? Or maybe go walking in the park or jogging…anything like that?”

  She gave him a bland look. “Do I look like someone who goes jogging?” she asked with a mirthless laugh. “I know you only have experience with the outdoorsy Montgomerys, and trust me when I say I’m not one of them.”

  Sliding his palms over his jeans, he studied her. “Have you ever tried to be?”

  “Be what?”

  “Outdoorsy.”

  She laughed again. “Alex, I told you I spend my free time finding ways to make computers perform better. What do you think?”

  “I think maybe you need to try something new,” he suggested. “Maybe with this whole new change thing you’ve been talking about since you moved here, you might try doing something different other than working shorter hours.”

  “Like…being outside?” Her nose wrinkled with distaste.

  Now it was his turn to laugh. “You don’t have to look at it quite like that! But…yeah. How about instead of driving around…we go for a walk in the park?”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “We?”

  He nodded.

  “Just walking, right? You’re not going to try to get me to hike up a mountain or go camping or anything, are you?”

  “Not on our first trip,” he said seriously, but then his lips began to twitch, and she knew he was teasing.

  Or at least she hoped he was.

  “Alex—”

  “Come on,” he interrupted quickly. “Look, how about tomorrow I’ll drive us to the park and show you all the points of interest between here and there, and then we’ll walk around.”

  “What park?”

  “Washington Park,” he replied. “You’ll love it. It’s one of the oldest parks in Oregon, and there is a ton of history to it, and because I was born and raised here, I’ll be able to tell you all about it.” He paused and eyed her curiously. “And I have a feeling you’re a history kind of girl, right?”

  She looked like she was seriously considering his offer. “And by history, you’re not talking about silly stuff, right? Like you’re going to be telling me true historical facts.”

  “Silly stuff?”

  Megan rolled her eyes. “You know, I’m not looking for facts about the guy who used to sell snow cones there or about the time some college fraternity built the largest human pyramid,” she said and sounded a little amused at her examples.

  Something flashed in his eyes, but before she could question it, it was gone. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but she decided to let it go for now. She was probably imagining it anyway.

  “I’m going to want to know statistics on the park—when it was created, how many acres, what changes has it undergone since it opened…that sort of thing.”

  Rather than say anything, Alex started to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

  He sobered immediately and looked at her. “That’s a lot of pressure on me and my knowledge of state history. And I have a feeling no matter what I tell you, you’re going to come home later and go online and make sure I wasn’t lying.” Then he chuckled again. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who demanded I be able to entertain them with geographical statistics on a state park.”

  “Okay, maybe I’m being a little silly—”

  “You think?” he asked and then gave her a big smile.

  And the dimples were out, his eyes were twinkling, and she was pretty much about to melt into a puddle right there on the spot. Knowing she needed to do something to divert his attention or he’d be reading her mind in no time, she stood and walked toward the kitchen. “W
hat can I say? I’m a history buff. I find it interesting.” She found the container with the brownies and turned toward him. “How about some dessert?”

  “That depends,” he said, his voice going serious again.

  Really? He was going to negotiate over brownies?

  “On what?”

  “There’s still a lot of daylight left today. How about we have dessert and then go for a drive?” he suggested.

  “A drive?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve kind of already taken up the bulk of your day, and you’re talking about spending the day with me again tomorrow,” she reasoned. “I feel like I’m monopolizing your entire weekend.”

  “And I’m not complaining.”

  Really, she had nothing else to do, and he was offering her help with something she’d been meaning to do and kept putting off. So what was she waiting for?

  “Okay,” she finally said. “But brownies first.”

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, Alex was sitting in his truck waiting for Megan to come out. She’d said she had to let Maylene out and wanted to grab a sweater for herself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her coming out of the guesthouse. Her hair was in its ever-efficient ponytail, and she had on a pair of faded jeans and a sweater. It still amazed him when he tried to compare the woman from Zach and Gabriella’s wedding to the woman he was looking at now. He knew people put a little more effort into how they looked for a wedding, but he couldn’t understand why she seemed to go to such extremes to downplay her looks.

  Megan was beautiful no matter what: honeyed hair, brown eyes, and a body that—even though she hid it under unflattering clothes—still made his fingers twitch with the need to touch it. Explore it. Feel it moving underneath him.

  He let out a huff of frustration and forced himself to look away. “Think about what to show her—points of interest, places she’ll find helpful,” he said to fill the silence. Another glance out the window, and he spotted her running into the house.

  “Must have forgotten something,” he murmured. And sure enough, two minutes later, she was walking out.

  His phone beeped with an incoming text, and he welcomed the interruption. After reading it, Alex replied to the text—his Tuesday client confirming their appointment—and looked up in time to see Megan turning around and heading toward the house again.

  Seriously? he thought.

  Shaking his head as he laughed, he decided to find out what was going on. Stepping out of the truck and onto the driveway, he saw Megan coming back out, and she seemed to be talking to herself.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  She startled at the sound of his voice. “What? Oh…um, yeah. Everything’s fine except…” She stopped and shook her head. “No. Everything’s fine.”

  Alex walked toward her. “Megan, come on. What’s going on?”

  Her shoulders sagged, and the look on her face was so sad it was almost comical. “People do this all the time, right? Why is it so damn difficult for me?”

  “Um—”

  “This shouldn’t be so hard!” She threw up her hands in frustration and stalked over to the truck.

  Alex followed her. “What exactly are we talking about?”

  She spun around as if she had forgotten he was there. Then she sighed. “All I wanted to do was go out and…I don’t know…drive around. Get to know the town and see where everything is. We talked about this thirty minutes ago, and I know it’s not a big deal, and now I can’t seem to get myself together, and it’s freaking me out.”

  “O-kay,” he said slowly. “Um…why, exactly?”

  “First, I left my phone in the house.”

  He didn’t see a problem with that, so he nodded.

  “Then I went and got it, came out, and thought I was ready to go when I realized I left my purse inside when I grabbed my phone.”

  Ah. Now he was starting to see her frustration.

  “So, here I am, thinking how I’m ready to go, but am I? No.”

  He looked her over from head to toe and couldn’t see anything that was obviously missing, so he waited for her to explain.

  “And now…” she began, but her voice cracked, “now I’m thinking ‘Why are we even doing this?’ and ‘What exactly am I going to see?’ and I feel like it shouldn’t be so hard for me to get out of my own damn way—out of my own head—and go!” She was rambling and breathless, and her eyes were huge, and all Alex could think to do was hug her.

  So he did.

  She didn’t fight him. She willingly went into his embrace, and he could feel her trembling.

  All of this is over going for a drive? he thought.

  For a few minutes, he simply held her. When he no longer felt her shaking, he pulled back and smiled down at her. “You okay?”

  Nodding, she stepped out of his arms and gave him a weak smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to come off as some sort of weirdo.”

  “I don’t think you’re a weirdo.”

  “Oh, please,” she scoffed. “If I was in your shoes and someone had a meltdown because they couldn’t figure out how to go for a drive around town, I’d think they were weird.”

  He shrugged. “Then it’s a good thing you’re not in my shoes.”

  Shaking her head, she laughed softly. “I guess I tend to overthink things, and I’m not used to having so much free time on my hands.”

  “I’m sure it’s a little unnerving for you, but I think if you let yourself relax, you’ll kind of enjoy it.”

  “Maybe…”

  He had no idea how to handle someone quite like her. He could work with people with physical limitations, and he could encourage them and give them hope. How much different could this be? he wondered.

  “Look, this is a little like a physical therapy session,” he said, and she gave him a confused look. “Hear me out—you’re doing something you’ve never done before, but it’s going to help you and be good for you.”

  “Alex, don’t patronize me,” she said, but she didn’t sound angry.

  “I’m not,” he countered. “You’re looking to change some of your habits, right? Well, learning to relax is part of it. So, we’re going to take it slow. No one’s expecting you to make this big transformation overnight. But it’s going to take some effort from you to make it happen and to develop patterns that are going to stick and be helpful in the long run.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

  He nodded. “When I first start working with a client, our first few sessions are the hardest. Do you know why?”

  She shook her head.

  “Because we have to get to know one another and we have to test the limits of what we can and can’t do.”

  “I don’t see how this applies to us driving around, Alex.”

  Rather than acknowledge her comment, he continued. “Today we’ll drive around. No destination in mind. Just covering some basics that might help you this week. Then tomorrow, we’ll hit the park and get you outside and moving. And then, maybe next weekend, we’ll see about hiking up a mountain. Baby steps.”

  And then the greatest thing happened.

  She laughed.

  A genuine laugh.

  Her eyes lit up, and the sound of her laughter was enough to make Alex feel like his entire day was made.

  “So what do you say?” he asked. “You ready to check out your new city?”

  “Lead the way!”

  Chapter 5

  On Sunday morning, Alex was finishing his coffee and contemplating the day. The weather was perfect—blue skies, temperature in the sixties…it was a great day to be outside doing something. Anything.

  His usual routine had him working in the yard a bit—mowing the lawn, weeding, the basics—and then when he was done he’d make himself something to eat and soak in the hot tub to
relax his tired muscles.

  An image of Megan sitting in the hot tub with him flashed in his mind, and he was about to go with it when he heard a car door slam.

  Speak of the devil…

  They had driven around the city yesterday with Megan sort of dictating where they went based on what she specifically wanted to see. It wasn’t the most exciting tour of Portland, but it was the most practical.

  At first he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. He simply figured he’d point out the banks, the grocery stores, and some of his favorite restaurants. And he did. But as they drove around, Alex noticed Megan commenting distractedly on places like the hospital and women’s shelters. Then it was human services and day care centers. He had been about to comment on the things she probably wasn’t even aware she was talking about when her attention turned to craft stores. At that point he figured she was thinking about decorating ideas, but he never got the chance to ask her about it because they drove by a Best Buy and she started talking about getting a new computer.

  After they had gotten back to her place, he had decided to be bold and ask her to meet him at his home today for their trip to the park. He figured she would appreciate the chance to drive around and find the place on her own—even though she had been here once before—but the main reason was because he wanted her to see his house. To come inside and see it like he’d wanted her to on the night she came to pick up the car.

  He heard her soft knock on the door and immediately went to answer it. She was about fifteen minutes early, and he was a little surprised.

  “Hey,” he said warmly as he opened the door.

  “Hey,” she replied with a shy smile. “I know I’m a little early, but I wanted to give myself some extra time in case I got lost.”

  Stepping aside, he motioned for her to come in. “I was finishing my coffee, and I’m not quite ready,” he said. “I need to put on some sneakers, and we’ll pack up a couple bottles of water and maybe a snack to bring with us. Sound good?”

  Megan nodded and followed him inside.

  “Help yourself to some coffee,” he said, leading her into the kitchen and motioning toward the coffeemaker. “I’ll be right back.”