Page 15 of Falling Again
CHAPTER 5
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Natalie drove to workin a daze. The last few hours spun through her brain in a tormenting loop. Anthony had attempted to spend time with her. That had to be huge, right? Granted, he fell asleep before they even made it past the opening credits of the show, but he’d sat down with her and planned to watch. No cell phone, no distractions.
Baby steps.
Then this morning had thrown another curve ball. It could have been the haze that comes with sleep, or maybe she had been dreaming, but Natalie could have sworn she and Anthony spooned. As in proper spooning, where you melt into the other person and absorb their warmth. God, it was paradise. Natalie’s skin tingled from the memory.
Pulling into her parking spot outside the office, Natalie saw Ginny had beaten her to work. Judging from the silhouette of two people in the entryway, she wasn’t alone. Before the pair could break apart, Natalie walked in, interrupting Ginny and Max’s embrace.
“Alright you two,” she teased as she pushed past to her office. “I get it. You’re in love.” Natalie hoped her voice didn’t betray her jealousy. Here she was celebrating ten minutes alone with her husband, and Max couldn’t leave Ginny alone for the few hours between breakfast and lunch.
Breakfast. Something Natalie had forgotten in her haste to get to work and figure out what the hell was going on with her marriage. As if she needed the reminder, her stomach growled, and Natalie had to cover it with her purse to muffle the sound.
Max stood in the doorway, arm outstretched with her salvation. “It may seem like I only stopped by to ogle my wife, but I come bearing gifts.” He stepped up to her desk and placed a paper bag next to her stack of files.
“It’s a slice of quiche from CeCe, and I threw in a donut for fun. Can’t have you girls starving to death,” he said with a wink. Natalie could see why Ginny was so smitten. Kisses and carbs? It was an embarrassment of husband riches.
“Thanks.” Natalie didn’t hesitate, ripping the bag open and sticking the donut in her mouth. Ginny appeared in the doorway and laughed. “I hope this wasn’t meant to be shared,” Natalie said through the crumbs.
“Are you kidding? CeCe insisted I give you each your own bag of goodies.” Max looked down at his watch and frowned. “I gotta run. Evan and I are flying solo for breakfast, so I don’t want to leave him hanging.” Ginny gave him another hug and kiss for good measure before swatting his butt on the way out.
Natalie slurped from her to-go cup of coffee, shouting her thanks after him.
“You married a good one.”
Ginny beamed, a carefree smile only a newlywed could have. “Yep. I won’t argue with you.” She opened her own paper bag and pulled out her donut. Sitting down opposite Natalie, she took a bite and moaned in delight. “I’m so glad CeCe is part of the Max package. That girl knows her way around the kitchen.”
Natalie couldn’t disagree. It was such a relief that her two best friends in Buckeye Falls had hit it off. She had been worried when Ginny came back to town, as CeCe was possessive of Max—purely as a friend—and didn’t want Ginny to break his heart again. When CeCe met Max he was a shell of himself, but fortunately she quickly learned how much Ginny and Max belonged together. Everyone in Buckeye Falls shared a sigh of relief when they’d found their way back to each other.
Found their way back to each other. Natalie supposed it was the same type of miracle she and Anthony needed. She wiped her mouth with a tissue and tried to school her features. For all her poker skills, Natalie rarely hid her feelings when they were bubbling at the surface. Her face was an open book. One that, unfortunately, Ginny was keen to read.
“Out with it,” she ordered, leaning forward in her chair. “Something is up, and it’s not just your blood sugar.”
Natalie searched around the office for something to distract Ginny, something to pull the spotlight away from her jumbled emotions. Natalie wasn’t supposed to have issues; she was supposed to fix other people’s issues. She loved playing the role of fixer. Helping others left a warm feeling of satisfaction in Natalie’s heart, but the notion of sharing her own problems made it burn like she’d eaten too much Tex-Mex.
Ginny made a show of checking her phone. “We don’t have any clients until eleven o’clock. I don’t have anywhere more important to be. Wait. Is this about our unfinished discussion yesterday?” Ginny lowered her voice and inched closer still. “Is this about you and Anthony?”
The flush that crept up Natalie’s neck gave away her mental state and she groaned. “Yes. But we don’t need to talk about it. Frankly, I’d prefer if we didn’t.”
