Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
AFTER
It’s amazing how quiet a house can be after the truth finally gets loud.
I now wake up without wondering what someone else is hiding.
The silence in the house feels earned.
The divorce process is going along fast.
Vivian keeps it nice and simple.
Everything documented and organized.
Everything exactly the way she promised.
Gavin doesn’t argue much anymore.
Mostly because there’s nothing left to argue about.
He moves into a furnished apartment across town.
The kind of place that always smells faintly like fresh paint and somebody else’s life.
People still talk about the block party and that one specific part of it.
Not because of me. Because of Gavin.
The man who thought he could lie to everyone and wound up wearing Betty’s strawberry shortcake.
There was also a meme made of it, shared in the neighborhood group.
I have a feeling Bill made it. I’m not sure why.
Now for Paige?
She didn’t stay.
She was gone within days.
Apparently Gavin wasn’t the only husband who’d been buying little gifts for Paige.
Bracelets. Flowers. Lunches.
Nothing quite as intense as Gavin, but enough attention to keep doors open.
She left the state.
Nobody knows where and I truly don’t care.
Part of me hopes she’s learned, yet… I truly don’t care.
As far as the cafe goes, it’s busy.
After a long morning rush, Audrey pours two coffees and slides one toward me.
She places an envelope on the table.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“An offer.”
“Oh?”
“I’m tired of pretending this place is only mine,” Audrey says.
I open the envelope.
Now I’m looking at ownership percentages and financial statements. Projected growth.
She isn’t joking around right now.
“I want a partner,” she says.
I look at her. “Me?”
“When you came in here to start things were painfully slow, Claire. Things weren’t making much sense. You took this place under your wing. You rebuilt this place.”
“You rebuilt me,” I blurt out.
Audrey touches my hand. “No. You did that yourself. I just happened to be serving up some really good coffee.”
I blink a few times, thinking it over.
It makes sense, right?
I’m going to need something more than a part-time cafe job to survive right now.
I know the settlement coming through will be nice, but my plan is to put it all away for Noah.
As far as I’m concerned, I want nothing from Gavin.
Our time is up. He now gets to choose what kind of father he wants to be to our son.
But this… the cafe…
I look around.
“Think it over,” Audrey says. “I mean, you know, as a formality. But I already know it’s a done deal.”
“I didn’t say yes.”
“I did,” Audrey says.
When I get home, I cook a simple dinner for myself, thinking about the cafe the entire time. Rather than pondering the idea of putting up money to buy into the place, I’m thinking about the menu, the pricing, seasonal selections, the shape and size of the coffee mugs, and marketing ideas.
I’m in full operations mode, to the point that I end up peeling a carrot so skinny it breaks like a weak twig and falls into the sink.
Nikki shows up a little bit later and I tell her.
Her response?
Classic Nikki.
Fuck yes! You deserve this! You better do it or I’ll never talk to you again!
After a good laugh, she says, “I’ve got a selfish request.”
“Which is?” I ask.
“I’m staying at least another week in the short-term rental,” she says. “And I was wondering if I could steal Noah for the night. I’m enjoying the time we’ve had together. I like the sleepovers. It’s…”
“You’re going to find someone someday and get married and have a lot of babies,” I tell Nikki.
“Uh, no,” Nikki says. “I’m an aunt. I can have a sleepover, then bring him back home to you and then run off.”
We laugh again.
I pack a bag for Noah and make sure the car seat is properly secured into Nikki’s car.
I have no worries about her taking Noah for the night.
But as she backs out of the driveway, I feel a sadness hit me.
I stroll through the house and pause in the kitchen. I look around and smile as an idea forms. A ridiculous idea. Completely ridiculous.
Yet perfect.
I take out my phone and send a text.
The refrigerator stopped working. Any chance you’re free?
Dean responds in a second.
Ten minutes.
I smile the entire time.
Nine minutes later he’s on the porch with a toolbox.
“I came prepared,” he says.
“I can see that.”
We end up in the kitchen where the refrigerator has no power at all.
Dean opens the doors and it’s darkness. He grabs the refrigerator and wiggles it out and as soon as he looks behind it, he lets out a noise.
“The plug’s out,” he says.
I lean against the counter and fold my arms. “It is.”
He turns and looks at me. “You unplugged it.”
“I might have.”
“You called me over for an unplugged refrigerator?”
“I called you over.”
Dean walks over to me with speed. Precision.
Like the moment had been paused for far too damn long.
He touches my face and I reach up for his.
“Claire…”
“Keeping fixing things,” I whisper.
His hands move to my hips, he picks me up and sits me on the counter.
I can’t help but think it’s practically the same spot as Gavin and Paige.
I chase all of it away.
Dean’s lips touch mine, in that finally way, where butterflies explode and my toes curl.
It’s far from a quick kiss either.
This really has been building and waiting…
I wrap my legs around him and he holds me with ease.
“Upstairs,” I say in between kisses. “The bed. Now.”
I’m being carried with gentle care through my house. Dean’s lips touch my neck. His kisses are soft, yet commanding. Sparks dance throughout my body. I feel like I’m floating and I never want to stop.
The master bedroom is now just my bedroom.
Fresh sheets. New pillows.
Dean even helped me paint the room a different color.
And the entire time we painted, talking, laughing, flirting, nothing happened.
But now…
He places me on the bed and works fast.
I arch my back and feel his lips rest against my stomach. Hands pushing my shirt up, over my head, gone. I reach back and unclasp my bra, needing attention. My breathing is erratic and I can’t slow it down. When his hands touch me, holding with calloused care, I bite my lip.
He moves his hands only to slide the rest of my clothing off.
He moves in an almost sneaky way, somehow stealing kisses and undressing himself, never missing a second, always there to be attentive to my body. Fingers touching, exploring, taking the signals of just how ready I am.
He’s come prepared, leaving my body shivering even more, confessing he wants this as bad as I do.
We pause for a moment, looking at one another.
“Oh, Dean,” I whisper.
“You’re perfect, Claire,” he says. “And if anything goes too far, ever, you tell me. If the timing is never right or stops being right…”
I lock my fingers around his neck and pull him down.
He gives me his mouth and plenty more.
I cry out into his mouth, the surge of pleasure like a wave that had been frozen in time for millions of years.
My eyes blur for a moment and the room spins.
My hands fall to the bed where I hold the sheets.
I’m his. His to take.
It feels so right.
It feels so good.
I beg for the moment to never end, even though that’s impossible.
The comfort is knowing when it does end, that just means another moment can begin.
We are a collision that’s meant to be.
Each movement of his feels like part of me is being put back together.
This is where moments made much more sense.
And when we are finished, I rest my head against his chest and he holds me, fingers sliding up and down my back.
The sound of us collecting our breaths.
“Claire,” he finally says.
“Dean,” I almost purr.
“We never plugged the refrigerator back in. I know it hasn’t been hours but…”
I laugh.
He does too.
I lift my head and stare at him. “It’ll be fine for a little longer, right?”
“Probably,” he says. “If not, I owe you a fridge full of groceries.”
“Or I’ll take payment in a different way,” I say.
I inch toward him and his hands go right back to work.
I know what’s next but after that, I’m not fully sure.
For someone who thrives off operations, I’m enjoying the thrill of the moment.
And the way I see it… as Dean pulls me closer, the refrigerator can wait.
And for once…
So can the rest of my plans.