Page 37 of Until Forever

I softened with relief. Or at least I wanted to. But the sarcasm and bitterness dripping from his words made it impossible to really feel assured.

“Okay, good,” I said softly anyway, even though nothing about it seemed good or okay.

I slowly turned and opened the door. The rain was still coming down, but not nearly as hard as before. I opened the umbrella and looked back at Keith one more time. He obviously wasn’t pleased about me leaving or anything I had just said. But I had to trust he wouldn’t let this ruin everything with the marina. He wouldn’t do that, right?

I swallowed down all my worries and pushed myself to walk out the door.

16

LANA

I strained and stretched from the top of the ladder, reaching to hang the very last plank of wood on the wall of the marina’s lobby. We had decided to use accents of the wood from the original marina for decoration. As soon as that one was up, the only thing left to finish the interior was to decide on what color to paint the wall behind the front counter and to hang the sign.

“Whoa, be careful!” Keith’s voice called out as he came in and saw me struggling on the wobbly ladder.

He rushed over to steady it with his hands, allowing me to snag the backing on the wood on the nail.

“There.” I climbed down, pretending not to notice how he kept his hands in place until my feet were on the ground again.

He had me caged in with his arms, as if I was still in danger of falling. The heat from the closeness of his body brought on a strong stir of desire inside, but I pretended not to notice that either.

“Thanks,” I smiled sweetly, casually.

“Don’t mention it.” He dipped his head and took several steps back. “It looks good in here.”

“Just about finished! How is everything going outside?”

“We’re just waiting on the concrete guys to deliver the umbrella stands you wanted for the outdoor tables,” he replied.

“Wow. It’s all coming together,” I marveled. “I’m interviewing a few restaurant managers next week. Want to join in on those? You have experience managing your construction crews, after all.”

“Sure. I can sit in and see if there’s anything I can offer to the mix.”

“Great. I’ll email you all the details.” I smiled and nodded.

That was that. Everything was fine. Completely fine! Things hadn’t been the least bit awkward since we slept together.

Actually, they had been dreadfully uncomfortable, but I was determined to ignore it until everything actually was okay again.

My phone rang, saving me from the inevitable heavy silence that always eventually fell between us every time we were alone. I hated those silences because I knew Keith was just waiting for the right moment to try and talk to me. Like, really talk to me. As in sweet talk his way into making a repeat of the other night happen all over again. I was not about to let that happen.

“It’s Claire,” I told him after glancing at the screen. “I should take this.”

He waved his arm for me to walk by and step into the corner for some privacy.

“Hey, Claire. Everything okay?” I answered.

“No,” she sobbed. “No, everything is not okay.”

My heart dropped in my chest. I imagined all the worst possible scenarios, like her lying in the middle of the bathroom floor, home alone with no one to help her after she fell out of her wheelchair. What if she was hurt?

“What is it!? Where are you!? Are you at home!? I’m coming there right away.”

“Yes, of course I’m at home because I can’t drive,” she cried harder. “But it’s okay. I’m not physically hurt or anything like that. It’s just that I was supposed to visit the school today. All of my students were waiting for this. They made me gifts and everything. Chris was supposed to take a long lunch so he could drive me, but he just called at the last minute, claiming he’s stuck at work.”

I closed my eyes and let out a growling sigh. That asshole. Just when you thought he couldn’t get any worse, he found new ways to surprise you.

“Don’t cry, Claire. We’ll fix this,” I assured her. “I’m leaving the marina right now, alright? I’ll be there to pick you up in five. You just take some deep breaths and wash your face. You don’t want all of your students to see you’ve been crying, do you?”

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