Page 31 of Between Now and Forever
“So, Gabby ...”The way Della says my name tightens my stomach. “What did you think of Mr. Stetson?”
“Who?”
“Your neighbor.Jay Stetson.”
Oh, crap.
The look on her face makes it abundantly clear that she either heard about what happened or ...
I gulp.
Jay wouldn’t have told her ... would he?Ihaven’t said a word to anyone about falling off the damn porch. But if he didn’t tell her, that leaves the other option.
Della licks her lips. “I saw.”
“You saw what?” Cricket asks, looking between us.
I take a long—too long—drink of my paloma. The tequila burns down my throat, splashing into the pool of liquid that’s been churning for a while. Heat shoots through my veins as my mind settles on Jay.
“Oh, it’s no big deal,” I say, practically breathing fire from the drink. “One of the rails on my back deck broke, and I fell off it into the bushes.”
Della does that thing with the corner of her mouth.
“I was in a towel,” I say quickly before she can out me. “And Jay had to come over and help me out of it.”
“Out of the towel or out of the bushes?” Scottie asks.
Della bursts out laughing.
I give Scottie a look.
“Hey, I’m just saying ...” Scottie whistles through her teeth. “I’d shed my towel for that man. Have you seen him shirtless? Hot damn.”
“He was nice but a little distant.” My brows pull together. “I wouldn’t say he was unfriendly. Just ...”
“He’s just Jay.” Della shrugs. “I can be over here in a string bikini, bent over my lawn mower, and the man doesn’t look at me twice.”
What? With those curves? How is that even possible?
Cricket sighs. “He’s always polite. And he sometimes stops and talks to Peter if he’s working on the front lawn. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with a woman.”
They chat about Jay before the conversation moves to what color Scottie should paint her kitchen. As they discuss paint colors and tile patterns, my mind drifts elsewhere.
“I can be over here in a string bikini, bent over my lawn mower, and the man doesn’t look at me twice.”
Della is stunning and sexy—all the things I’m not. I’m disheveled most of the time, rocking my mom bod and a messy bun. If Jay isn’t looking at her when she’s barely dressed and practically begging for his attention, the odds that I’ll get it are slim.
But do I even want it?
My body tingles as I think about him watching us through the window. The surprise I felt, finding him fixing the deck without being asked. The ease with which he handled Dylan’s attitude.
All that felt good in so many ways.
Supported. Cared for. Seen.It strikes a chord deep inside me, reminding me what it’s like not to be alone.
I’m so tired of being alone.
I watch Della tell a story, her manicured fingers flying through the air.
