“It’s no one’s fault. I’m not mad at you. I miss you. I do, but I’m not mad. I’d love it if you could hang out and get to know Vaughn a little bit. Are you leaving right away? Can you stay?”
“Preston wants me to go to brunch with his parents, but I think I can get out of it.” She pinched her lips together. “I’m going to get out of it. Hold on, I’ll be back on the deck after I call him. This is more important right now. He’ll understand.”
“We can plan something later, if you want.”
I noticed she had brought in her work bag and a few file boxes and dumped them in the living room.
“No. No time like the present. I’ll be right out.” She shooed me, pulling out her phone and I walked out to the deck to talk to Vaughn.
“How did that go?” He looked up at me.
I laughed. “Besides her walking in on what I was about to do, it was fine. She was embarrassed. I think she’s going to hang out for a little while so you two can get to know each other.”
He sat forward. “How long?”
I nuzzled in next to him, stretching my legs out next to his and pulled the blanket on top of me.
“I’m not sure. She’s calling her boyfriend Preston now.”
Vaughn clicked off the tablet. “I could go if you two need time.”
I shook my head. “I want you to at least meet her for more than five seconds.”
Greer stepped onto the rooftop. “Sorry about that. I’m all free.”
“No problem.” I smiled. “I would offer you a donut, but Vaughn ate the last one.” I elbowed him in the ribs.
“Guilty.”
Greer pulled up a chair next to us. “I brought some coffee out. It’s cold out here this morning. You two don’t look very cold though,” she teased.
I wrapped an arm over Vaughn’s chest. “Not at all. He’s more snuggly than he looks.”
“Thanks,” he grumbled.
“What are your big Sunday plans?” she asked.
Vaughn and I looked at each other. “This.”
I smiled. I knew it was a stupid smile. But I couldn’t help it. We had some kind of calm that ran between us that when I wasn’t looking could instantly turn into something wild and passionate. I bounced back and forth between utter contentment with him and unreal lust.
“Wow. I wish I could do that sometime.”
“What kind of work do you do, Greer?” Vaughn slipped his fingers through mine under the blanket.
“Actually, I have a little bit of news to share about that,” she explained. She brushed her bangs to the side.
“What is it?” It seemed strange that neither of us knew what was going on in the other’s life.
“I got the promotion.” Her smile was wide. “It was way sooner than I expected, but I found out last night.”
“You did? That’s awesome.” I untangled myself from Vaughn to give her a hug. “That’s great. Really great.”
She nodded. “I’ve worked my ass off.” She looked around me to explain to Vaughn. “I work for the senate committee. I’ve been trying to get an advisor position. I thought it was at least a year away.”
He nodded. “Congratulations. Sounds like you put in a lot of hours.”
“Yeah, I’ve sort of been married to my job the past few months. Maybe I should spend a few nights here for a change. Give my work marriage a break.”