Page 86 of Heart of Stone
Because for weeks I’d been noticing everything Reid had been doing to prove to me that he was serious about me and that he cared. He made it possible for me to trust myself in a relationship again, so I shouldn’t have been feeling any concern about what would happen if I brought this up to him.
“Maybe I’ll just do it casually,” I said. “Find a way to tease him about it. At least it won’t feel threatening if I do it like that.”
“Exactly. I think you’ll be fine. And I’m sure there’s nothing for you to worry about. Reid probably already has it all figured out.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll talk to him later today.”
“Why not after lunch?”
“His friend from Pittsburgh came to visit, and I know they went out to grab a bite to eat this afternoon. He told me to stop in his office to meet his friend this afternoon, so I’ll have to wait until we’re alone to talk about this.”
Danielle’s eyes brightened, her smile growing. “You’re meeting his friend. Tell me that’s not a good sign.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled back. “I guess that’s a great sign.”
Danielle let out a squeal. “Oh, this is so exciting. Maybe by this time next year, you’ll be showing off your engagement ring.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, I need to figure out if that man ever plans to move back here, because I could never leave this place.”
“He will. I just know it.”
I could’ve sat and argued with Danielle, but I didn’t see the point. I wanted her to be right about this, about all of it, so I dove back into my meal and did it with a smile on my face, thinking about the man who’d changed my life.
Reid
The contrast between where I was two months ago and now was stark.
Walking toward my current office at Sandstone Heart with my best friend beside me, it couldn’t have been more apparent.
I’d just spent the last hour at lunch telling Cole all about what had been happening in my life ever since I’d returned to Cardinal.
It was nice being able to catch up with him, to share a bit of the excitement I was feeling over everything that had changed over the last few weeks.
And with all the talking I’d done, I still hadn’t been able to communicate everything to him. I really wanted him to meet Natalia, to see just how lovely she was. We’d gotten back to the office building, and I led us to her office, but it appeared she hadn’t yet returned from her lunch break.
So, I figured I’d show him where I was working for the next few months, and we could chat for a few minutes until Natalia returned. She knew to meet me back here, so I could make introductions.
“This is it,” I said as we walked into the office.
Cole didn’t hide how impressed he was as he looked around the room. “This isn’t bad, Reid. It’s a great space.”
“Yeah, it’s not bad. It took me a minute to get used to it, considering it was where my dad spent his days for years upon years. But it’s grown on me.”
“You mean, this girl has grown on you.”
I chuckled. “Well, I’m certainly not going to deny that she’s had a lot to do with it. That’s for sure.”
“And to think, you’re going to tear this place down,” he said as he walked over to where my father had a bunch of pictures displayed on the filing cabinet behind the desk.
I followed him there, but I couldn’t bring myself to respond.
Although I’d shared a lot with Cole this afternoon, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to tell him that I’d had a change of heart about the retreat. I wanted him to meet Natalia first. And I wanted to come clean with her before I told anybody else about it.
Of course, at the beginning of all this, I’d shared the details with Cole, and he didn’t hesitate to put them out there again.
“It’s kind of crazy when you think about it,” he said.
“What is?”
