“You’re going to kiss me now, aren’t you?” She had asked, tilting her head towards his mouth.
“Would there be anything wrong if I did?” He inched closer. His lips barely touched hers.
Andrea’s arms inched up his back. “I think I’ll be disappointed if you don’t.”
“I think I will be too.” He didn’t deny her any longer. His lips had pressed against hers.
They hadn’t been apart since until now. Andrea’s career was booming. Her schedule became more unpredictable.
Lance screwed the top back on his water bottle. Then his tablet beeped. He jerked at the buzzing on his desk. Someone was FaceTiming him. “Hello.”
Andrea’s face appeared on screen. With her loose brown curls in a messy bun, he saw more of her round face.
He gave a faint smile. “How are you?”
She cupped her cheek. “Tired. How about you?”
“It’s been one of those days.”
“One of those days?” She raised an arched eyebrow. “That’s not telling me much.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” He heard the bite in his voice. Though Lance didn’t mean it, judging by Andrea’s forehead wrinkling, she wouldn’t ignore his attitude.
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry.”
“What’s with you today? Rough day at the office?”
“Something like that. I have to close this deal and I can’t afford any mistakes.”
“Is making partner that important to you?”
“I’ve come too far to give up now.”
“But you don’t look...”
Why did she stop? “What, Babe?”
“Happy.”
He couldn’t tell her the truth. How stupid would it be to say he was only doing it to get his father’s attention? The thought was ridiculous, so he blocked it out. He was a grown man. Yet, he had a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. What made him happy?
A glimpse of it touched him at the cemetery, of all places. It wasn’t until he saw Chantelle standing over him. The ache in his heart over his sister’s death eased when he stood to talk with her.
For a moment, they were the only two people in the world. Chantelle Woods. Amazing. Beautiful. Caring. Talented. Funny.
Then the rain started, and he reached for her. How he would hold her in the past. Chantelle would hug his neck, and he would let go of all the pain of his late teen years and not having his sister around anymore. He couldn’t talk to his parents, but he could share with Chantelle. Sure, Grant would listen, but his sister was another shoulder he could lean on.
“Lance?” Andrea said.
He rubbed his eyes. Those days were over. No reason to be thinking about Chantelle now. It wasn’t fair to Andrea. “Sorry. What?”
“Lance, you’re not listening to me.”
“I am. I hear you.”