Page 61 of Just Like This
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cami
Garrett was gone. He gaveme his heart to keep safe, and I willingly sacrificed my own heart. It was with him on a bus headed to places unknown.
“Where are they going?” I asked Palmer through my tears.
“To the airfield. They’ll all board a plane and head to their destination.” He stated all of this matter-of-factly but in a soft voice.
The entire act of deployment was new to me. It was like organized chaos. There was so much happening all at once, but there was also a lot of waiting. When the ten-minute warning arrived, my heart had thundered in my chest. I’d felt like I’d been well on my way to having a panic attack. I’d done my best to say a lifetime of words in ten minutes, and then he capped it with a kiss that I could still feel on my lips. Absently, my fingers traced where his lips had been.
“Come on,” Palmer said, grabbing my hand and shaking me out of my thoughts. “I think you need a little cheering up.” I followed him back to the car
“Palmer, I really don’t want to be cheered up,” I mumbled as I slid into the passenger seat of his car.
“Not even if I take you to Top Pot?”
“Okay, you can attempt to cheer me up with doughnuts.” Misery loved company, and I wouldn’t mind being surrounded by a dozen chocolate sprinkle doughnuts.
“You know, there’s a Top Pot in Tacoma now,” I informed him as he searched for a parking spot in downtown Seattle.
“Now you tell me!” He smiled, and it was then I realized just how handsome he was. Palmer’s jet black hair was neatly combed and closely shaved on the sides, and his dark eyes sparkled in the sunlight. He had filled out during his time in the Army. No longer the tall, scrawny, awkward boy I went kayaking with every summer; now he was long and lean with defined muscles. In another lifetime, I might have given him the chance he desired, but my heart was claimed.
“I actually knew that,” he admitted as he finally found a space and parked the car. “I just thought that you might not want to go back home either.”
“Well, you’re right about that too. I’m not exactly thrilled about my mom being back.”
Our conversation was put on hold as we entered Top Pot. The fragrant smell of sugar and fried dough hit my nose, and my mouth started to water. I showed great restraint in ordering, which Palmer said surprised him. We took our doughnuts and walked over to a sunny part of the café and continued the uncomfortable conversation about my mother’s return.
“I apologize for her showing up last night,” he told me.
“You don’t have to apologize. She seems all gung ho on getting me to forgive her.”
I took a bite of my doughnut, and it was deliciously sweet. My eyes rolled back in my head with delight, and I knew that without a doubt, I’d be leaving with a dozen. I groaned with pleasure after my second bite, which made Palmer laugh. The way his smile filled his entire face and his eyes crinkled at the corners had me wondering why no one had bothered to claim him.
“You’ll find someone, Palmer,” I told him. I reached out and placed my hand on his cheek. “I’m sorry it’s not me, but you’ll find the right girl who will make you deliriously happy. I mean, you’re not bad looking.”
“Gee, thanks.” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked away.
“I mean it, Palmer. You’re smart and handsome, and you’re about to take over my father’s position in the company, so you have a good job. What girl wouldn’t want all that in a man?”
Palmer turned back to face me when I mentioned he would be taking over my father’s position. “What do you mean I’m going to take over for your father?”
I fiddled with my coffee cup. My father and Tim Grayson had started talking about the future of S&G Home Builders when he was first diagnosed. Valerie still worked for the company and was content to just manage projects. She was destined to be the senior project manager but running the company didn’t interest her. Palmer would now inherit my father’s role.
“Valerie wants to be a project manager. She likes the control too much.”
“Cami, I don’t want to take anything away from your family.”
“You’re not. This is just one less thing for my dad to worry about. He hasn’t worked since he got sick.” I didn’t want to add that soon, Palmer’s dad would buy out my dad’s half of the company. Who knew there was so much to take care of when your life was ending?
“Come on,” Palmer said, rising from his seat. “Let’s enjoy this gorgeous day.”
We wandered around downtown Seattle, and I started to think more about selling my condo. It was beyond time for me to let it go because I wouldn’t be returning to Seattle. It was time for me to start thinking about a life without my father and a life with Garrett.
“Will you help me sell my condo? I don’t want to burden Dad,” I asked as we drove back to Gig Harbor.
“Are you sure you want to sell? Your condo is in an amazing location. It might be good just to hang onto it.”
