Page 14 of Those Two Words

From the hesitant look on her face, I know I’m doing a shitty job at hiding my irritation. Before she can say anything, I lean down, grab hold of her hands, and haul her to her feet. Whether I underestimate my own strength or forget how light she is, she ends up barreling into my chest and we almost go flying backward into the snow. I manage to right us and hold her steady with my hands resting on her hips. Even with a thick winter coat on, I can feel the flare of her hips and where it tapers into a small waist.

Like I’ve been burned, my hands shoot back to my sides, and I clear my throat.

“You’re here early,” I point out. Avoiding eye contact, my gaze stays lowered and that’s when I notice the take-out cup and squashed paper bag on the ground. “Shit, did you spill coffee on yourself?”

“Ugh, yes,” she grumbles as she tries to shake off the snow and coffee residue. “It’s a good thing I don’t drink cappuccinos.”

“I cannot believe you still drink iced coffee in this weather.”

Her movements halt at my comment, and I try to hide my wince. I shouldn’t know or care what she drinks all year round. Just like I shouldn’t be thinking about how the blush on her cheeks is probably spreading across her chest right now.

Begging my brain to shut up, I turn away abruptly, pretending for both our sakes that I didn’t say that. Once the front door is unlocked, I gesture for her to go in first and follow close behind. Reaching out for the security alarm, I take my time entering the code, and will myself to chill the fuck out before turning to face her.

Yeah, that doesn’t help.

She removes her coffee-stained coat with a defeated look on her face, and it takes every cell in my body not to reach out and try to cheer her up. That’s what I would have done years ago, and clearly, the time apart isn’t enough for old habits to die. Draping her coat over her arm, she pulls her lips between her teeth and averts her eyes before speaking.

“I, umm, thought I’d come in early and try to get a head start on the day. I hope that’s okay. If it’s not, I can come back later.”

I raise my hands as if I’m going to grab hold of her shoulders but stop myself a moment before I make contact. They hang between us awkwardly, palms up like I’m surrendering—and I don’t know, it kind of feels like I am.

“It’s fine. You’re an employee here. Again. You can come and go as you please. Jules is on shift today. She’s the assistant manager, so you can shadow her for the first few days. I presume you still know your way around a restaurant, and they don’t do things that differently in Tennessee.” Jo tries and fails to hide how she recoils at my words, and only then do I hear how harsh they sound.

“That sounds smart,” she replies and ignores my jab—which makes me out to be even more of a dick. Her eyes bounce around the space until they settle on a spot to her left. I follow her line of sight and find the framed picture of her mom and my dad embracing each other above the bar. I can only see her side profile, but I don’t miss the sadness creeping across her face.

My heart drops when I hear her sniffle, but when she turns her head, I’m surprised to see a small, tentative smile.

And shit, if that hint of a smile isn’t enough to floor me.

I was convinced years of separation would quell my body’s urges toward her. Yet seeing her standing in front of me with her honey-golden hair piled on top of her head, rosy cheeks, and a soft look in her eyes, I’m met with the sudden realization this is going to be much harder than I thought. Six years clearly means nothing when it comes to Johanna Thomas, because like all those years ago, she demands all my attention.

After I showed Jo where the new break room is, we did a quick walk around, and I gave her a new set of keys and abandoned her in the office. I practically ran out of there, because no way in hell could I stand to be in such a small space with her for another minute. Her jasmine scent, all-too-polite smile, and well, simply being around her was driving me insane. I left her to go over some new employee paperwork and get up to date on all the safety manuals. I won’t lie, I gave her some that aren’t relevant, hoping it would give me time to collect myself. My emotions are uncontrollable; one minute I want to demand why she left, the next I catch myself staring at her without caution.

Am I avoiding her? Yes. Does that make me a coward? Yes again. I’m so erratic and unpredictable around her. I make a mental note to switch some of my shifts around over the next few weeks, so I’m working with her as little as possible.

Making my way to the front of the restaurant, I search for Booth so we can have our weekly catch-up while we’re closed until lunchtime. Now that I think about it, Johanna should be attending this meeting as the new restaurant manager. I glance back to the closed office door and decide she can attend next week.

Master of evasion over here.

“Sooooo,” Booth drawls from his spot behind the bar as I walk into the empty restaurant. “Where is our little YoYo?”

“Johanna is in the office filling her paperwork in and reading over some…manuals.”

“Why couldn’t she do it out here?” he asks suspiciously as I settle myself into a chair and open up my laptop.

“It’s quieter back there. Fewer distractions.”

“For her or you?”

There’s no point in answering him, because from the beguiled look on his face, he knows the answer. He slaps his hands on the table as he plonks himself down in the seat across from me. “You absolute fucking chicken, hiding her away so you don’t have to face her.” He’s full on laughing at this point, like my discomfort is a standup act.

“I am not avoiding her.” Lies. “It’s just weird.”

“Weird, how?” The hint of mirth in his tone makes me think over my next words carefully. No one but Dex knows the full story about what went on between Jo and me. Though, since we were teenagers, Booth would always tease us about our friendship and how he suspected there was more than meets the eye. His accusations were wrong up until six years ago.

“I’m not getting into that now. Listen, she left and didn’t look back. Just because she’s back now to help us out doesn’t mean all can be forgotten.”

Out of all my siblings, Booth seemed the least affected by Jo leaving. He was in the same class as her sister, Harriet, and they even dated a little in high school. I was clear I didn’t want any updates about Jo’s new life, though he would drop little tidbits of information from time to time. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t relish those updates, treating them like gold dust.

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