Page 138 of The Moment We Know

When he got home from work later that day, after picking up Jacob, he found a little gift basket on his doorstep, filled with all the items Paige had suggested. A few of the things were obviously new, like the Melatonin, the mini diffuser, and lavender essential oil, but the crystals were likely from her ‘collection’.

Jacob, of course, was intrigued by the crystals, and wanted to know what they were called and what they were for, so David briefly explained. Jacob then wanted to set up the diffuser, and as it started emitting a wispy stream of lavender scent (to his delight), David texted Paige, his heart heavy at her thoughtfulness. Because even though he appreciated what she’d done, it didn’t alleviate his inner conflict at all.

DAVID: Thank you for the gifts. You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, though.

PAIGE: You’re welcome.

PAIGE: And there’s a quarry on my way to work, so it wasn’t any trouble. But even if it was, I would have done it.

PAIGE: I hope it helps.

Under normal circumstances, David would’ve been aggravated that Paige had to work on Saturday. However, these weren’t normal circumstances, so he was actually grateful she was working most of this one, because it provided a natural barrier from seeing her, giving him cover all day.

On Sunday, though, since it was her designated day off, he had no such cover, which meant he had to make his own, since spending the day with her was not an option.

So, when he got her FaceTime request on Sunday morning, he braced himself before accepting it. Thankfully, he had anticipated such a call, and was mostly prepared for the conversation.

Mostly, because the moment he saw her pretty smile, all his conflicting emotions rose up and punched him in the middle of his chest, making it hard to breathe. It also made him realize that feeling like this for much longer was going to be … unsustainable.

“Good morning,” he greeted her, hoping he sounded normal.

“Good morning,” she returned sweetly. “How are you? How’s Jacob?”

“We’re doing okay.”

“Have you been sleeping better?”

“Not really, no.”

“Really? That stuff always helps me.”

“Well, it probably would’ve helped me, too, but Jacob basically commandeered everything—except for the melatonin—and I just didn’t have the heart to take it all back from him.”

Paige laughed, and the sound washed over him, making his throat tight. “Oh, God, that’s funny.”

“It kind of was.”

There was a brief silence, and then she said, “I’m glad you guys are doing okay, because I was thinking maybe the three of us could get together and do something fun today.”

“Actually, Jacob and I already have other plans,” he told her.

“Oh. Really?”

He could see that she was both surprised and disappointed by the news, and he gave her an apologetic look. “We’re going to spend the day with Dick. Hanging out, catching up, and … whatnot.”

“Whatnot?”

“Man stuff.”

“Man stuff? You mean, like arm wrestling? Re-building a car engine? Stuff like that?”

David almost laughed at the visual of him doing either of those things. “More like watching football and having a couple of beers.”

“Well, I’m a little disappointed, but …” she trailed off, then seemed to gather herself and give him a smile that was on the lackluster side. “Anyway, I hope you guys have a good time with Dick.”

And they did, watching football and having more than a couple of beers, and as soon as Jacob crashed on the couch, Evan jumped right in.

“So, what’s the latest with you and Cat Lady?” he asked. Since his sister, Evelyn, had gone on maternity leave, he’d been putting in a lot of extra hours at Three Amigos, resulting in him being very busy and subsequently a little out of the loop. “Something good, I hope?”

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