Page 77 of I Choose You
I barely heard the rest of the conversation with Andrew, my mind racing to a future that didn’t look as bright as it once did.
25
Reid
Claire’s side of the bed was cold. I hated it. I hated her not being beside me when I woke up, breathing her in, feeling her nestle against my chest.
She was only gone for a few days. I had to keep reminding myself of that.
She’d gone back to Connecticut to meet with Andrew and talk about whatever project she was getting assigned to next. It wouldn’t be long until she packed it up, going back to her real life.
Fuck.
I let out a deep sigh, and even that reminded me of Claire. I could picture her in this room, sitting with her legs crossed, breathing deeply as she did her meditation. She had told me dozens of times that I should try it with her, but all of my attempts ended up with a naked Claire in my mind, prompting a naked Claire in my bed.
The Delano Library was getting closer to being completed every day. Now that spring had finally broken through, my crew and I were able to get working on the exterior repairsthat we had put off through the winter. It was a Saturday, but my guys were working, doing the final push in the last few weeks of the contract. I showered and met them on-site.
Dale and Shawn were working from the scaffolding, cleaning all of the exterior stonework with a specialized thermal-heated, low-pressure power washer. It was going to take weeks to get through the entire building, but the difference it made was well worth the effort.
I found Richie inside working on the baseboards.
“Hey. Let’s get these baseboards finished up today so we can start to get some of the furniture moved into the right rooms. I’d like to start clearing out the workrooms.”
“Yeah. Sounds good.” Richie and I worked together in comfortable silence for a while. “So, Claire must be just about done with her portion of this contract, no?”
“Not yet. We still need to finish outfitting the rooms after we see what’s remaining with the furniture we have on hand. Plus, she’s in charge of getting any of the artwork picked out and stuff. She still has plenty to do here. She isn’t going anywhere just yet.” By the time I finished, I was talking so fast.
“Yeah. Good. I don’t want to see her go, you know.”
“You and me both,” I told him with a huff.
We put in our hours and were finishing the last of the baseboards after working our way around the room in opposite directions to get it done quickly. My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen, hoping it would be Claire.
Wyatt: Dinner at Dad’s tonight.
Luke: I’ll have to check with Jules, see if she made plans for us.
Me: I don’t have any plans. I’ll be there.
Wyatt: I can hear your pity party from here. She’s away for likethree days. Fucking baby .
Me: Four days. And I’m not being a baby. I just said I had no plans.
Luke sent a meme of a baby crying hysterically.
I flipped them both the bird in an emoji and closed out of our group message. I brought up Claire’s message thread, debating about whether or not to reach out.
After she met with Andrew yesterday, she was staying out there to spend some time with her parents. She hadn’t asked if I wanted to come with her.
It wasn’t lost on me.
I typed out a message and then deleted it. What I wanted to say was “I miss you, and I want you to come home.” I tried again, going for a slightly less-pathetic-sounding text.
Me: Hope you’re having a good weekend.
Me: I miss you.
I couldn’t stop myself. I missed the shit out of Claire.
