Page 8 of Falling Again
“Oh,” she gasped, her eyes darting across his exposed skin. Much like that morning, Anthony couldn’t remember the last time they’d been topless with each other. He ached to be near her, to pull her close and feel her on his skin.
As he stepped toward her again, a blob of something brown fell from the ceiling and landed square on his chest with a splat. “What the—” he mused as he swiped up the mystery goo.
Natalie burst into hysterical laughter, doubling over as she shook. Hands resting on her knees, she struggled to catch her breath. “That would be the last of Maddie’s chocolate syrup explosion from this morning. I guess I didn’t get the whole mess after all.”
Pawing off the rest of the syrup, Anthony couldn’t hold back his own chuckle. The lunacy of the moment was too much—it was all too much. Laughter wasn’t the release he wanted, but it was what he needed. His abs ached with the force of his exhales—it felt damn good.
Hearing all the noise, both children came to the kitchen to investigate. “What’s going on?” Madeline asked, her arm protectively draped around her little brother. Otis looked around the scene with disinterest, his chubby hands gripping his favorite toy.
Anthony smiled with genuine affection for his children. Even after the last few minutes, he could still appreciate a sweet sight when it presented itself.
“Nothing Maddie. You and Otis sit tight, okay? Mommy and I are making dinner.”
Natalie drew herself upright and dabbed at her eyes. Anthony wasn’t sure if they were tears of frustration or laughter, but he knew they needed to stop. His wife deserved better, and standing shirtless in the smoky kitchen, covered in sticky syrup, Anthony knew they needed to make some changes. And those changes needed to start immediately.
CHAPTER 3
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Natalie sat in heroffice doodling in the margins of her notebook. She’d just finished a successful call with a party supply vendor out of Columbus who was interested in doing business. A contract with them would save her and Ginny a lot of money on larger events. As she finished adding a sunflower to the page, she caught herself smiling.
Last night, while chaotic and exhausting, was kind of fun. She and Anthony hadn’t shared a laugh like that in a long time. She also hadn’t seen her husband shirtless in a far longer time, but she was trying not to dwell. Back in the day they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. No matter what was going on in their lives, they constantly found ways to steal time together. Now she apparently needed to have chocolate sludge fall from the sky to see Anthony in anything other than his freshly pressed suits.
“Earth to Natalie,” Ginny greeted from the doorway. Natalie feared she’d been daydreaming for longer than she realized.
Shaking herself back to the present, Natalie smiled. “What’s up?”
Ginny handed her a stack of files, tapping the top one with her finger. “Our client list is what’s up. Check this out.”
Natalie opened the top folder and saw a contract for another shop on Main Street. “I booked us Frick and Frack’s Christmas party,” Ginny said while bouncing up and down on her toes.
“But it’s barely June. How did you manage that?”
Ginny pulled out the chair opposite Natalie and beamed. “I went down with Mona today over lunch. She wanted to get a gift for her granddaughter––you know they have the cutest jewelry. Anyway, while I was waiting for Mona to pay, I overheard her and the owner talking about their holiday party. I happened to have a business card and told her we’d love to help. Next thing I know she’s emailing me specs and I’m sending her a contract. Easy as that.” Ginny snapped her fingers to punctuate her point.
“Damn Ginny. Hiring you was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
