Page 34 of Between Now and Forever
“So you’re responsible for him bouncing that thing in the house all night? I ought to make him come over here and practice. He’s driving Dylan and me nuts.”
Jay steps to the side. “He left his hoodie. If you want to come in, I’ll grab it.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
I inhale a lungful of masculinity as I pass him. It’s sweat and cologne—a deep, rich scent that’s, in a word,delicious. The door closing snaps me back to reality.
“You can have a seat,” he says. “I need to remember where I put it.”
“That sounds like something I’d do. I put things in a safe place all the time. The problem is that the only thing it’s safe from is me ever finding it again.”
“It might be on my workbench in the garage. Hang tight.”
I sit on his brown leather sofa. “I’m hanging.”
His back, in all its glory, is on full display as he leaves the room.
“Just settle down and be normal,” I whisper to myself.
The living area is comfortable, with leather furniture and a large brick fireplace. A small desk is tucked into one corner and flanked by bookcases. And instead of trinkets adorning the shelves, it’s actual books.
So hot.
“Here you go,” he says, returning with Carter’s hoodie in his hand. “He left it lying on the garage floor.”
“Color me not surprised.” I take it from him. “When he was a baby, he used to take his diaper off and leave it wherever he was standing. Then it graduated to socks and then shoes. Now we’re at the hoodie stage.”
Jay sits in a chair next to the couch. “Be happy. In a few years, he’ll be leaving his pants—”
“No, no, no. Don’t say that about my baby.”
He chuckles.
“I’m not ready for that,” I say, wadding the hoodie on my lap. “In other news, it turns out that Della saw the Towel Incident.”
“I know.”
What?“How do you know?”
“She told my buddy Lark.”
“People are talking about it?”
“Didn’t you say you grew up here?” He shrugs. “It’s a small town. People talk. Although I doubt Lark said anything to anyone but me. He doesn’t get in other people’s business much.”
“Well, thank God for small favors.”
He picks up a water bottle from the coffee table and unscrews the lid. “Do you want a drink?”
“I had three palomas at Della’s tonight, and that’s probably two too many. I’m trying to lay off the fluids because my stomach’s still a bit squirrely. My fear of puking is real.”
His Adam’s apple bobs as he downs the water. I don’t know how watching someone drink is sexy, but it is.It really freaking is.
The energy in the room is easy. He’s almost relaxed. I wonder if it’s because we’re on his turf, not mine. Every interaction we’ve had until now has been at my house.
He settles back in his chair. “So did you know Della before you moved here?”
“Della? No. It’s such a weird thing. Everyone says that small towns always stay the same. On the surface, that’s true. But if you’ve been gone for a while and come back, you see that some things did change. Buildings are torn down; new homes are put up. The people come and go. I didn’t know Della or Scottie when I lived here. But thatwasalmost two decades ago.” I pause. “When did you move to Alden?”
