Page 18 of Finally

“Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” Greg hedged.

“No. It was perfect. It’s just that no one has ever called me that before. I’ve never had anyone give me a nickname.”

“Oh, well, I won’t do it again if you don’t want me to.”

“No! Don’t stop. I love it and I like that you’re the only one who calls me that. Seriously, I want you to call me Topher from now on.”

“Okay,” Greg said softly. He smiled shyly at me and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as we started walking again.

“So, it looks like everything’s in order and it’s almost time for everyone to arrive. There’s a room right behind the stage where you can relax, maybe get a drink or have a bite to eat while you wait. I’ll come get you when it’s time,” Jared said.

“Thanks, Jared. I appreciate all your hard work.” Jared smiled at me and gave me a quick nod before heading to the front of the building to tell the workers we were all set.

Greg walked up just then, and I offered him a brief smile. He’d been acting strangely ever since we’d arrived at the hotel the night before, but I had no idea why. The trip there had been unexpectedly nice, and as we’d slipped into conversation, it had felt almost like old times. Easy and comfortable, the way things used to be between us. But then we’d grown quiet, each lost to our own thoughts. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe Greg had a little too much time to think about things and had remembered all the reasons he’d never wanted to be friends with me in the first place.

With that depressing thought, I let out a heavy sigh. Greg’s brows furrowed, but he didn’t say anything as he held his hand out for me to lead the way. Once we got to the door however, he stopped me from entering until he’d had a chance to check it out. The whole thing seemed like overkill to me, but I figured he was just doing his job, so I left him to it.

The room was small but comfortable with two chairs and a matching love seat. The coffee table in the middle had a variety of food trays, each one arranged in a beautiful display of colors. I walked to the back of the room and poured a cup of coffee before settling into one of the chairs. Greg grabbed a bottle of water and sank down on the loveseat opposite me.

“Are you nervous about your speech?” he asked after a few moments.

I looked up at him, startled. I hadn’t expected him to actually speak to me after the silence I’d been facing all morning. “No. I know that speech backward and forward.”

“Then what’s wrong? Are you worried about security? Because I’ll be right there the whole time. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised.

He looked at me and I could see his sincerity written all over his face. It made my heart ache and I took a deep breath. I’d hoped it would get easier being around him after that first day. I thought that my old anger would kick in and I’d be able to pretend that he wasn’t even there, but the truth was, it was getting harder. Every moment spent with him brought back all of those old feelings. Not only of the love I’d felt for him, but also the pain and the questions over what had gone wrong.

I shook my head. “It’s not that either.”

“Then what is it?” Greg asked, his forehead wrinkled in confusion.

Before I could answer, there was a sharp rap at the door and Jared popped his head in. “We’re almost ready. Are you good?”

I blew out the breath I’d been holding. “Yeah, I’m ready.” I stood up and concentrated on rolling down the sleeves of my shirt and buttoning the cuffs before shoving my arms through the sleeves of my suit jacket. I smoothed a hand over the silk of my blue tie, making sure it was lying flat and ran the other through my hair.

“Okay, the floor is yours. Let’s go win some votes,” Jared announced, clapping his hands together once.

Greg’s hand on my arm stopped me from following and I stared down at it for a few seconds before my gaze lifted to his. He was frowning. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing that you’d care about,” I said. I shrugged his hand off gently and watched as it fell to his side before I turned and strode out the door.

The event went even better than expected. The crowd listened carefully as I explained the plan I had that would not only bring back many of the jobs that had been lost, but also increase the town’s revenue by nearly twenty percent over what it had been before their economy went belly-up. The questions from the audience were well-informed and thought-provoking and I was hopeful that I was able to provide the answers they were looking for. Unlike many politicians, I didn’t believe in making empty promises. I’d been honest with them about the work that would be involved and the amount of time it would take to see the plan through, and the response had been positive.

I was smiling as I walked behind the stage and back to the room and Jared gave me a slap on the back. “You just killed it out there. I knew they were going to love you,” he boasted.

I laughed. “Well, thanks. All I did was provide them with some honest ideas. Whether or not they really liked them will be seen on Election Day.”

“No worries there. Okay, I’m going to go make sure everything’s in order then I’m going to head out. Colleen promised to wait up for me to get home.”

I grabbed his hand and shook it. “Thanks for everything, man. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you back in the office on Monday.”

“Sounds good. Be careful going home.”

I waited until Jared shut the door and then turned to Greg, who’d been standing there silent throughout our exchange. “He’s right, you know. You were wonderful out there.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. “It felt good. I only hope it was enough to gain their votes. I want to see these changes happen, but it’ll be next to impossible if I’m not elected. The other candidates have their own plans in mind, but none that’ll offer the kind of stability for this town that mine does.”

“I was watching the crowd throughout your speech and I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Greg said. I smiled at him, thankful to see the ease that we’d experienced with each other the day before had returned.