7. Bristol
“Hello, Bristol.” His gravelly voice sends a shiver down my spine. It should be illegal for this man to still have this kind of effect on me after all this time.
“How have you been?” Seth stares at me intensely, waiting for me to reply, but I honestly have no words.
I can see the question in his eyes, like he’s trying to understand why I’m being so standoffish. I would love nothing more than to throw my arms around his neck and breathe in his scent, letting him know how much I’ve missed him, but the world doesn’t work like that. People change. How do I know if he wants anything to do with me anymore?
My eyes roam his body, cataloging everything about him. Seth looks almost exactly like he did the last time I saw him. His skin is a little darker, but being in the desert sun will do that to you. The addition of a scruffy beard gives him a rugged “mountain man” look that makes him even more delicious than before. I clench my hands into fists, resisting the urge to brush the few strands resting on his forehead out of his face.
“Hey, Seth. How have you been?” Leia breaks the silence as she squeezes my shoulder.
Seth tears his eyes away from me to focus on her, giving us both a bright smile. “Hey, Leia. I’ve been good. Just got out of the Marines and decided Tyson’s Creek was a good place to settle down.”
His eyes shift slightly in my direction, leaving no room for confusion. Seth is back in Tyson’s Creek for a reason: me. Wait. He’s staying here. For good? My entire body stiffens as images of us taking Rebekah to the park or having someone to wake up with her in the middle of the night flash through my head. I open and close my mouth a few times, trying to come up with the correct response, but my brain doesn’t want to cooperate.
Thankfully, Leia swoops in to save the day. “That’s great.”
“How have you been? Finally made an honest man out of Riggs?”
“I wouldn’t be caught dead within ten feet of that man if my brother didn’t force me to.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Selina grumbles. “There is a very thin line between love and hate, my friend.”
“That there is,” Seth responds, his eyes shifting back towards me as if he’s waiting for me to say something.
The last thing I need is to give him the impression that he is getting to me or that I have something to hide. I do, but he doesn’t need to know that yet. Right now, my main concern is getting out of this situation. I can worry about the rest later.
“Where are you staying?” Audrey chimes in, saving me once again from having to say anything to Seth.
I scowl in her direction. The point was to end this conversation as quickly as possible. However, having more information about where he is will make him easier to avoid.
“With the Thomases.” He pauses, gripping the back of his neck. “Brady and I are staying in the apartment over the garage. It’s nothing special, but all I need is a bed to sleep in.”
Holy fucking shit! He’s practically my neighbor. There is no way in hell I’m going to be able to keep Rebekah a secret for long, but I need to try. I doubt he’ll take too kindly to seeing me walking down the street with a stroller when he is out for his morning jog. It would be practically impossible to pass her off as someone else’s child.
“Isn’t that a coincidence?” A sly smile crosses Selina’s face. “Bri lives?—”
I jab her in the side, stopping her from finishing that sentence.
“It was nice seeing you, Seth, but we have an appointment to get to. Trust me, you don’t want to stand in the way of four women and their spa day.” I laugh nervously as I rush past him toward the door of the coffee shop.
“Wait, Bristol.”
I turn around slowly, keeping my eyes focused on the ground.
Please don’t ask me out.
“I was wondering if you would like to get dinner together. I’d love to catch up with you.”
Seth steps closer as he reaches out and lifts my chin, and his golden-brown eyes take my breath away. “I’ve missed you,” he whispers before wrapping me in his arms.
I melt into his chest, feeling safe in a way I’ve never experienced before. As if I can lay all my burdens at his feet and no longer worry about them.
“She would love to,” Selina chimes in, breaking the spell. “You can pick her up here around six. We should be finished by then.”
My cheeks instantly heat with embarrassment as I step out of his embrace and turn toward the door.
“I’ll be here,” he says. “It was really great seeing you, Bristol.”
I nod in response without bothering to turn around. If I take one more look into his eyes, I know I’ll tell him everything, and I don’t know if either of us is ready for that. I quickly pull the door open and step inside, not bothering to wait for my so-called friends to follow me. All three of them are on my shit list.
“Hey, Bri.” Katie flashes me a bright smile as she steps around the counter. “What can I get for you?”
I look up at the board and try to decide what I want today. I used to have a regular order of an Americano and cheese Danish, but since I had Rebekah, I haven’t been able to stomach either of them.
“She’ll have a caramel macchiato and a brownie.” Leia steps up next to me, and I scowl at her. “I’ll have an Americano, please.”
Katie types our order in, and I spin on my heels, passing Selina and Audrey on the way. If Leia is going to order for me, the least she can do is pay, too. My mind wanders as I search for a table, pondering how things could have turned out so differently if either of us were different people. I had everything I thought I wanted in life, and I was happy… until I laid eyes on Seth. I barely know anything about him, but there has always been this magnetic pull between us whenever we’re in each other’s general vicinity.
I tried to convince myself it was nothing more than me being lonely and wanting some company, but I knew in my heart it was something more. The moment our lips connected, I felt it in my soul. Seth was the man I was meant to be with. But there was one huge problem: He was shipping off to the sandbox for Lord only knew how long, with no promises he would return. He could have been hurt or, worse, killed. I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle that, so I let him go. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to.
When my dad was in the military, I watched my mom pace the hallways every night and jump every time someone unexpectedly knocked on the door, and I knew I never wanted that for myself. Despite the connection I feel with Seth, I need someone who will always put me first before everything else. Someone who will be there whenever I need them and doesn’t have to clear it with someone else first.
Don’t get me wrong; my dad loves my mom, sister, and me with all his heart. But after so many missed birthdays, school plays, and other memorable events, I wondered if there was something more important to him than us. Being in the military was a huge part of who my dad was, and I was always proud of him, but I knew that wasn’t the life I wanted for myself or my future children.
I find a quiet table in the corner and wait for my friends, and a few moments later, Leia places my order in front of me and takes a seat, followed closely by Audrey and Selina. I break off a piece of my brownie and pop it into my mouth, waiting for one of them to break the silence, but none of them do. My foot bounces under the table as the silence gets to me. I’m sure they can’t wait to share their opinions on Seth’s news.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” I screech, gaining everyone’s attention.
“Loud much?” Selina grumbles.
I slouch down in my chair, hoping to hide from all the prying eyes. The last thing I need right now is more attention.
“I don’t know why he’s here,” I mumble as I grab my cup and take a sip. The warm liquid travels down my throat, calming my nerves slightly. “I didn’t even know he was getting out.”
“I’m sure you had more important things to discuss the last time you saw each other,” Selina snorts. “Besides, he said he was here for you.”
“No, he didn’t.” I pop another piece of brownie into my mouth. “He said Tyson’s Creek was a good place to settle down, and he’s right. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else but here.”
Getting my yoga studio up and running and settling down has been my main priority since I moved here after graduating from college. I wanted to find a place to settle down, to put down roots, something I didn’t have growing up. I was always the new girl in school almost every fall because we moved around so much. New Orleans was the place we stayed the longest. I met Audrey, and everything was almost perfect, but then we had to move away. I had to start all over again from scratch. I promised myself that I’d find a place to call home. To make friends, maybe get married, and start a family. The first time I stepped foot in this small town, I knew this was the place I wanted to land. It felt like home.
“Pull your head out of your ass, Bri. You know damn well the only reason he came back here is for you,” Leia chimes in.
“Did you not see the way he looked at you? He looked the same as Vance when he—” Selina starts to say.
“Enough! We do not need to know about you and your bedroom habits!” I shout, and all four of us break out into a fit of laughter.
I wish I had as much faith in whatever this thing is that I have with Seth as my friends do. It’s been a year; he knew where I was the entire time, but I never heard a peep from him. Then again, I never gave him any inkling that I was interested in starting a relationship with him in the first place. Maybe I made more of an impression on him than I thought.
“You could do worse,” Audrey says out of nowhere as she takes a sip of her drink. “Seth is here for you. He came back for you. You could do worse in terms of baby daddies. Maybe this is a sign.”
“You and your signs, Audrey” I giggle, knowing how much her tarot cards mean to her.
I swallow the last bit of my drink and push back from the table. “Enough with my drama. We’re supposed to be relaxing.”
I give them a forced smile as I grab my trash and head toward the exit. There is no way I’m going to let my run-in with Seth ruin my first girls’ day since before Rebekah was born. We all have families and different responsibilities, and it’s rare that we all can have the same day off.
“You’re right! Besides, we need to make sure you have enough time to get ready for your date tonight.” Audrey steps up beside me and shoves her garbage into the trash can.
“I’m wearing exactly what I have on. Besides, most of my clothes are covered in some form of bodily fluid.”
Motherhood, bitches. It”s hard to be sexy when you can guarantee you will end up with puke or urine on your clothes at some point during the day.
“Fine, but we are getting your hair and makeup done since we’ll already be at the spa,” A smug smile spreads across her face as Selina pushes through the door.
The cool air hits me in the face, and I inhale deeply, hoping to calm my nerves.
“Do I have a choice?” I quip, opening the passenger door and climbing in.
“And before you complain, I will watch Rebekah for the night. You can come get her in the morning,” Audrey says as she slides into the back seat behind me.
“I don’t plan on staying out all night,” I mumble.
I hear Selina and Leia getting into the car, and Selina starts the engine and reverses out of the parking spot.
“Whether you plan on it or not, I’m taking her,” Leia insists.
I catch a glimpse of her sticking her tongue out at me in the rearview mirror.
“I thought you were my friends. Shouldn’t you be on my side, not his?” I roll my eyes at them before turning my attention out the window.
I know all they want is for me to be happy, but I don’t know if this is the right thing. This isn’t just about me. I have Rebekah to worry about and too many unanswered questions.
“We are on your side, Bri. We’re doing this for your own good,” Leia says as she turns around and squeezes my shoulder. “Now, let’s figure out how we’re going to do your hair.”
Whether it’s for my own good or not, I know spending any amount of time with Seth is going to be nothing but trouble.