“I love you.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Not that I’d want to.
“Gah, not while I’m trying to eat.” Gabby breaks the moment, making us all laugh.
“Speaking of, Harrison, are you not going to eat?” Winnie asks.
“Yeah, I’m just waiting on Chase.”
“Chase?” Gabby asks.
It’s not lost on me that she almost sounds hopeful. Sounds like my sister-in-law has been missing my best friend since the divorce. They do say that there’s a thin line between love and hate.
“Yeah, we have some work to do, so he’s stopping by.” I expect her to offer to stay with Winnie so I can go meet him at the gym, but she doesn’t. Instead, her eyes peer over at the front entrance as if she can’t wait for him to walk through the door.
Luck is on her side as there’s a loud knock on the door. “You need anything?” I ask Winnie as I stand from my seat on the couch.
“No, I’m good, thanks.”
“We’ll be in the kitchen,” I say, passing by her to answer the door.
“Hey, man,” I greet Chase.
“Hey, is that Gabby’s car in the driveway?”
“Yep.”
“Gabby!” he calls out, already en route to the living room. “You have to stop stalking me. It’s getting embarrassing.”
Gabby’s face turns red. “Waste of sperm,” she mutters, shaking her head.
“You,” I point to Chase, “kitchen.” I push on his shoulder to get him moving. “Ease up on her, man,” I say once we’re out of earshot.
“What? It’s Gabby. It’s what we do.”
“Maybe that’s what you used to do. It’s been months since you’ve seen her.”
“I know. I’ve missed it.” He grins.
There’s no point in trying to reason with him. Instead, we make our plates and sit at the island. He fills me in on what’s going on at the gym, and the new location. I was worried that stepping back like I have would get to me, but it’s nice to have the break. If I had the choice, I’d choose more time with Winnie any day of the week. For the first time in ages, I feel like we’ve got this worked out, and everything is going to be okay.
Chapter 10
Winnie
* * *
“Is there a reason you keep glancing over your shoulder toward the kitchen?” I ask, unable to hide the smile on my face. She’s only looked his way ten times in the last ten minutes.
“I’m not,” Gabby argues fruitlessly. It’s written all over her face.
“Liar.”
My sister rolls her eyes. “He’s just so frustrating. I wish he wasn’t so good-looking. I can deal with cocky and arrogant, but the good-looking part? That’s maddening. Jerks shouldn’t be allowed to be hot too.”
I set my empty plate on the table, surprised I ate it all so quickly. I guess I was hungrier than anticipated. “He’s not really a jerk,” I say, taking a drink of my yummy chocolate milk.
Again, my sister rolls her eyes. “Of course he is. He snapped my bra the last time I saw him! In the middle of the supermarket!” she bellows loudly, evoking two chuckles from the kitchen.
“I didn’t realize you could snap a training bra like that!” Chase hollers from the other room.
“See? Jerk!” she yells boisterously. “I stopped wearing a training bra in sixth grade,” Gabby says a little quieter, looking directly at me. Of course, because her eyes are on me, she doesn’t see Harrison’s best friend enter the room.
Chase crouches down behind where Gabby sits. “You’re gonna have to whip them out so I can see, sugarplum. It’s for research purposes.”
Gabby glares icicles over her shoulder. “Your mama should have swallowed and saved us all the pain and suffering.”
I burst out laughing, quickly followed by Chase. He just throws a wink and a grin at my sister and strolls back into the kitchen. Gathering up my dirty dishes, I follow in his wake, not wanting to interrupt but curious as to what they’re discussing.
“You’re right,” Harrison says when his friend takes the seat across the table. “Everything is right on track.”
I try to steal a peek at the papers he’s reading, but after catching a glimpse of him wearing those dark readers, my focus is pulled elsewhere. He’s wearing worn light-colored jeans that mold perfectly to his thighs, an old college T-shirt, and his feet are bare. How is it that a man can take off his shoes and socks and still be completely mouthwateringly sexy?
When my eyes finally meet his, there are small laugh lines crinkling around his big brown eyes, holding humor. The corner of his lip turns upward in that totally kissable way, and he doesn’t call me on my obvious gawking. Thank God. How embarrassing to be caught staring at your ex-husband while he’s working with his best friend, but in my defense, he’s totally yummy and completely doable.
It must be the pregnancy hormones.
“How’s it going?” I ask casually, averting my eyes.
Harrison’s hand snakes out and grabs me. He gives me a gentle tug, causing me to stumble onto his lap. Instantly, I’m assaulted with the scent of his body wash. It’s been so long since I’ve been this overcome by his smell that it brings tears to my eyes. It’s so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time.
Rapidly blinking them away, I keep quiet as Chase continues. “The contractor is two days ahead of schedule and thinks he’ll be done soon on the west property. It’ll be complete and ready to open before the south site.”
“That’s awesome. How about the plumbers?” Harrison asks, keeping his hand on my hip. I try to get up, but he just tightens his hold. When I glance his way, he holds me close and places a kiss on the side of my brow.
Since I’m apparently not going anywhere, I listen as they go through papers, discussing the upcoming opening of his new gym. When we were married, Harrison had purchased a large abandoned building two towns to the west with the intent of converting it into a new gym. Many of their residents drive to Fair Lakes to work out. They had a gym, but it was small and outdated, and once Harrison’s gym took off into the stratosphere, the small gym eventually closed down. Harrison saw the writing on the wall before it had actually closed the doors, however, noting the need in their community, which is why he’s expanding. He also purchased a location to the south, which was in a little worse shape. Its remodel appears to be taking a little longer.
“We’re on track.” Harrison exhales loudly, relaxing back into the chair.
“We are. I’m headed there Thursday and Friday to meet the rep from Ultimate Fitness. He’s going to help me with the layout of the rooms and get us a list of materials and equipment.”
“Thanks for taking care of that for me,” Harrison says, stacking the papers and placing them back in his folder.
“No problem. I only had to rearrange two clients,” Chase says, moving his folder aside.
Something in the way he says that draws my attention. I glance at Harrison, narrowing my eyes as I wait him out. Finally, he gives me the answer to my unspoken question. “I was supposed to go, but I’m not leaving you. So Chase is going in my place.”
“What? No, Harrison. You can’t skip appointments just to babysit me,” I argue. “Besides, I’ll be back to work, so there’s no reason for you to not go.”
He clears his throat, takes off his glasses, and gives me a pointed look. “You were just in a major car accident, Winnie. I’m not leaving town right now in case you need me.”
“First off, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. And you’re like thirty minutes away,” I reason. “If I need you, I’ll call.”
“I’m not going out of town right now, Winnie. End of story,” he maintains, his eyes boring into me with intensity and authority.
“I’m pregnant, Harrison, not helpless.”
A loud gasp sounds across the table. My eyes fly to Chase’s as he gapes at us with question. I quickly look back at Harrison, his body tense beneath mine, and confirm my suspicions. “You hadn?
?t told him?” I whisper.
“We decided not to tell anyone yet,” he replies quietly. True, we did, but I never thought he wouldn’t tell Chase. They tell each other everything, as friends do.
“You’re knocked up?” he asks, his eyes wide with shock.
Before I can answer, Harrison confirms. “She is.” There’s so much excitement in his voice as he pulls me against him, hugging me into his body.
“How the hell did this happen?” Chase asks, dumbfounded at this little twist in the story. Our rather unusual story.
“Well, you see, Chase, when two people love each other, they make a baby. First, they both get completely naked,” Gabby says in a gentle voice as she enters the room, as if she were talking to a young child. “When a man gets excited to make a baby, his penis gets hard,” she adds, taking her finger and sticking it up in the air.
“My penis is hard,” Chase mumbles, his eyes laced with humor and mischief and so completely focused on my sister.
“Oh, well, then this is you,” she states, putting her finger down and sticking up her pinky.
Chase barks out a laugh. “Oh, young Gabby, how I’ve missed you,” Chase says with a rueful shake of his head.
My sister smiles sweetly. “I’ve missed you too, Chase. But at this range, I’m sure to hit my target.”
The look on Chase’s face is priceless. It’s part shock, part admiration, and maybe even a little part turned on. I don’t want to think about the latter, though.
“What’s this?” Gabby asks, picking up a manila folder from the table.
“That’s a handful of resumes that Chase got from an employment agency,” Harrison replies, slowly moving his hand up my hip and bringing it around to rest on my belly.
“Resumes?” I ask, suddenly feeling a little breathless. I should probably move from his lap, but I can’t seem to find the strength or the gumption to make my legs work.
“Yeah, I’m hiring an admin assistant. We’ve got the front desk covered, but I want some help in back. Filing, payroll, and some of the daily duties for both locations. I have a baby on the way, and want to be as much a part of it as possible,” he says, flexing his hand over my abdomen and pulling me back into his chest. The hug is warm and comforting, even though I’m pressed against a wall of hard muscle.