Page 49 of Only You and Me

I stop dead in my tracks, my eyes widening as I take him in. “W-what are you doing here?”

A sarcastic laugh escapes him. “I work here, remember? It’s my job to protect the citizens of Meadow Creek. To keep my eyes on who’s coming and who’s going in our quaint little city.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’ve been working out here for four years and I’ve never seen you here before. I think I’d remember a police officer parked outside of the gym.”

He gives a casual shrug of one shoulder. “Maybe it’s a sign. Fate and shit like that.”

I shouldn’t continue the conversation, but I’m curious. “A sign meaning what?”

“Meaning maybe you should let me take you out for dinner. Get to know each other better. I think we got off on the wrong?—”

I sigh. “Listen John. I’m truly not trying to be difficult, but I’m not interested. And I’m about to be late for lunch plans with my friend, so I need to go.”

Without waiting for an answer, I turn and walk toward my car.

“Friend or boyfriend?” he calls after me.

I make the split-second decision not to acknowledge his comment and I keep walking without looking back. When I’m in my car and have locked the doors, I glance up and see him staring at me. I quickly look away, turn on the car, and glance down at my hands on the steering wheel. My shaking hands.

Twenty-five minutes later, I walk into Giuseppe’s Italian restaurant, Jordan and my favorite spot for our every-other-month lunch dates. We always sit in the room that houses the bar because we’re both smart women. This will be our first lunch out since she gave birth to her son, so I’m sure she’s ready for a glass of wine.

Jordan is already here and has a glass of wine for each of us at the table. When she sees me, she stands and hugs me.

“Oh my God, you’re even more gorgeous than when I saw you last. Motherhood suits you,” I tell her. I mean it, too. Jordan is a smoke show on a normal day, but add the glow she has now, and she takes it up to another level.

She rolls her eyes as she sits back down. “Please. I feel like my boobs are ginormous and I’m constantly covered in poop or baby spit up. You’re sweet, but I know I look exhausted.”

“Whatever. You look beautiful and like a woman in love.”

Jordan chuckles, but then when I’m seated, and she looks at me closer, she squints her eyes at me. “What’s wrong? You look… stressed or worried. I can’t put my finger on it because I’ve never seen it on you.”

I swallow past the lump in throat. I hate how shaken I am after running into John. If it wasn’t for the whole creeper texting me thing, I don’t think it would have hit me hard at all, but now I’m looking at everything in a different light.

I spend the next half hour telling her about my… admirer. The flowers, the texts, and today’s run in.

“Jesus. Are you okay? Do you want to come stay with me and Alex?”

I chuckle. “No. Definitely not. I’m not telling anyone at work, so I don’t want Alex to know.”

Jordan frowns. “What does Fitz think of that? Surely, he must disagree.”

I look over at the bar and clear my throat. “He doesn’t know either.”

She shakes her head at me. “Trina. He’s your best friend. You have to tell?—”

“No.” My tone is clear that this isn’t up for discussion. Jordan’s head and neck snap back in surprise and I feel guilty for being so short with my friend. “Not yet. If it gets worse, I will. But I’m not letting this disrupt my life more than it already has. Let’s talk about something else. How are the twins taking having a new baby brother?”

She eyes me for several long seconds. “I’m gonna let you deflect here because it seems like you need to de-stress. Just know I’m here if you need me.” She pauses and takes a hearty drink of her wine. “The girls are great. It’s like having two little helpers all the time. Despite that, I never knew how tiring motherhood is. They were eight when Alex and I got together, and all the baby stuff is definitely exhausting.”

After lunch, we walk out together, and Jordan hugs me. She tosses in one more shameless plug, asking me to reconsider staying with them, or at least to tell Fitz about my creeper. Which I decline.

But when I get in my car, I pull out my cell phone and stare at it for several long seconds before shooting off a text to Ben… asking him to come over tonight.

* * *

BEN

This week at work has been one of the more frustrating I can remember in quite some time. After having no good leads turn up in Trina’s case and still unable to find the whereabouts of Guy, I finally gave in and reached out to Joe Alero, the contractor who I met when he interrupted my dance with Trina at the Valentine’s fundraiser. Trina felt sure he’d be able to help find Guy.

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