Fighting to Breathe (Shooting Stars 1)

“It needed a lot of work, but everything should be done this summer, so hopefully I can get settled there over the winter,” he says, and Anna comes to mind. She would be living there with him.

“I’m happy for you,” I lie as jealousy rears its ugly head. “How are your mom, dad, and Bre?” I change the subject.

“Good. Mom and Dad moved to Anchorage a year ago, to be closer to Bre and her husband.”

“Bre got married?” I ask, surprised. Bre was always wild. She was three years older than Austin, and had never really settled. She was always on the move, wanting a new adventure.

“Yeah, she and Sean are expecting their second baby any time now.”

“My mom hasn’t told me anything,” I say then watch as annoyance enters his eyes before he looks away, toward the oven that begins to beep.

“I hope you still like pepperoni.”

“I do.” My stomach flutters that he remembers.

He stands, shuts off the oven, pulls out the pizza, and then fumbles around in a drawer until he finds a pizza cutter. He begins to cut up slices before placing them on paper plates, setting one in front of me.

“Thank you.” When I smile, his eyes drop to my mouth and he grunts before taking a seat across from me, making me smile bigger. He was never really a talker when we were younger. He would always grunt when he got his way or proved a point, and that sound coming from him now somehow settles inside of me.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do after?” he asks, taking a bite of his pizza.

I know he means after my mom passes away, so I shake my head then continue with, “My mom wants me to ask Larry if he would be willing to sell me his office space.”

“You would stay in town?” he asks, sounding annoyed again, making me wish I never said anything. Of course we were sitting here now, but that doesn’t mean he wants me to move back.

“I don’t know,” I mutter. “I haven’t thought much about it.”

“What about your husband?” There is no mistaking the anger in his voice while asking that question, so I sit up a little taller.

“Ex-husband.”

“Okay, what about you’re ex-husband?”

“What do you mean?” I ask shortly.

“How’s he feel about you moving away?”

“Obviously, he’s my ex, so he doesn’t have a say in what I do, and I doubt Courtney would be pleased if he did care.”

“Who’s Courtney?” he frowns.

“His girlfriend, my replacement.”

“What?” he growls, sending tingles through my body.

“He was having an affair the last three years we were married.”

“Seriously.”

“Yeah, and just to make it sound all the more cliché, it was with his assistant, who is ten years younger than me.” I roll my eyes, not even upset about it anymore, which is surprising.

“Jesus, babe.”

“I know.” I shake my head, taking another bite of pizza.

“You should ask,” he states.

“Pardon?”

“Larry, you should talk to him.”

“I’m not sure,” I say, and he shrugs, taking another bite, and before I know it, we’re both done eating and I look at the clock on the wall, seeing it’s after ten.

“I’ll walk you out,” he offers.

“It’s okay; I can see myself out.” I smile and pull my coat on then go to the stairs, and he’s right behind me, pulling on a hoodie, causing the bottom of his shirt to lift slightly, giving a glimpse of his abs. I turn back around and race up the steps as the tingling in my belly transfers to between my legs. I hear him mutter something from behind me, but I’m too caught up in getting away to pay attention. Once I reach the deck, I take a gulp of air then jump when his hand wraps around my arm.

“Easy,” he mumbles, leading me to the edge of the boat, stepping off, but then instead of just taking my hand and helping me over, his hands span my waist and he lifts me up, placing me on my feet in front of him. Making me once again realize how different we are in size.

“You really don’t have to walk me.”

“I want to.” He places his hand at the small of my back and leads me down the dock. I try to ignore the warmth from his palm as it burns through my coat and sweatshirt, but I just can’t. I swear my body is feeding off his touch, taking in his warmth, wrapping it around me. When we reach my car, I don’t have a chance to open the door before he does, and I’m stunned when his lips come down, grazing my cheek, where he murmurs, “Get home safe.”

“’Night, Austin,” I whisper, getting into the car, slamming the door, and putting the keys in the ignition. I leave the parking lot as quickly as possible before I do something stupid, like go back and demand that he kiss me.

When I get home, the house is dark, so I go to my bedroom, strip off my clothes, and get into bed, where, for once, I don’t think about everything that’s gone wrong in my life. I think about Austin.

Chapter 5

Lea

“Are you okay?”

I tip down my Kindle and look at Mom, who is standing in the doorway of the living room. “Fine, are you okay?” I sit up, setting my Kindle next to me when I notice she’s looking at me strangely.

“You haven’t seen Austin again,” she states, coming to sit down next to me.

“No, and I don’t know if I will. We agreed to be friends, Mom, and even that title is a stretch considering our history.”

It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen Austin…or heard from him, period. I know he’s working, from what Rhonda’s told me, and honestly, it’s easier like this. I don’t need to get caught up in the past; I need to move forward. I’m just happy he isn’t angry with me anymore. That’s more than I could have hoped for.

“I just thought—”

“Mom.” I grab her hand, pulling it to my lap. “I love you, but Austin and I are not going to get back together. He has a girlfriend and they’re moving in together.”

“What?” she whispers, sounding genuinely surprised.

“I’m happy for him. He’s a good guy and deserves to be happy—we both do,” I say, and for the first time, I really mean it. Yes, I’m still a little jealous, but that’s normal. Right?

“Okay.”

“Okay,” I repeat, leaning into her side. “So what do you want to do today?”

“I have a doctor’s appointment at three.”

“You never told me.” I look at the clock, seeing it’s already two.

“It’s just a check-up.”

“I’m still going with you,” I remark. My mom is stubborn, and although she knows she’s sick, most days, there is no stopping her from doing whatever she wants. We have argued more than once about her driving herself places. I just can’t help but t

hink that one day something is going to happen and she is going to either hurt someone else, or herself.

“We’ll leave soon. I just need to make a phone call.” She gets up off the couch and heads toward her bedroom, so I go to my room and find a pair of leggings and a sweater, put them on along with my boots, and then swipe on some mascara and lip gloss. When I walk into the kitchen with my bag, she’s just ending her call.

“Ready?” she asks, placing her phone in her bag and opening the backdoor.

“Yep.” It takes just a few minutes to get to the hospital, and when we arrive, we’re sent to a private room almost immediately after checking in at the front desk.

“Josie,” the doctor greets as he walks in. His head is tilted down, reading over the papers in his hand, so I can’t see his face, but he’s tall, with broad shoulders and a tapered waist. His hair is short but messy, and his skin is tan. When his head lifts, our eyes meet. He’s very handsome—not as good-looking as Austin, but definitely attractive.

“You’re not Josie.” He looks back down at his clipboard with his brows pulled together, making me smile.

“Josie’s my mom.”

“Dr. Rubin,” my mom calls from the chair near the door. “This is my daughter Lea.”

“Lea.” He looks from Mom to me.

“Nice to meet you.” I stick out my hand and he takes it in his, and I notice his hands are smooth and soft, so unlike the roughness of Austin’s.

Dammit, stop thinking about him, Lea! I scold myself.

“Nice to meet you too, Lea. Your mom told me that you were moving to town.”

“Did she?” I look at my mom and raise a brow.

“Dr. Rubin just moved to Cordova from Seattle. I was telling him he needs to get out and explore, instead of being stuck in the hospital all day.”

“As you can see, my mom is very helpful.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He chuckles then points at her. “Come on over; you know the drill.” My mom gets up from her seat and goes to the exam table, lying down. “How have you been feeling?” he asks, lifting her shirt, exposing her stomach, and then pressing in.