Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Edie blinked awake, the water droplet curving down her cheek and onto her pillow a rude wakeup call.
“What on earth?” Running her hand over her face, she startled when it came back quite wet.
Another drop plopped onto her forehead.
She bolted upright.
A leak?
How could her newly remodeled beach house have a leak already? Foster’s construction crew was top-notch, and she swore they’d worked on every single square foot of the place, making the once-neglected home practically brand new.
Eyes bleary, she scrubbed them with her fists and focused on the ceiling above her queen-sized bed. Sure enough, there was a damp section of drywall where a pool of water collected until a droplet broke free every few seconds. Another landed on her pillow, nearly missing her head.
Great. Just great.
The last thing she wanted to do was bother Foster with this, but who else could she turn to? She figured he’d like to know, considering he did all of the recent updates on the house. With a big sigh of frustration, she rolled over to the edge of the bed to retrieve her phone from her nightstand.
It wasn’t too early for a call, but Edie still opted for a text.
It would make it feel a little less like an emergency situation because it was far from one.
She didn’t want to be a pest. She had another room she could crash in.
No actual bed, but there was a blow-up mattress in the closet. She’d make do.
Even though she’d texted him the details about the situation, Foster responded immediately with a phone call.
“Hey Edie. What’s this about a leak?”
The trickles were coming down much faster now, a steady and consistent drip like a leaky faucet.
She wedged the phone between her jaw and shoulder, searching for something to catch the falling rainwater.
The closest thing was an empty cup on her nightstand, but that would fill to the brim quickly.
Still, it was better than nothing for now.
“There seems to be a leak right above my bed in the master bedroom. The damp section on the ceiling is about the size of a golf ball, so it’s not anything that needs to be taken care of right away. But I just wanted to get it on your radar.”
“No, it absolutely does need to be taken care of right away. Unfortunately, I’m in town working on another repair for Mrs. Pembrooke at the preschool, so I won’t be back for a few hours.”
“I’m surprised Camille let you out of her sights for that long.”
Foster chuckled. “I managed to sneak out before she was awake.”
“Smart man.”
“Or really stupid, because I’m sure I’ll hear all about it once I get back,” he admitted.
“Either way, we can’t have that leak of yours ruining your mattress.
I believe Josh is around. I’ll give him a call and see if he can come by with a bucket and some tarp so we can patch it up in the meantime.
I should be able to take a look at it later this afternoon. ”
“I really appreciate that. Again, it’s not an emergency—”
“We’ll get it fixed. You’ve got my word.”
Edie clicked out of the phone call, already more at ease despite the constant drip, drip, drip that plunked into the filling water cup.
It was nice to have someone like Foster around, someone so reliable and capable. She was happy Camille had found love again, and with a man that absolutely cherished her.
At one point in time, Edie had wanted that for herself.
No, at one point in time she’d actually had that.
Evan, her husband, had been the love of her life.
Sure, they’d married young. Started a family soon after.
Some said they’d rushed into things, but it didn’t feel that way to Edie.
It felt like finally starting the life she’d always wanted with a man she could love forever.
But fate had other plans.
Goodness, Evan had been gone so many years, but her heart still quickened when she thought back to their life and their love. There was so much promise, so much potential, all to be cut tragically short.
But Edie believed in second chances. There had been one for Camille, who found Foster when she wasn’t even looking. That’s how it always seemed to go. And even Tabitha and Ben were giving their love another attempt.
Edie had to believe her ever after was out there, too, whatever it looked like and whoever it was with.
As promised, Josh showed up within ten minutes, all of the supplies Foster had mentioned in hand, big grin on his face.
“Foster gave me pretty clear instructions, but I’m going to be brutally honest, this will be my first attempt doing any sort of ceiling repair,” he said, following closely behind Edie as they ascended the stairs toward the offending leak.
“I’m sure you’ll do better than I would.”
When they came into the room, Josh’s gaze landed on the little cup doing its best to keep the water contained. The sight was pitifully endearing. “That’s the biggest bucket you’ve got?” he teased.
“It was the first thing I could find. I panicked.”
“This one should be able to hold quite a bit more.” Josh positioned the five-gallon bucket directly beneath the damaged portion of ceiling, then pulled out a funnel, long tube, section of tarp, and duct tape from within it.
“I watched a YouTube video, so you know, I’m practically an expert on this now. ”
Edie laughed. She really enjoyed being around Josh.
Something about the man always put her at ease.
Even when Camille had twisted her own crazy story about him before they knew the real reason for his stay in Seascape Shores, Edie had felt differently.
They had a connection. Maybe it was because they’d both lost their spouses.
Maybe it was because something in Edie had recognized Josh—like his relation to Camille and Tabitha was a tangible thing.
Maybe they were just compatible. She wasn’t sure.
She just knew that she enjoyed the time they spent together.
Well, the one-on-one time, that was.
“Do you think you’d be able to give me a hand? Foster said it doesn’t need to be perfect, just good enough until he’s able to come over and take a look.”
“Of course. Happy to help.”
Josh slipped his sneakers from his feet and pinched the thigh on his joggers to hike up his pantleg, then climbed onto the bed. Edie followed, taking his hand when he offered his assistance. The plush mattress gave under their collective weight, dipping in the middle.
“We’re going to want to cut a little hole in the center of the tarp where the funnel and tubing will go. Then we can tape it so it sags a bit in the middle to let the water collect and go down the hose and into the bucket.”
“Got it. Makes sense.”
With a pocketknife, Josh made the necessary cuts and together they got all the pieces into place.
“I’ll hold it up if you can tear off some sections of tape to secure it to the ceiling.”
Edie gave a quick nod and got to work. With his arms over his head to keep the makeshift repair in place, the hem of Josh’s shirt lifted, exposing tanned skin and a taut section of stomach.
She tried to keep her eyes on the roll of duct tape, but when he shifted and the fabric lifted even higher, she couldn’t keep from gawking.
Josh was attractive. She’d felt that way since the first day she’d met him when she had glimpsed him out her window. And today, that pull was even stronger, his close proximity making her heart stir even more than before.
He looked down at Edie, now frozen in place with a long flap of tape stuck to her fingers.
“How’s the tape going down there?” he said, a touch of flirtation in his words.
“It’s a bit of a sticky situation.”
“Here.” He stretched up on his toes to press one palm flat to the ceiling, reaching down with the other to help Edie with the section of tape.
But instead of untangling the sticky strip, his own fingers got caught in the long piece, too.
“Maybe if I…” She peeled more of the tape from the spool, but it only added to their currently tangled situation.
“Let’s just tear that off and we’ll start over.”
Why was Edie like this? Suddenly all tangled in knots.
She brought the roll of tape, along with both of their hands, up to her mouth to rip the section with her teeth. It solved the problem with the roll but didn’t free their hands. They stayed together. Stuck together.
This had definitely become a two-person job.
Josh let go of the tarp over his head. It fell to the bed, clattering as the hose and funnel hit the bucket.
Even more water leaked from above now, a steady stream that fell over them like a light rainfall.
“You take that part.” He motioned for one end of the tape. “And I’ll take this. Go ahead and pull.”
It shouldn’t have taken as long as it did, but they finally freed the cumbersome tape with a good yank. Their hands, though? They stayed gripped together.
Edie’s eyes moved to them. Josh’s followed.
It felt good to hold his hand. To feel his strong fingers and knuckles woven with hers. She brought them up between them.
“We should probably fix this ceiling,” Josh said, but the quieter tone and softer volume didn’t hint at any sense of urgency.
“Yeah.” Edie swallowed. Something fluttered in her stomach as a shiver sprinted down her spine.
It could have been the chill from the water, but she doubted it.
It definitely had more to do with Josh and the tender way he looked at her while they continued to hold each other’s hand.
The way his brows pinched together like he was attempting to repress something.
Her breathing was as shaky as her voice when she said, “We should.”
Then it happened before she could stop it. But maybe she was the one to start it. She couldn’t be sure. It was as though they moved toward each other in unison, drawn together at the same moment.
A flash of panic crossed her face, but it didn’t stay there long.
Because Josh’s lips were soon on hers, so earnest and welcome.
They’d never kissed before, not that she hadn’t wanted to.
She’d thought about it often. The way his full lips might feel covering her mouth.
The way his dimples might prick into his cheeks with a sweet smile after they pulled apart.
The way his warm body would feel against her, so strong, solid, and sure.
Her imaginations weren’t far off.
One thing she hadn’t accounted for was her pulse that now made her dizzy with need. And the water raining down on them. That hadn’t been in any of her fantasies.
Kissing under a leak in her ceiling, standing in the middle of her bed was not the location nor the scenario.
But it was perfect.
Perfect in the way Josh brought his hands to her face to cup her jaw within his gentle grasp.
Perfect in the way he moved his mouth against hers, giving and taking in a rhythm they both quickly found and followed.
Perfect in the little sounds of appreciation he made when she pressed her palms to his chest and leaned closer to him. Craving more. Needing more.
“Edie,” he murmured against her cheek when he briefly pulled away for breath. The way he uttered her name was filled with so much emotion, longing, and desire that her knees went to mush. “God, I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”
She had too. And she didn’t want it to stop.
She took the collar of his shirt between her fingers and drew his mouth back onto her own.
She could feel his surprise in the way he straightened, then instantly relaxed into their kiss, giving in to her.
She had analyzed so many parts of her life—picked apart every situation and every decision. But she didn’t do that now. She led with impulse, no second-guessing.
Because if she let herself overthink this, she would stop. She would hop down from the bed, flustered and filled with regret. Apologize, even.
Edie was done apologizing.
It was time she lived life in the moment. And in this moment, that meant kissing the man that had not only become one of her best friends, but someone she could see a future with.
The problem was, when she looked ahead at her life, she could clearly see two very different paths.