Page 32 of Hello Handsome
Her smile was as warm as the blush on her cheeks as she swayed with me to the beat. “Hard to find a lot of time to dance when we only see each other at my place of work. They might not like it if their waitress danced with anything other than a broom.”
That had me scoffing. “Call it a smoke break and you’re free to do what you like.”
“True.” She chuckled a bit, then she lifted her chin, looking up at me. “Are you saying you want me to dance at work with you?”
It was a bold statement, and I wanted to say,Yes, I want you to dance with me. I want to earn more of your smiles. I want to hold you like this and just be in the moment with you because my thoughts are usually running wild, but when I’m with you, it feels like everything is okay.
So I simply said, “If it makes you happy.” I did want her to be happy. I wanted her to have everything she wanted. No matter how long I had to wait. No matter how many sessions it took with Dr. Benson to be at peace with the idea of moving on.
The song faded to an end, and her smile faltered. “Thanks for the dance, Gray.” Then she turned to walk away.
I stood still for a moment, knowing I’d messed up somehow. And no matter what happened romantically, I couldn’t lose her as a friend. “Aggie, wait.” I reached out to touch her wrist, and she paused, looking down at the connection.
I wondered if she felt the warmth there like I did. But either way, I pulled my hand back. She wasn’t mine to touch.
She gazed up at me, a questioning look in her eyes.
“Can we step outside for a moment? I’d like to talk.”
The way she hesitated nearly gutted me.
“Please?” I added.
She let out a small, resigned sigh, saying, “Okay.”
21
AGGIE
My heart feltheavy as I followed Gray out of the shop and around the side where the flood lights didn’t reach. I knew I’d pulled back from him since seeing him lost in his memories during the ceremony. The truth was, I didn’t know how to love someone who didn’t love me first. But how could you say that to a friend? The lines were all blurred, and I had no way of bringing them back into focus.
Gray stopped when we were bathed in shadows, but somehow his eyes still caught the little light from the moon and all the stars.
It was hard to look away.
Hard to hide the overwhelming desire that he’d brought me out here to kiss my breath away. My lips could almost feel the ghost of his touch with how desperately I wanted it. Desperation had never served me well. So I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin, knowing this conversation had the power to make me fly or make me fall.
“Aggie, I feel like I did something wrong,” he began. “If I stepped over the line in any way, please let me know so I can make it right.”
My eyes unexpectedly began to sting. Because he was such a good man. The kind I’d always wanted. “When you were crying at the wedding… I…”
Gray waited patiently for me to find my words, and when I did, I said, “I know I said I needed time before we pursued a relationship, but I’m wondering if you might not be ready either.” It hurt to say, and even though I didn’t want it to, it sounded a little accusatory. “I’m wondering if you’ll ever be able to love me like you loved her.”
He reached out, brushing calloused fingertips over my arm, and it took all I had not to shiver. “Ags, you know you’re my best friend.”
Somewhere deep down, I knew it. But hearing it hit different. Now, I felt like hesawme... as more than someone to refill drinks or take an order. As more than a mom to make dinners and solve problems. And more than someone to shoot the breeze with and fill the day. He saw me andvaluedme.
And if I was being honest? “You’re my best friend, too.” It came out a barely audible whisper. So why was my heart aching so damn much? Like I was sitting on the couch with my baby and watching him walk out the door?
There was a soft smile on his lips as he drew his fingertips from my arm and cupped my face, only for a moment. Then he lowered his hands and linked them in front of his waist. I mourned the absence of his touch, my gaze lingering on his weathered hands catching all the shadows of the night.
“I’m interested in more than friendship with you.”
My heart lifted, only to fall and shatter at his next words.
“But you’re right. I lost my wife when I was your age, and sometimes the loss feels fresh, as if it happened yesterday. People keep telling me to move on, but the truth is… I want to, but I don’t know how. How can I be true to you when my heart was buried with my wife?”
My eyes stung at the confirmation as all my fears wracked through me.
