Page 114 of A Lesson for Laurel

“I’m not,” he said. “She left because she said I couldn’t give her what she wanted. I tried, but she never said what it was she wanted. I told you that. How can you be something or someone if that person doesn’t even know what it is?”

“Exactly!” she said. “So stop worrying you’re not enough for me. I don’t worry I’m not enough for you. I know I’m more than enough. Sometimes I worry I’m more than you can handle.”

It was the wiggle of her eyebrows that had him laughing. “You are,” he said.

“I didn’t want to fight tonight.”

“Neither did I,” he said. “We don’t see much of each other.”

“And you said that again. Why? Are you upset over that or do you worry I am? We have to talk this shit out. I don’t have a problem with it, but maybe you do. And then if that is the case, we have to figure it out. As much as it kills me to say I don’t want the distance to be an issue, if it is for you, then you need to tell me.”

“It’s not,” he said. He moved to sit on the bed. “I think I’m worried you will say I’m going slow. That I could come and stay with you and it’d fix it.”

“You could if you wanted to. But that is up to you. I’m working during the day. It’d just give us the nights to sleep together, but you’re still working when I’m sleeping at times. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have you in my bed at night, but I’m not sure we are there just yet. Not to live together. Am I wrong?”

He let out a breath. “No. Not wrong. Thanks for saying that.”

“See, talk to me. Lawyers like to talk, but you aren’t doing that great of a job of it right now. I like what we’ve got. It’s no one else’s business how we handle our relationship.”

“No,” he said. “It’s not. I like what we’ve got too. I can spend more time with you if you want.”

“I want you to want it,” she said. “Not because you feel like I need you there. We have to work this part out.”

“If I said I wanted to come on Thursday night and work there on Friday, what would you say?”

“I’d say we can make sure there is a comfortable spot for you to work at in the house. But on Friday when I’m at work I’m not going to worry you’re at my place and I should be with you.”

“Thank God,” he said. “I don’t do well with that obviously.”

“I’m not someone that likes to make someone feel guilty. Don’t compare me to your ex. I sure the hell don’t compare you to mine.”

“I’m not comparing you in general.”

“You’re comparing the relationship and that is the same thing. I moved too fast with Philip. You probably moved too slowly with Rachelle. That doesn’t mean we have to do the opposite with each other now. We know what we had before didn’t work, but what we have now can. Just think of it that way.”

“I didn’t realize you were this smart,” he said, pulling her down so that she was sitting on his lap.

“Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving.”

“They can be,” he said. “But not with us.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!”

38

LIFE HAPPENS

Amonth later, if it wasn’t for the fact Laurel was so happy in her own life she might be nauseated over all the joy going on around her.

Rose had her daughter, Summer, two weeks ago. Heather announced she was pregnant and due in November. Daisy was getting married in a few weeks and Aster got engaged over the weekend.

Blossoms did seem to have the magic touch when it came to people’s personal lives.

“Hi, Laurel.”

She turned when Lily knocked on the doorframe to her office. She’d been staring at her computer and the production lines and timeframes while trying to update her supply order.

“Hi,” she said. “Come on in.”

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