One Choice I'd Never Make

by Remi Carrington

  I spun to face Harper. “You look as good as you did in a swimsuit.”

  “You know what I like about you?”

  “I can’t wait to hear.” I looped my arm around his as we walked to the counter to order.

  “Everything.”

  “You sure know how to make a girl smile.”

  “How hungry are you?”

  “I ate so much at the party. I think I’m going straight for dessert.”

  He grabbed a tray. “I always have room for barbeque. And Haley says this is the best of the best.”

  “And she knows her barbeque.”

  With brisket on his tray, he walked to the register. “Grab whatever you want.”

  I added a banana pudding to his tray, then he picked up another.

  Once we were seated across from each other at a long, empty table, he smiled. “At the party, we spent lots of time together, but we didn’t get much time to talk. Where did you grow up?”

  “Houston. But I like living here much better. Houston’s great and all, but Stadtburg is really growing on me. And I have friends here. You?”

  “Grew up near Dallas. Moved to San Antonio for a job, then to Stadtburg a few months ago when I transferred to this department.”

  “Do all of you guys work here now?”

  “Not Adam, but we’re working on him.”

  Most guys didn’t want to hear about my life as an engineer. And living in the back of a photography business and working as a secretary wasn’t something I’d put on my dating profile. Maybe he wouldn’t ask me about work.

  “What do you do?”

  There was the question I’d hoped to avoid. But if I couldn’t be honest with Harper, we didn’t have a chance anyway.

  “I used to work as an engineer, but I quit my job because I hated it. Now I answer phones for Haley and Nacha, and I live in the teeny, tiny apartment in the back of the office.” I jabbed my spoon into my pudding. “Oh, and I help a couple of my friends with their social media. Impressive, huh?”

  “Are you telling me that you’ve been right next to the doughnut shop this whole time, and I haven’t seen you?”

  “Which is crazy because I’m in there talking to Tessa almost every morning before work.”

  “Do you like working for Nacha and Haley?”

  “Mostly. There’s not really enough for a full-time job, so sometimes I feel like I’m twiddling my thumbs. Other times, I’m buried in phone calls.”

  “If you could do anything, what would you do?”

  I was pretty sure ‘Kiss you’ wasn’t the right answer, but it was the first thing that popped into my head. “Not sure. There are so many things I haven’t tried. Life is like one of those books where there are different endings and you choose which one to read, and I haven’t read through every possible outcome.”

  “You are like sunshine in designer jeans.” He shoved the tray to the side and picked up his pudding. “Siblings?”

  “Nope. I’m an only. Daddy’s little girl, which comes with its own set of problems. What about you?”

  “Three sisters.”

  “You poor man.”

  He sent the empty container down and reached for my hand. “I’m sure there is probably a joke to be made about chasing tail, but since I’m a nice guy, I won’t make it.”

  “But you’ll mention it?”

  “I’m mostly nice. Funny too.” He brushed his thumb along my fingers. “What would you like to do tomorrow? Indoors or outside?”

  “In this heat? Indoors. Please. I truly don’t look good when I perspire.”

  “I’m guessing you always look good, but I’ll find us an indoor activity.” He glanced up as an employee wiped down tables. “They’ll probably ask us to leave soon.”

  “I’d invite you to my place, but I doubt we’d both fit.” I laughed, but it wasn’t a lie.

  “That’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stacked the trash on the tray. “And I’d invite you over, but my roommate is probably crashed on the couch, watching Netflix.”

  “Tomorrow then.”

  He squeezed my hand. “Let me drive you home.”

  Chapter 5

  Tempering my excitement about a second date with Harper was impossible. After telling Tessa and Delaney all about the barbeque date, I spent the next two hours getting ready.

  As I was finishing the final touches on my makeup, my daddy called. It was probably wrong to let it roll to voicemail, but I’d call him back later. Much later. After my date.

  Two seconds later, a text popped up on my screen. From Daddy.

  I know you stay much too busy to talk to your father, but please call me when you have a chance. Soon preferably. I can only hope you are busy trying to find a new job. One more suited to your degree.

  Waiting until after my date would only add irritation to the already uncomfortable situation. I picked up my phone, took a deep breath, and called him back. “Hi, Daddy. I saw that I missed your call. What’s up?”

  “Camille, have you found a new job?”

  “Not yet.” I opted not to mention that I wasn’t actively looking for one.

  He cleared his throat, his way of showing disapproval over the phone. “I hope that changes soon. If you need to move back home—”

  “I don’t. Really. I’m okay here.”

  “Working as a receptionist is not okay, Camille. How do you think Mom feels when her friends ask about how you’re doing and where you’re working? She can avoid the topic only so long.”

  I could feel the walls of my tiny apartment closing in. “Okay.”

  “Call me when you have an interview scheduled. We can practice over the phone.”

  “All right.” I kept my voice steady so that he couldn’t hear the sobs being held back.

  “Talk to you later, sweetheart. Enjoy your Sunday.” He ended the call, probably in a hurry to get to brunch before his tee time.

  I flopped backward onto the bed. I’d been working this job for months, hoping my parents would eventually give up trying to make life decisions for me. But that was never going to happen.

  Moving back home hadn’t sounded appealing last week, and now those feelings had multiplied. After bumping into Harper, wild raccoons couldn’t drag me back to Houston.

  I stood in front of the mirror and dabbed at my eye makeup. Crying wasn’t allowed right now. I had a date.

  Shoving my tangled knot of emotions into the darkest corner of my brain, I smiled at my own reflection. “Worrying about it today won’t change anything. I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

  My phone buzzed, and I giggled at the message from Harper. I’ve never picked up a date from a strip mall before. Do I knock at the glass doors or the door in the alley at the back?

  In the back. After hitting send on my message, I checked my lipstick. Hopefully, he’d give me reasons to reapply it later . . . more than once.

  I opened the door before he knocked. Patience wasn’t my strong suit. “Hi.”

  His green eyes twinkled. “Howdy. You look fabulous.”

  Where had he been all my life?

  “Before I get all caught up in your compliments, I need to lock up.” I could feel him right behind me as I turned the key.

  He made it easy to not think about my daddy’s call.

  I leaned back against his chest. “What’s the plan for the day?”

  “I hope you aren’t allergic to bowling. It’s an indoor activity.”

  “Sounds perfect. But I’m warning you now that I’m not very good at it.”

  He slid his arms around my waist. “It’s just something to do while I’m spending time with you. Stadtburg has a surprising lack of things to do indoors, so we’re headed into San Antonio.”

  “More time to talk.”

  He clasped my hand and led me to his truck. “Your tail is in my truck. Remind me to give it to you when we get back. I’d hate for you to never be able to wear that outfit again.”

  I buckled into the seat. “You didn’t
even ask why I was wearing it.”

  He winked. “But I can’t wait to hear the story.”

  While he drove, I told him about my part-time modeling. “I’ve done a few things for local ads, you know, in print or on websites. I also model for book covers. And that was why I was in the leopard suit.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Book covers, huh?”

  “Yeah. It was a little weird at first to think of my face on a book cover somewhere, but I’m dressed in all the pictures. It’s not like I’m baring my chest for all the world to see.”

  His ears turned a vivid red. “I’ll have to look up some books you’ve modeled for.”

  “Does that embarrass you? Or are your ears red because I was talking about baring my chest?”

  “No. Not at all. That’s cool.” He flashed a disarming smile. “Being on book covers, I mean. What’s your favorite color?”

  “Today it’s red.” I brushed my fingers down his arm. “You’re really cute.”

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  At the bowling alley, I fumbled through the first game, knocking over fewer pins than I could count on my fingers and toes. But laughter abounded. On my final turn, I picked up the bowling ball, then glanced back over my shoulder. “Do you give lessons?”

  He grinned and strolled up to me. “I’ll do my best.”

  His breath tickled my ear as he gave me instructions on when to swing the ball back and when to release it. Rather than actually listening, I was enjoying the feel of his hand on my waist and his fireman muscles right up against me.

  “Think you can do that?”

  “Uh-huh.” I lifted the ball into the classic bowling stance, then swung it and let it fly down the . . . gutter. “Your handsomeness is distracting.”

  He laughed. “Should we play a second game? Or am I too distracting?”

  “If you promise to give me a lesson before every turn, I’ll play this all day.”

  “Deal.”

  He punched the buttons to start a new game. As he took his turn, my phone buzzed, and I made the awful mistake of reading the message.

  Your mom invited the Morgans to join us for brunch. Mr. Morgan has an open position. He said to call and schedule an interview. Mostly as a formality. He’s excited about having you join his company. Daddy knew how to ruin a perfect date.

  I blinked my frustration back into its closet, then smiled as Harper threw his arms in the air. Another strike. He was good at this game.

  “Maybe you should try a lighter ball. That might help you.” He studied my face. “Is everything okay?”

  “Oh, yeah. Let me see what I can find.” Looking for another ball was a great excuse to get a minute alone and corral my emotions.

  I picked up balls one by one until I found a bright green ball that felt light enough. My fingers kind of stuck in the holes a bit. But I didn’t have to hold the ball long. I walked up to the lane, and Harper stepped up behind me and repeated his mini lesson. This time, I listened.

  “Just be careful not to let go too soon.” He tightened his arms around my waist. “And if this isn’t fun anymore, just say the word.”

  “By this, do you mean you? If so, I’m having oodles of fun.” I closed my eyes for a second remembering his instructions. “I can do this.”

  I walked up to the lane swung the ball back, reminding myself not to let go too soon, then swung the ball. My brain never got to the part about letting go. It didn’t help that my fingers were wedged into the holes. And the ball didn’t feel that light anymore.

  The ball flew down the lane with me attached. My face slammed against the floor, and the screech of my skin skidding along the polished lane drew unwanted attention. When I stopped sliding I wrenched the ball free and shoved it down the lane.

  Pins scattered as the ball crashed into them. With my eyes closed, I rubbed my temples.

  As I pushed up, hands grabbed my hips.

  “Don’t go that direction. You don’t want to get caught in that machine.”

  Standing in the bowling lane, I threw my arms around Harper and buried my face in the curve of his neck. “You saved me again.”

  “I think we’ve bowled enough for one day . . . maybe enough for the year. Let’s go find you an ice pack and get something to eat.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He helped me up, waving off the crowds asking if I was okay. “She’s fine. Just took a tumble.”

  I picked up my purse and headed toward the door.

  “Wait up, Cami. I need to pay before we go.”

  With my cheek throbbing, I nodded but didn’t stop walking. Harper was one of the reasons I didn’t want to move back home, but I’d royally messed up this relationship. It was one thing to be fun loving. It was something else entirely to go sliding down a bowling lane.

  It could’ve been worse. I could’ve been in a dress instead of shorts.

  While my brain was busy thinking about how badly I’d messed up, my foot caught on something, and I lunged forward, sending my purse flying and my face heading back toward the ground.

  Strong arms caught me. Harper pulled me close a second before saying anything. “Wait here. Let me pick up what fell.”

  Without a hint of embarrassment, that man picked up the contents of my purse that had scattered all over the floor . . . including my feminine products.

  He handed me the purse. “Where would you like to eat?”

  Overwhelmed with pain, embarrassment, and that stupid text, I knew being around me wouldn’t be any fun, but I couldn’t even look Harper in the eye. “I think I just want to go home.”

  “All right.” He stayed next to me as I walked to the truck, but he didn’t reach for my hand or put his arm around me.

  I’d messed up everything.

  Chapter 6

  Crying, I flopped onto the bed.

  Harper had promised to call, but he was probably just being nice. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.

  I’d only been home a few minutes when someone knocked at the back door. Tessa and Delaney always texted before coming over. The only person who knocked on that door was Eli when he was making his rounds.

  He didn’t like the idea of a single woman living in a strip mall. Not that it was any of his business.

  I ignored the first knock but knew better than to ignore the second. I didn’t need him calling Haley and Nacha.

  Wiping my eyes, I yanked open the door. “Eli, you don’t have to—”

  Harper held out a milkshake. “Should I be worried that you assumed my roommate was knocking at the door? And I took a guess that you’d want chocolate with extra whipped cream and a cherry.”

  My tears started again, but now they fell for an entirely different reason. “You brought me a milkshake.”

  “My mom swore that milkshakes could cure anything. At least when I was a kid. And I brought you this.” He handed me an ice pack.

  “Where did you find a store that sells them already frozen?” It sounded dumber when I said it out loud.

  He chuckled. “I grabbed it from my freezer. Now, back to the Eli part.”

  My brain jumped from confusion to anger. “That stinker is your roommate?”

  “He is. I met him through—”

  “Zach. Yeah, I know how all that small-town stuff works. It’s weird. And Eli knocks whenever he does his rounds. You aren’t seriously worried that there’s anything going on with us, are you?”

  Harper laughed. “Nope. Eli talks to you. And when Eli is attracted to someone, he can’t string a full sentence together. We give him a hard time about that. So, no. I’m not worried.”

  “Do you want to come in?” I liked my fireman a little more every time I saw him.

  He stepped closer and trailed a thumb across what was probably a bruise. “I’d love to. Let me grab my shake from the truck.”

  I sat cross-legged on the bed, and Harper dropped into the one comfy chair in the small space.

  “I’m not a mind reader, but somethin
g changed right before you fell. Is everything okay?”

  “Sort of.” I tried to decide how much of my dirty laundry to air this early in the relationship. My actual dirty laundry had been kicked under the bed when he ran to grab his shake.

  “I hope you intend to say more than that.”

  “My parents aren’t happy with my job or where I live or any of my recent choices for that matter. And my daddy texted that his buddy has a job for me.”

  Harper slouched back into the chair. “You’re moving to Houston?”

  “Heavens no. I just need to figure out how to smooth things over without becoming everything I hate. Maybe there’s a self-help book for that. How to Tell Your Parents NO and Not Get Cut Off.” So much for carefully choosing my words.

  “It would be a hit.”

  “Sorry I’m being a downer.”

  “You aren’t, Cami. I’m glad you told me what was bothering you. I thought maybe I smelled bad.”

  “Not at all.”

  I held the ice pack to the side of my face. “Did you always want to be a fireman?”

  “Pretty much. When I was five, a house down the street caught fire. I stood outside for hours watching the fireman battle the blaze. Ever since that day, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.”

  “I think you were born to be a firefighter and to rescue people.” I slurped the last of the chocolate from the bottom of my cup. “I wasn’t sure you’d call me.”

  He set his cup on my dresser and walked toward the bed. “You got away from me once. I didn’t want that to happen again.”

  Then Harper brushed his lips on mine with all the gentleness of a bomb-squad guy defusing a bomb. The result inside my brain was more like the bomb exploding.

  “I’ve been hoping you would do that.”

  “I’ve been wanting to. You should keep ice on that bruise, and I’m not helping you do that when I’m kissing you.” He moved back to his chair. “Anything I can do to help with the job thing?”

  “Not really. I’ve been thinking about finding something else because this place is so small, but I can’t afford much with what I’m paid.” I waggled my finger at him. “That is not a dig at Haley and Nacha. I’ll figure it out. I just won’t reply to the text for a few days, then when Daddy calls, I’ll realize he didn’t give me the number to call, then I just won’t call. That’s pretty much my plan.”