Page 16 of Why Not Now?

“Yes, you can. Think of it as a make good for the last several years when we should have been friends and weren’t.”

She stares at me. I wonder if she regrets how things ended between us. I wonder if she wishes we could go back in time and start all over again. Figure out where it went wrong. Because coming up on nine years later, I still have trouble figuring it out.

“It would be nice to have a friend,” she says so quietly, I almost don’t hear her. Then, louder, she says, “Nothing too expensive. There’s plenty of Christmas things to do that are cheap.”

I nod, holding up one hand. “Scout’s honour.”

“You were never a boy scout, Derek,” she says dryly.

I grin, striding over to where she’s stopped in the middle of the rooftop. “You’re going to have such a good time this Christmas, you’re going tobegme to take you out next year as well.” I kiss her cheek and when I back away, she’s looking at me with wide eyes filled with the same desire that sparks in my blood. I wink and point above her head to where we’ve hung that sprig of mistletoe. “See you tonight, sweetheart.”

I turn and make my way downstairs again. Only after I’ve left the building and made it to my car, starting toward my house, do I realize I’ve mentioned begging and called her sweetheart, two things that featured in our past relationship.

Chapter 5

Ava

ThespotwhereDerek’slips pressed against my cheek still burns two hours later as I drive to his house and park on the street. I’d finished up at Blue Vista and gone home to drop off my camera equipment and print out my schedule like he’d asked. I’d gotten Lacey dinner and dropped her off at gymnastics class. After, she’s going to go to a friend’s house to work on a group project. I normally don’t let her stay out on a school night, but since it’s for homework, I told her it’s fine.

I take a breath, grab the paper from my passenger seat, and head to Derek’s townhouse. I hesitate for a second before I finally knock, shifting from foot to foot while I wait.

“Hey,” he says with a smile when he opens the door.

My heart skips a beat because he’s wearing his glasses. He stopped wearing them when he started running track in high school and switched to contacts. But every so often, if his eyes are bugging him, he’ll wear them.

Or at least, that was true before. I wonder how much he wears them now.

I blink, realizing I’ve been staring, and hand him the paper.

“My schedule.”

He scans it as I step inside and remove my shoes and jacket.

“You have three jobs?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“But your house is paid for.”

I sigh. “Lacey’s gymnastics isn’t. Or the electricity, or the property taxes, or the groceries. My car has needed to go into the shop practically once a month for the last few months. Then there’s home insurance, cell phones, Internet.” I shake my head. “It is what it is.”

He looks at me, those warm brown eyes framed by dark glasses. “I ask this out of genuine concern. Ava. When do you sleep?”

I raise my chin. “I’m in bed by 11pm almost every night.”

“You’re going to burn yourself out. You work every single day. And two days a week you work two jobs. Unless there’s a wedding, then it’sthreedays a week.”

“Everything is under control.”

He opens his mouth, and I know he’s going to argue more. Then he takes a breath and closes his mouth again, nodding toward the kitchen. “Want a beer?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer, opening his fridge while still looking over my schedule.

“Sure,” I say, following.

“Choose whatever. There’s a few kinds in there.” He pulls one out for himself and opens a drawer, grabbing a pen. He makes a few marks on the paper, then takes out his phone to look at his notes app. I try to snoop over his shoulder at what he’s doing, but he turns the screen away, giving me a sly grin. “No peeking.”

He marks some things down on my schedule and I wait, opening a can of some local pale ale. Finally, he’s done, takes a picture, and hands it back to me. He leans against the counter as I check what he’s written, notingOut with Derektwice a week on Monday evenings and either Friday or Saturday, depending on when there’s a wedding.

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