Josh reached over and took my hand in his again.
Okay, so no harm can come from us holding hands, right? Friends hold hands.
***
After we ate, we both ordered a piece of pie. I got the apple pie, and Josh got the coconut cream pie. With my first bite, the memories were almost too much to handle.
Josh asked Casey about what was going on in town. She told us all about Meet on Main. They had dancing, live music, and shopping. Josh asked if I wanted to check it out. I really didn’t want this afternoon to end, so I said yes.
We walked a few blocks over and spent the next thirty minutes walking around, visiting all the booths and shops.
Memories of my mom and dad kept flooding my mind.
I missed them. Even a year later, the pain was still so raw. Oh god, maybe it was a bad idea coming to Marble Falls.
Josh must have sensed how I was feeling. As we walked past the band, he took my hand and led me out to where everyone was dancing. The band was playing a cover of Jason Aldean’s “The Only Way I Know”. It didn’t take long before Josh was spinning me around on the pavement. I hadn’t had that much fun in… I don’t know how long. My god, this guy knows how to dance!
After Josh and I cut up the dance floor through two more songs, the band took a break. They switched it over to music so that everyone could keep dancing. Blake Shelton’s “Over” started to play. Josh just smiled at me and pulled me into him. Even though I was only five foot three and he was six two, we fit together so perfectly. The warmth of his body made me feel so safe.
I relaxed in his arms for the first time in more than a year. I never wanted this feeling to end, but I knew that it had to. As much as I wanted, there was no way I could ever let Josh Hayes into my heart. Never.
CHAPTER NINE
ARI
I woke up from a terrible nightmare. Fuck a duck! If I had one more dream about Jeff and Rebecca, I swore that I would never go to sleep again. I looked over at the clock. It was 6:30. Jeff must already be up and out for a run.
I picked up my cell phone and called Amanda.
“Hey sweets. What’s up?” Amanda said. She sounded like she couldn’t breathe.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Oh god! Are you having sex?”
Amanda laughed. “No! I’m at the gym, running on the treadmill. It’s something you should be doing, Ari. ”
“Yeah, whatever, bitch. I need you today. Are you free?”
“Yep, Brad is helping his dad out, so I’m free the whole day. Why? What’s up?”
I took a deep breath and then started to tell Amanda about my plan.
“Holy hell, Ari! Are you fucking nuts?”
“No, I’m not nuts. I really don’t think this baby is Jeff’s. I have to see her, Amanda. I have to find out why she picked now to tell him that she’s pregnant. I need to see her with my own eyes. Manda…please do this for me,” I begged.
“Gesh, Ari. Damn it. Okay. What do I need to do?”
“Meet me at Haylcyon in thirty minutes. I found out yesterday that Crysti is working this morning. Then, you and I are having lunch at Hula Hut today. ”
“Oh shit. I have a bad feeling, Ari, a very bad feeling about this. ”
“Just shut up, and get your ass over to the coffee shop. Parking is a bitch, so just pay to park. ”
I hung up with Amanda and started to get dressed. I didn’t have time for a shower, so I just threw my hair up in a ponytail and tried to make myself look somewhat presentable. Thank God I kept clothes over at Jeff’s. I picked out a pair of black capri pants, a light blue tank top, and flip flops. Now, I was ready to get to the bottom of this Rebecca mess.
Just as I was walking into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, Jeff came through the front door.
“Hey, baby! What are you doing up this early? I thought that maybe we could continue with what we started last night,” Jeff said as he walked up and wrapped his arms around me.