Chapter 15 Kit #2
“I see. I didn’t realize you two were spending so much time together.” Veronica had a playful glint in her eye. “And do you still think he’s going to move when this redevelopment project is over?”
“I’m not really sure.” I smiled slyly. “I think I’m okay not knowing that right now.”
“Wow, major departure from the typical calculating, measured, and protective Kit approach.” Veronica gave me a little smile. “I approve of this development.”
“Thanks,” I said, bopping my head back and forth in a celebratory way.
“So, last set of questions: What about the land?” Veronica raised her eyebrows.
“How will this impact your negotiations regarding the land if you and Aunt Rita decide to sell? And if you don’t sell, is that going to sour things between you?
” Veronica paused and said carefully, “I think you’re drop dead gorgeous and all men would love to be in William’s shoes, so I’m sure he’s attracted to you, but is there any chance he’s doing any of this to manipulate you to sell the land? ”
I knew Veronica was just pointing out the elephant in the room, but I wasn’t ready to think about all these hard unknowns.
It took so little for me to slip into a dark cloud of overthinking and anxiety, and I just wanted to stay in a headspace where I could enjoy what was finally happening with William.
I shifted my weight in the booth. “I hadn’t really thought about it.
I don’t think he’d try to manipulate me.
I’m the one who initiated everything last night.
” I cleared my throat. I didn’t want to sound naive, but I really didn’t think William would do something like that to me.
I said, “Really, William hasn’t mentioned selling the land in months, but I’m more open to it now than I was last year,” I admitted.
“Whaaat?” Veronica mockingly gasped. “Is it the huge price tag this river front property is destined to go for that has changed your mind, or the amazing sex?”
“Ha, no, it’s actually been hearing the folks in town talk about how the changes William is bringing will help their businesses.
I realized that if the old-timers can be excited about change, I should be too.
He is doing a lot for the town. He’s helping a group start an entrepreneurship center. It’s really cool.”
Veronica stirred her spoon in her coffee slowly and said quietly, “Okay, but if William screws you over in any way, in business or in love, I promise to start vicious rumors in Atlanta real estate circles that all his properties are roach and rat-infested.”
I laughed and said, “I love you too, Veronica.”
“Like the big roaches that fly at you.” Veronica nodded solemnly. Then her lips curled into a smile. “Okay. But like, for real. Life-changing? Come on. You gotta give me the details.” When I leaned forward and whispered a juicy detail to her, Veronica’s eyes widened, and I laughed.
So far, my thirtieth birthday had been perfect.
I woke up next to William and had breakfast with Veronica.
I just couldn’t imagine it getting better, but it did.
I went home and took a nap, and Aunt Rita woke me up right before dinner.
She was sitting at the foot of my bed when I fully woke.
I stretched like a cat, and, still groggy, I said, “Oh! I’m sorry. Did I oversleep for dinner?”
Aunt Rita crossed her legs and daintily rested her wrist atop her knees. “Actually, my dear, as we speak, a very handsome man is downstairs making you a birthday dinner.”
I felt giddy and couldn’t hide my smile. Aunt Rita playfully pinched my legs. “I knew you two liked each other. What has taken so long?”
“I guess I just had to get out of my own way,” I said with a sigh.
“Well, I’m not going to say I told you so…” Aunt Rita said, examining her nails cooly, “But I did tell you so.”
I rolled my eyes and threw a pillow at her. I hopped out of bed.
Aunt Rita headed for my door. “William said dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes if you want to run a comb through your hair. I offered to leave you two alone for dinner, but he insisted I join. I invited a date, so I wouldn’t be a third wheel.”
“That sounds perfect,” I said. “I’ll be down in fifteen minutes.”
As soon as Aunt Rita closed the door, I quickly undressed.
I went into my bathroom and shaved places I hadn’t thought about in five years.
I found and put on a matching black bra and panty set, then pulled one of my sundresses over them.
I looked at my hair in the mirror. Aunt Rita was right.
My nap had created an interesting cowlick that I couldn’t quite tame.
I decided a loose braid would have to do.
As I examined myself in the mirror, I realized I hadn’t given this much thought to how I looked since New Year’s Eve.
I hurried down the stairs. When I got down to the kitchen, I could hear Aunt Rita laughing.
She was seated in the dining room. A man a few years older than her had his arm around her chair, and William was placing a platter in front of them.
When Aunt Rita saw me, she announced, “Here she is. Our birthday girl.”
William looked up. “Hey, happy birthday. You look great.” I could feel myself blush. William pulled out a chair for me, and I joined them at the table.
“Kit, this is Vernon.” Aunt Rita said. “He’s a doctor at the regional hospital.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “William, this smells amazing. I had no idea you could cook.”
“Yeah, I learned from my mom. She worked in a lot of different types of kitchens, but she primarily taught me to cook Filipino food.” William explained to Vernon, “This is a chicken dish called adobo that you eat over rice, and these noodles are called pancit. You’re supposed to eat them on your birthday for good luck and long life. ”
“And these are lumpia!” Aunt Rita said taking a bite of a slender fried eggroll. Vernon laughed as he did the same. “Everyone who has ever worked in a hospital with a Filipina nurse has had the pleasure of eating lumpia at least once.”
“This is so nice. I really appreciate it,” I said trying hard not to gush.
William went back into the kitchen to get serving spoons.
When he sat down in the chair next to me, his thighs brushed mine.
He put his hand on my knee. I felt a charge run through my body and a warm, pleasant sensation begin to collect in my lower belly.
“Well, I’m particularly appreciative because I am so useless in the kitchen.
A home-cooked meal is always a special treat,” Aunt Rita said as she poured everyone a glass of wine, and we started dinner.
Aunt Rita and Vernon carried the conversation with endless and entertaining stories about working in a hospital.
I felt grateful because all I could think about were the occasional electrifying brushes of Wiliam’s hand on my leg as we ate dinner.
William was careful not to draw attention, but each time he touched me he pushed my dress a little higher.
When Vernon and Aunt Rita went into the kitchen to get dessert, I saw the flame in William’s eye as I rubbed my thighs together in such a way that his fingers were brushed between them.
He swallowed hard. When my aunt returned with slices of cake and scoops of ice cream, William pulled his hand back and draped it around the back of my chair.
I had liked the flirty touch of his hand on my thigh, but I was surprised to find that the familiar and assuming way William put his arm around me gave me butterflies.
Vernon was right behind Aunt Rita, and he brought cups of coffee.
I exclaimed, “This is so nice. I can’t remember the last time we had dinner together like this.”
Vernon settled back into his chair. “So, William. Rita tells me you’re a big part of the development around the regional hospital.”
“That’s right,” William said as he sat up to eat his cake. His hand fell from the back of my chair and briefly pressed against the small of my back before he used it to pick up his coffee cup. Every time William touched me, I was so acutely aware that I hardly heard their conversation.
“Well, I know all the nurses and staff are excited about some potential housing options,” Aunt Rita said. “We’re simply priced out of most of the homes in Blue Ridge and Elijay.”
“Yeah, Creekstone is uniquely positioned to provide affordable housing to young and middle-aged professionals,” William said.
“We’ve been looking at different parcels of land to build homes for nurses and first responders.
We’re even looking at programs to help seniors who might be interested in downsizing from their large family homes to a senior living community. ”
“How would that work?” Aunt Rita asked.
“Well, we’d start by building affordable senior living communities.
The ones in Elijay and Blue Ridge cater to very wealthy retired individuals, and that’s not really the demographic of the seniors in Creekstone.
So, the first thing we’d do is build desirable homes for seniors who have a more modest retirement income.
We’d help them with either the sale of their home or setting their home up to be a rental property so they could afford a senior living community. ”
Vernon nodded. “That would be great. It would create more demand for outpatient centers that serve seniors.”
“That’s right. We’d want to create an entire ecosystem around the hospital,” William said. “And part of that is having affordable homes in a community that’s inviting to young and middle-aged professionals.”
William continued, “I’m working with the mayor of Creekstone right now to make some improvements to the schools because that’s a big part of attracting families.”
My ears perked up a little. “How would you do that?”
“Similar strategies,” William said. “It’s important to have high quality teachers, so teacher pay is a big issue—but so are resources.
We’re looking at proposing a local option sales tax to help fund both structural repairs and updated materials in the schools.
The tax would target goods and services accessed by visitors so that locals wouldn’t feel the burden of the tax too much. ”
“Of course, the hospital foundation is working on raising money for local schools as well. I just saw a message go out about making donations to help promote medical career pathways,” Aunt Rita chimed in.
“Yeah,” Vernon noted. “I sat in on a meeting with the college and high school staff about recruiting students as early as middle school.”
“Wow,” I said sitting back. “Is that really early?”
“Not at all. It’s important to get students into STEM fields early so that they get a good foundation in math and science. It helps the students see where they could end up in the medical field. It makes it all feel more possible.”
“Sounds like a lot of positive things happening in Creekstone,” I said.
“Truly, for the first time in ages, it feels like we have momentum going in the right direction,” Aunt Rita said. “Your mom would have loved to have seen this.”
I felt William’s hand on my back again, and I turned to see his comforting smile.
Aunt Rita said, “Vernon and I will put this food away. You two kids go on and enjoy your evening.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Absolutely positive,” Vernon said.
“After we clean up the kitchen, I’m going to Vernon’s to watch the new show, The Pitt. Everyone says it’s as good as ER, but with better medical accuracy!”
William and I left the dining room and headed into the kitchen.
I stopped at the fridge and pulled out two beers for us.
We headed into the front room to watch TV.
I sat on the sofa in my usual spot, picked up the remote, and navigated to my list of holiday shows.
William sat in his usual spot on the other end of the sofa.
I turned. My jaw dropped. I gave a scornful look at the sofa cushion sitting empty between us.
Laughter burst from William, and he said, “I’ve been wanting to do this for months.” He reached across the sofa, hooked an arm around my waist, pulled me toward him, and perfectly enveloped me between his chest and arm. I stretched my legs out so that I was comfortably propped against William.
I instinctively rested my head against him, and he leaned forward to whispered in my ear, “Last night was perfect, and I cannot wait to have you again.” I felt the warm tingle in my lower belly as his low voice passed through me.
I rubbed his thigh with my hand. He continued, “But this, Kit. Holding you just like this. I’ve never felt this before.
I can’t even begin to describe how good this feels. ” ?
I sighed. I couldn’t have agreed more. I couldn’t believe how amazing it felt to finally be in William’s arms. I put my hands on his chest and looked up at him. He leaned forward and softly kissed me. “Happy birthday, Kit.”