Page 63 of Fall For Me
Has she gone out to celebrate?
I loosen my tie as I climb the stairs. After changing out of my suit, I wander back downstairs and into the open space kitchen. It’s spotless, but with tiny signs of Peyton’s presence strewn everywhere. She’s scattered a few Halloween decorations around, small pumpkins in different shapes and colors. Agarland of leaves and twigs over the living room mantel. And is that a stick-on spider web in the window’s corner?
I’m not big on decorations. I wouldn’t even bother with a Christmas tree if Mrs. Gable didn’t insist on putting one up for me. But I don’t mind these little touches.
A new tall vase is on the kitchen island filled with dried colorful flowers. And, sitting on the granite counter, a contraption that must be the complicated wine opener we stole from her ex.
I pick it up, turning it over in my hand, and smile. I’m glad I got it for her.
I set it down before I get too sentimental over a piece of metal and go to the fridge, where I find a note on a new dry-erase board.
Heat the casserole at 350° for 15 min. Or 3 min microwave. Gone to book club. P
She’s at the book club. The relief that floods through me is absurd. It’s not like I thought she’d run away. But knowing where she is calms a primal instinct in me I hadn’t realized was agitated.
Still, as I eat at the kitchen island, the silence of the large house presses in on me more heavily than usual.
Quiet evenings have never bothered me.
Now I feel utterly alone.
Abandoned.
I frown at my half-eaten dinner. For fuck’s sake, it’s been only a few days. We’ve had a grand total of two dinners together, three counting the one at my parents’. How did she become my new normal so fast?
Does the uncomfortable tightness in my chest mean I miss her? Is it her I miss? Or is it having someone around?
I get my answer two hours later, when the rumble of her car in the driveway has me on my feet pronto. And since I’m a man with no dignity left, I don’t stay in my study. No, I walk to the foyer to meet her like a pathetic puppy wagging his tail.
The lock turns, and Peyton breezes in, bringing a gust of cool night air with her.
She rears back in surprise at finding me waiting for her. As she should be. I have no business hovering here.
“Oh, hi,” she says, blinking. Her cheeks flushed from the cold, hair wild from the wind.
I should say something cool, detached. Something that doesn’t make me sound like a man starved for attention. Instead, I ask, “How was the book club?”
Her face lights up. “It was amazing!” She drops her keys in the dish next to mine. “Everyone was so nice…”
She keeps talking as she peels off her jacket, hanging it on the coat rack. I listen, not bothered by the barrage of words.
I am selfishly glad she is fitting in. If she has friends, if she feels part of the town, it will make our arrangement easier. She won’t be miserable. She’ll stay.
Not that I want her to stay for any reason other than getting my dad off my back.
“I talked to Lila about your job offer.”
“And?”
I’m not even jealous she’s co-opting my best friend. I’m relieved she has someone to talk to.
“She said I should shadow you at the office for a day, to get a sense of the business and if I’d like working with you.”
“It’s a good idea,” I admit. “Tomorrow would be more of a regular day. But I can’t, I have back-to-back meetings.”
“Oh.” Her face falls slightly.
“But we could do Friday, even if it’s a shorter day.”
