Page 69 of The Reality of Us
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The next six weeks were a blur of sleeping with Owen, making candles until Alice’s fingers hurt and she almost lost her sense of smell, mailing orders, restocking Lulu’s and her website, training for the race, finding sponsors and trying to keep on top of all her social media promotions and campaigns. Not to mention ignoring all the whispers online about her sexy training partner, who Alice constantly stressed was ‘just her friend’. That was what she was trying to do now, replying to a comment with a string of laughing emojis, her legs sprawled across Owen’s lap. Murphy was asleep at their feet. Stretched out like he was, the pup was now significantly longer than the coffee table.
It was exactly the kind of lazy evening she’d always imagined with her boyfriend.
Wait.
Owen wasn’t supposed to be her boyfriend. When had she started to think of him that way?
She must’ve made a sound because he looked up from his notes for a custody trial that started tomorrow. He’d been careful not to say anything, but the tension in his shoulders told her everything she needed to know. Owen was stressed. She’d overheard the tail end of a phone call the other day, and she had a feeling his client had unrealistic goals. That was something she knew a bit about too. Up to her eyeballs in wax most days—or at least it felt like it—Alice had been dragging her heels with her divorce. She was crossing her fingers that Phoenix’s other legal problems, which were multiplying at an alarming rate despite the recovery of the child who overdosed on his drugs, would cause him to lose interest in fighting with her. As far as she was concerned, no news about their divorce was good news.
“What?” he asked, all boyfriendy, in a tone she wouldn’t mind hearing every day for the rest of her life.
“Nothing!” Her response was too loud, too quick. She adjusted her glasses, rubbing her eyes; Owen’s brow furrowed. Why’d he have to be so perceptive all the time?
“I forgot to order something,” Alice lied. She pulled up the bookmarked screen on her laptop, tapped a few keys and ordered some boxes for the final items she still had to post from her clothing auction. With any luck, she’d be dropping the cheque for fourteen thousand dollars plus change over to the hospital by the end of next week.
Damn it, she’d better get some more candle jars as well. She was almost out of those too. She opened another tab, logged in and scrolled quickly through the list of supplies available. The next charity candle would be for the volunteer regional firefighters, and she was still finalising the scent, but candied orange and cedar was her current favourite.
Owen didn’t say anything, picking up the printout of his opening argument. His thumb rubbed across the top of her shin as he wrote a note in the margin. She lost herself in watching him, the way his jumper clung to his chest as it rose and fell, how he’d tap his pen against his bottom lip when he was mulling something over. She laughed softly when he looked up, catching her, and sent her a wink.
Alice typed loudly on her keyboard, keeping up the pretence of working, quickly ordering more candle jars and hitting save on all the social media posts she had scheduled for the following week. She’d spent more time doing admin since her company launched since … well, ever. When she stood and stretched, folding her body in half and touching her toes, her tired muscles lengthened and relaxed. The fifteen-kilometre run yesterday after a strength session where she lifted more than she’d ever managed before was catching up with her.
The sound of shuffling papers and the quiet skid when they landed on the coffee table made her heart rate speed up. She shifted forward even more, her top slipping and pooling around her chest. The red lace of her bra would be peeking out. Through her legs, she watched Owen stand, rising on his toes as he stretched his arms above his head, a sliver of toned stomach with a dusting of hair making her lightheaded. He squeezed her butt, his strong arms encircling her waist as he bent forward to pull her up until her back was pressed against his chest.
“Are you ready for your surprise now?” he whispered in her ear.
She wiggled a little against him to see if it was in his pants. The cheesy line would be out of character for him, but she wouldn’t mind. She couldn’t get enough of Owen. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
Instead of leading her to his bed, Owen pushed the big sliding door open and pulled her outside, one hand lingering on her hip. Murphy followed, and Owen clipped him onto his long lead before he could escape. Once they’d each slipped on an old pair of runners, Murphy trotted ahead, barking at shadows. Alice shivered, the wind piercing through her jumper and leggings. They ambled over the spiky grass around his place until she stopped.
She thought he’d forgotten.
Behind his funny little studio, was a tent strung with fairy lights and a lantern propped against the entry flap. Owen wrapped his arms around her, his hands rubbing up and down her arms when she shivered again.
“Raff finally dropped it off, and I thought we could practice sleeping in it.”
“What about—”
“There’s room for Murphy as well. Come see,” he said, nudging her closer. She allowed him to lead her into the small space, her knees sinking into the big air mattress that took up two-thirds of the tent. Two sleeping bags rested on top of it with the pillows from his bed. There was another lantern and a small oil heater in the corner near the front zip, both plugged into a big orange power box. Warmth spread throughout Alice when she saw the dog bed in the corner. The fluffy blue blanket he’d been using to cover Murphy’s crate, so he didn’t get cold on the nights they spent at Owen’s place, was also there, folded neatly. Murphy obviously approved, flopping down on his bed and rolling onto his back.
“What do you say?” Owen sat on the bed, the air in the mattress shifting underneath her. He rested his chin on her shoulder. “Ready for your first night of pseudo-camping?”
She twisted around, taking a moment to marvel at how this was her life now. When Owen looked at her like that, Alice was ready for anything. And when he kissed her, soft and sweet, their breath mingling, she never wanted to leave. A teeny, tiny voice in the back of her mind reminded her this couldn’t last. It would eventually fall apart, like everything else in her life always had.
Alice needed to lighten the moment. Push aside her worries. She scooted up the bed, bouncing around. Owen threw her a flirty smile, and she waved a finger at him. “Oh no. No funny business in front of the dog. I’m not that kind of girl.”
Owen laughed as he stretched out next to her, biceps flexing as he rested his arms behind his head. She drank in his relaxed form, her eyes drifting over his slouchy navy jumper and dark grey tracksuit pants. There was something extra sexy about him in his grey tracksuit pants.
“I remember. It doesn’t have to always be about sex, you know.” He winked at her, and she flushed, pretending to study the stitching on the top of the tent.
When was the last time she’d slept next to the man she was seeing—because damn it, she was seeing Owen—and not slept with them? In fact, before Phoenix, she hadn’t had a proper boyfriend since high school. All her other conquests had been hook-ups, plain and simple. What was the point in wanting more when she’d never been enough before? The only time she’d thought maybe she was wrong had been with Phoenix. And everyone knew how that had ended up.
When Owen stood and reached for her, Alice hesitated. Maybe it would be best if she ended things now. Business was consistently busy, and she could afford to rent an office closer to the city and shift her operations there. Pull out of the race. Find a new lawyer.
Protect Owen from the inevitable fallout that’d come from being involved with her.
But as he smiled down at her with a wry smile on his face, the lights from the fairy lights and lanterns casting a magical glow throughout the tent, she couldn’t deny the truth any longer. She wasn’t going anywhere. She’d let herself enjoy this for a little longer.
