Page 40 of Here With Me

Her quiet words were barely audible above the hum of the car, but she might as well have shouted them at him. He squeezed the steering wheel tighter. Sadie should have had love. The fairy tale. She’d always wanted the happily ever after, the big family, the heart-stopping love. David had thought that described their love, until the breakup.

He turned onto Henderson Road and drove toward the town square. Otis sat as the town sentinel in the center by the gazebo as water splashed around him. David turned on Richard Street, pulled the van behind Hoover’s Hardware, and parked. “I saw an umbrella in the trunk when Nate pulled out the car seats. Let me grab it, and I’ll walk you to the door.”

Relentless drops pelted David as he opened the trunk and found the large, black umbrella. He opened the passenger door for Sadie and held her hand as she stepped out of the van. Then he moved close, so her back brushed against his chest to keep them both under the umbrella.

Sadie’s rich, warm scent tickled his nose, reminding him that she wasn’t the young girl he’d once dated. She’d grown, matured, faced her own challenges, and he liked it. Liked her scent. Liked the feel of her back under his hand. Liked the woman she’d become.

He just liked her.

They walked up the stairs to the door of her apartment. Electricity shot up his arm. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. David held the umbrella over their heads.

Sadie tipped her face up. The moment familiar, seeming right in a way nothing else had lately. David settled his hand on the soft curve of her waist. Wind swept past him, swaying his body closer to hers. Her hands rested on his chest.

To steady him? To encourage him? To pull him closer?

Maybe it wasn’t too late to salvage this night.

Sadie’s eyes roamed his face, pausing on his mouth before they bounced back up. Heat climbed up David’s neck. If he leaned closer, if he cut the distance between them, would she welcome him?

The golden specks in her hazel eyes mesmerized him. Pulled him closer. He lowered his face, watching for any sign of rejection.

Waiting for her to stop him.

He should pull back, step away. Not slip back into old habits. Except the warmth of her hands on his chest and the feel of her body close to his didn’t feel like a habit. It felt right, perfect, and he couldn’t—didn’t want to—stop. And when she fisted his shirt, keeping him from pulling back, heat pooled in his gut.

The newness, the rightness of this moment, consumed him. He inched forward as Sadie let out a soft sigh. He waited—for her to step back or any kind of sign that she wanted him to stop.

When her eyes closed, it was all the invitation he needed. David lowered his lips, feeling the exhale of her breath on his face.

“Mom!”

Sadie jumped back, the cold breeze almost icy when she dropped her hands from his chest as Lottie walked up the stairs, cradling her stomach, her wet hair dripping down her face as the rain soaked into her clothes. A woman with dark greying hair pulled back in a severe bun carried a backpack and an umbrella.

“Lottie? Are you okay?” Sadie pulled her close, wrapping her in a hug.

Lottie groaned and shook her head. David raised the umbrella higher to accommodate the extra person. He stepped away slightly, so the cool rain pelted his back, keeping Sadie and Lottie dry.

The woman, probably in her mid 40’s now that David could see her face better, stopped two stairs below them. “Lottie got sick to her stomach. Begged to come home. I didn’t realize you had plans tonight, or I wouldn’t have brought her back.”

The woman pursed her lips together and looked David up and down.

David stepped back farther from Sadie. He’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Or rather, with his lips centimeters from hers.

He shouldn’t still be standing here. He handed the umbrella to Sadie, but she shook her head and looked back to the woman on the stairs.

“Thank you for bringing Lottie home. Doris, this is an old college friend, David.”

Old friend. As if the rain hadn’t cooled him enough.

Doris snorted. “Right. Keep in mind what’s best for Lottie. I knowIdo.” The woman thrust out her hand holding Lottie’s bag and marched down the stairs to a dark BMW still running, parked next to Olivia’s minivan.

“Mom, I think I’m going to be sick.” Lottie rushed into the apartment.

Sadie shot David an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

David hurried down the stairs, his foot slipping on the bottom one. He windmilled his arms to regain his balance and jogged to the van and collapsed into the driver’s seat, the rain soaking him as he shook the umbrella out.

His stomach turned, probably feeling much like Lottie’s.He’d almost kissed Sadie. He’d never taken kissing lightly, and she was the last woman he’d kissed. He couldn’t, wouldn’t play with her emotions.

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