Page 20 of Coming Unraveled
“You don’t have to say anything. I just want you to know that I’m not all bad.”
Everleigh pauses for a moment and lets his words sweep across her.
“I know that you’re not,” she whispers.
“Also, I just wanted to give you a heads up that I have a medical conference I’ll be attending for the rest of the week. I leave tomorrow. In case you want to miss me or anything,” he includes with that sexy smirk she can’t ever seem to get enough of.
A giggle escapes from her chest and she catches herself before it bursts into a full out laugh.
“I’m sure I won’t even notice that you’re gone. It will be like every other day,” she counters with a grin of her own.
They smile at each other for a minute, time halting, silence prevailing, just the two of them lost in a moment.
Their eyes never leaving the focus of each other as Brooks struts towards her and places his hand on her jaw, inclining her face to meet his where he rests his lips against hers in a chaste kiss.
Before she can register the press of his mouth he pulls back and kisses her forehead, his whisper caressing her skin, “Congratulations, sweetheart.”
In a flash he turns around and exits her apartment, leaving her confused, cherished, and wanting. Something about this man calls to her and makes her rethink her reasons to shy away from everyone.
Everleigh takes a large gulp, finishing the wine in her glass and then makes her way back to her tablet to finish the book she had been reading earlier. If she can’t get a hold of her own life she might as well lose herself in someone else’s fairytale.
The weekend of the move to the new house comes in a flash. Before she knows it, she walks around her space into almost completely decorated rooms. She has found room ideas online and purchased many of the items that will retain the character of the house but give her the rustic farmhouse look that she loves so dearly. For the most part, the house is exactly what she pictured.
Her family has helped sort, pack, move, and then unpack her items and everyone works like a well-oiled machine, all thanks to Austin and her father corralling everyone and designating tasks. She finds it strange, but it works and it gets her moved into the place quickly.
Tamara and her boyfriend will be taking up residence in her old apartment in two months when their current lease is up, which gave Everleigh the relief of not having to search for new tenants.
Finally, ushering her family from her house, sending the boxes of pizza home with each of them, she takes a moment to relax and let it all sink in. This is her house, her dream, and no one can take it away from her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spots one final box resting beside the staircase and she pops the cover to inspect the contents. Inside she finds books, her books. The paperback romances she began collecting a year ago. Some are signed, some are bookmarked at her favorite spots, but they ware some of her most cherished possessions.
“I know where you belong,” she announces as she hefts the large box into her grasp, struggling to carry the heavy square up the two flights of stairs.
Once on the third floor, she slides the box across the wooden planks as she stands on the fifth step from the top and then finishes climbing the stairs.
“Oh my gosh,” she cries as she takes in the office her mother was in charge of unpacking.
The bookshelves stand empty, awaiting the arrivals of her precious collection, and a wooden desk in a gray driftwood stain stands across from it with her laptop resting on the top. But what catches her attention sits under the windowsill. A large cushioned armchair, perfect for curling up and reading, rests in the exceptional spot.
As she looks closer, walking across the room, she notices a small note resting on the chair.
For you, Everleigh, so that you always have a place to remember your dreams.
My Love,
Brooks
She reads it over three times before she lets the words descend into her heart.
She knows it just as well as she knows how to tie her shoes, he has broken through, he did what no one else even attempted, he made her fall for him.
And that thought shatters her dreams all over again.
***
THE DARKENED ROOM PUTS him at ease as the whispered breathes surrounding him fill his ears with secrets and longing. Brooks rests back in his chair taking in the people milling around him; each lost in their own world, each desiring something from another.
The medical profession is a strange one, colleagues always trying to top another or using whatever connections they have to get something for free. Today the group is discussing the controversial topic of vaccinations and Brooks has completely zoned out. He is far more interested in learning about new items on the autism spectrum than listening to physicians argue one way or the other on the merit of vaccinations.
