Page 31 of Where We Promise

Me: There’s not. It’s fake. Long story but he’s gone right now, he’s supposed to be coming back later tonight to move in. I’m slightly freaking out.

I scanned the room as I waited for her reply. There was half an apple core on the cutting board, the jar of peanut butter was still out, along with a sleeve of crackers. I absently went over and started cleaning.

The phone chimed with a new text.

Natty: okay, back up…you are fake marrying the man who looks at you like you’re the reason the sun rises and we’re focusing on him moving in. We need to focus on the fact that there is no way this marriage is fake for him.

I wanted to explain how I knew it was. How I knew Jameson would never cross that line with me, not after our past, but I was too anxious over the state of the house.

Me: I can’t think about it, honestly. But help me…I’ve lived alone for over a month in this cabin. What am I not thinking of as far as prepping to have someone move in?

Natty: …I’m on my way.

I stared at the phone and then smiled. I’d never really had friends, not ones that weren’t obligatory roommates or ones who wanted to be close to me just to get close to the Chaos Kings.

Five minutes later, Natty had driven over on her scooter. She was in a pair of plumb-colored leggings and a flowing white t-shirt, her hair piled on top of her hair in loose curls.

“Okay, I’m going to tackle the dishes and kitchen. How does your room look, is he sleeping in your bed?”

Natty moved to the bedroom. The bed was slightly mussed from my nap from earlier.

“He said he would.” I slid my hand over my stomach, feeling the baby kick.

“We should strip the bed; do you have any fresh linens?”

I hurried over to the closet. “I grabbed some from the main house yesterday.”

Natty grabbed the bundle and then set it on the bed “Perfect.”

I was waiting in bed and watching the door for Jameson. Apprehension was still burning in my chest after all the work I had done since he’d left. I was in bed wearing a nightgown that had no sleeves, dipped into a v over my breasts and it barely covered my ass.

My phone chimed on the bed next to me.

Natty: You showered after I left, right?

My gaze flicked up to the open doorway before I replied.

Me: Yes

Natty: And shaved all the bits?

I smiled, nearly laughing.

Me: All that I could reach, but it’s not like he’ll even notice.

Natty: Oh, he’ll notice. Make him notice, girl. You deserve to get some.

I considered my nightgown again. It wasn’t like I was trying to entice him or anything, but my clothing was limited. I wasn’t exactly flush with cash at the moment, and since I wasn’t currently working, I hadn’t had a chance to go and buy new maternity clothes. Thankfully I had kept my figure for the most part, minus the bigger boobs, which were managed with an oversized sports bra and just accepting that my shirts were going to be tighter than they needed to be.

Jamie wouldn’t care, as it was, he hadn’t looked at me like that in years.

Me: He doesn’t look at me like that…we’re friends

A familiar ache throbbed in my heart as I remembered what it used to be like when his gaze would linger on my curves and hair. How his fingers would seem to itch every time they came close to skimming the curls that bounced against my back.

Natty: And death itself isn’t trailing me like a blood hound. If I leave right now, within two minutes he’d be behind me. Jameson’s eyes get that possessive glimmer effect when he looks at you.

The front door opening had my mind snapping back to the present and me sliding the phone over to the bedside table. My breathing hitched as I waited for Jamie to make his way inside. I had no idea what this new dynamic would be like, but for the first time in months, I would actually be able to relax and fall asleep, feeling something other than worry and fear.

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