Lia rolled her eyes. “It’s a sundress, calm down.”
Tugging at the hem, I gave her a mild look. “Says the girl wearing jeans.”
She ignored me, and I conceded the fact that she’d gotten me here, and the fact that I was showered and shaved and wearing something that made me feel pretty was still a freaking miracle.
Yes, the week got better when I started speaking to Lia again, but there was no lying to my heart that things were fixed.
All week, I’d turned my head around and around and around what to do about Bauer.
Bauer, who was haunting my dreams now.
Who hadn’t texted or called.
And who was still the first person I thought about when I woke up. The last person I thought about before I went to sleep.
Lia caught me watching snowboarding competition replays on YouTube the night before, and instead of chastising me, she plopped onto the couch, slung an arm around my shoulders, and watched quietly alongside me.
And if there were bags under my eyes to match the blue of my dress, it was because the videos I’d watched triggered some serious sex dreams where Bauer was flipping me around in the snow like we were recreating a Cirque du Soleil on ice or something.
I took a deep breath to get those memories out of my head because hello, it was never appropriate to reminisce about one’s sex dreams at a party at a community center that helped little kids.
When Lia saw Finn and touched my elbow to let me know she was going off to talk to him, I took a second to study the space.
It was wonderful. Big and bright and airy with colorful murals decorating the walls and spaces for kids to sit and play and create and learn. The framed photos hung on the walls were easier to focus on than the faces of the strangers milling around the room, so I took my time walking along the perimeter, grinning at some of the gap-toothed smiles captured on film.
Whatever Finn’s parents’ faults were, and they had them, they’d done good work here. And maybe they were one of those couples who were so focused on helping other people’s kids that they couldn’t even recognize where they’d gone wrong within the four walls of their own home.
I stopped to study a picture when I felt someone approach. My heart sped up before I heard the voice, which didn’t belong to Bauer.
“It seems we need to reintroduce ourselves to each other,” Richard Harper said softly.
I turned, giving him a sheepish smile. “Did Adele tell you?”
Hands in his pockets, he smiled back. “She did. Just before I handed the check over.”
“Richard,” I said, “I can’t tell you how much it killed me to lie about who I was.”
He glanced at the photo behind me. “Lie is a harsh word, Claire. And I’m not upset at you because it sounds like you were put into a strange position, based on the decisions of a lot of other people. Your sister, Adele, and Bauer,” he said, watching my face carefully.
There was no controlling my expression when he said Bauer’s name, so I looked down. “That’s true. But I was a guest in your home, and I wasn’t raised to deceive people, so I hope you can forgive me.”
“Already forgiven.” He rocked on his heels. “Adele and Tom might’ve been a little?… overzealous in their approach, thinking I needed someone to impress me in order to listen to what they had to say, but even if they went about it in the wrong way, they’re doing a lot of good here. And you, young lady, will do a lot of good someday too. I hope you realize that.”
“I hope so.” I smiled.
“I told Adele she should hire you, actually.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “Your passion for kids, your background, you’d be a perfect ally for children who could desperately use one.”
As I looked around the space, it was easy to see myself there. Except for the tie to Bauer. Because the truth was, I still didn’t know exactly how to approach that. And working for his parents might be a strange connection if he refused to ever see me again.
Because no matter what Lia said, I could show up on his doorstep, and he still might’ve decided that we were completely done.
One weekend of fun because he genuinely believed that was all he was capable of. And I didn’t know if my heart could handle hearing that from him again.
“Is Bauer here?” Richard asked.
Somehow, I kept my smile in place. “I’m not sure.”
His eyes searched my face until he nodded. “Ahh.”
“Another deception, I’m afraid.”
Richard hummed. “Oh, I’m not sure I believe that. Bauer Davis strikes me as the type of man who wouldn’t be able to pretend anything.”
I sighed. “Maybe he wasn’t. But … either way, it wasn’t real yet. When we were there.”
“But it became real?” he asked gently.
I nodded. “It did. And now”—I shrugged—“it’s hard to think about him.” I laughed under my breath. “I’m sorry, I’m sure you don’t want to hear about my relationship drama.”
He waved it off. “I liked you two. And if you remember, we started this whole thing because you told me what was on your mind.”
“True,” I conceded.
“I think Bauer has had a hard time of things,” Richard said. “He reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. Maybe that’s why I like him so much.”
“Stubborn as all hell?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yup. Anyone who’s reached success has to be stubborn. Tenacious. Refuse to back down. And I like that fire in him. But it makes it hard to let anyone in when you look at every part of your life that way.”
The truth of it made me sigh heavily. “I have my work cut out for me, don’t I?”
Richard gave me a kind smile. “I know I said it the first time I met you, Claire Ward, but I’ll say it again. I wish I’d had someone like you on my side when I was younger.” He patted my arm. “I laid down all my chips in order to grow my fortune. And I’ve been successful in that, but that money doesn’t keep you warm at night, and there are many days when I’m forced to admit that for a long time, I believed the lie that I was better off by myself.”
“But how can someone else force you to confront that truth?” I asked. “It’s easy for you to say that, but I can’t make Bauer open himself to me.”
Now, his smile was rueful. “Not from here, you can’t.”
I slid my hands into my hair and shook my head. “Everyone makes it sound so simple.”
“Love is always a risk, Claire. Always. Every day, even when you’re together, because the day you stop choosing your partner is the day you risk losing them. That’s the truth in love and relationships and business and life. It translates across every line. We make choices in what matters to us, but not everyone is brave enough to take that step without knowing we have someone ready to take it with us.”
“Richard,” I said slowly, “I think you are the most relationship smart single man I’ve ever met.” He laughed, but I saw the blush cover his cheeks. Impulsively, I went up on tiptoe to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“You’re welcome, Claire.” He tucked his hands back into his pockets. “Now what?”
I exhaled slowly. “Well, now I think I need to steal my sister’s car and drive up to Whistler.”
Richard looked over my shoulder and grinned. “Or maybe you should hold off on grand theft auto for now.”
When I turned around slowly, it didn’t take me long to see him.
Bauer hadn’t seen me yet, and my heart clenched painfully when I saw him reach up and tug nervously on the tie he was wearing. He hated dressing up and coming to this place would be hard for him, but I knew, seeing him framed in the entrance, that he was here for me.
My smile was endless, and my heart soared even further than that to a place I wasn’t even sure had a name. That was how far it was beyond any definition I could think of.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.