Page 51 of Still The One

I reach out and cover her hand with mine, the touch familiar yet tinged with the weight of unspoken words. ‘I tried but never could forget either,’ I admit quietly, feeling the heaviness of our shared past hanging between us like a veil.

She squeezes my hand, a silent acknowledgment passing between us – just like when I was in the hospital.

She pulls her hand from mine gently. ‘This seems like a slippery slope…’

I nod. ‘A little bit.’

The mood shifts, and I can almost feel her anxiety as she pokes at her nearly empty plate. ‘I’ll just start the dishwasher while you finish up and then we’ll go for a walk,’ she says, suddenly fluttering around the kitchen. The sound of running water from the sink fills the air as she starts to rinse the dishes and fill the dishwasher.

20

EVE CASSIDY

‘Tonight, we have to change that shoulder and wrist bandage, which means you get to take a shower without half of your body taped inside a garbage bag,’ I inform him, tossing the dishtowel over my shoulder and leaning against my counter. ‘What a time to be alive, eh?’

He laughs. ‘Yeah. Hashtag, blessed.’

‘Hashtag, dork,’ I tease.

‘Hey, since it’s shower night, and since I’ve been doing pretty good with my walking, why don’t we go outside? You live on the riverfront, which is designed for exercise. Maybe I could break a sweat? It’s been weeks since I did anything physical and I’m starting to feel absolutely ick. I want that shower after a good sweat feeling. Plus, look at that…’ He nods at the windows overlooking the river below us. ‘I haven’t seen a good sunset in ages.’

He doesn’t even need to use the ‘please can we go for a walk’ puppy dog eyes he’s currently wearing. That face alone could get me to say yes to a lot of things I’d regret right now. Walking with him outside is easy.

‘I’d be a terrible nurse if I said no to this.’

‘You would,’ he agrees.

‘And a good sunset is enticing. I’d actually forgotten that about you,’ I say, thinking back to the time when he told me he breaks for sunsets. He’s got charm, that’s for sure.

He looks confused.

‘That you love sunsets. Sure, let’s walk outside tonight.’

We step into the cool, early fall evening air wrapping around us like a comforting embrace. The sky is painted in hues of pink and orange as the sun dips below the horizon in a brilliant display of nature’s beauty. Foster walks beside me, coming to a stop at the riverside railing along the paved sidewalk across the street from my building entrance. I walk this street daily in my normal life, and not once did I expect to be walking it with him again.

‘Isn’t it incredible how something as simple as a sunset can make you forget all your worries?’ Foster muses, his voice soft in the fading light.

‘We are just a drop in the bucket of life, for sure.’

He continues walking beside me, without his cane, his good hand on the railing for balance and he’s making pretty good time. His breathing rate is up a bit, but his skin is suddenly glowing in the fading daylight. Never in all the time we spent together did I watch this man lie around his apartment like a slug. This has got to be hard for him. Not only is he hurt but his whole world just got flipped upside down.

I steal glances at him as we walk, his profile sharp against the vibrant sky. He catches me once, flashing me a cute smile that crinkles the corners of his eyes and within them, there’s a flicker of something I’ve seen before, a vulnerability that he usually keeps hidden beneath his confident facade.

‘Are you ogling me?’ he asks, nudging me gently with his slinged elbow.

‘I am. I installed a bidet for you and gave up my bed. I’ve got to get something in return,’ I joke.

‘Oh!’ he laughs. ‘Flirting while we’re off property hard. I’m game. Fancy meeting a gorgeous girl like you down by the river. Come here often?’ he asks, his voice low, twinged with a southern accent and flirty.

‘Truthfully, I came down here a lot after we broke up when I needed to clear my head,’ I murmur. ‘The way you always “stopped for sunsets” made me think maybe they could help me too.’

‘I thought you’d forgotten that part of me?’

I cock my head. ‘Well, eventually I’d forced myself to bury everything “you” deep on “Please Forget Island” – also known as my heart – but you know how that goes.’

He frowns but then walks around me and sneakily grasps my hand in his, holding it to his chest as we walk.

‘Did they help?’

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