Chapter Eight
Trace
“I’ve seen you with that same look on your face more times than I can count over the past few weeks.”
I turned and found my mom standing in the doorway of my childhood bedroom. She looked tired, which wasn’t a surprise considering how difficult my dad’s recovery had been. She’d been at his side the entire time, worried that something would happen to him if she left. They’d been together for thirty-five years without ever spending a night apart, and she’d refused to let his stay in the hospital be the first time. It wasn’t until he was transferred to the rehab facility yesterday that she finally agreed to come home and spend the night in her own bed. It had taken both of us hours to convince her. “And I’ve seen those bags under your eyes get darker each day.”
She laughed off my concern and walked towards me. “It’s nothing a little rest won’t cure. Now that your dad is on the mend, I’ll be able to catch up on my missed sleep. You don’t need to worry about me.”
I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug. “Dad’s not around to take care of you, so that makes it my job.”
“I’m the parent, Trace. It’s my job to watch over you, not the other way around,” she grumbled into my shirt.
I leaned back and looked down at her. “Like that’s ever stopped me.”
“You’re just like your father,” she huffed with a smile. “But even with how serious his heart attack was, don’t think for a minute that I didn’t notice that something has been bothering you ever since you got here.”
“Of course something’s bothering me. I rushed halfway across the country because Dad almost died.”
My mom might’ve been tired, but that didn’t mean she fell for my bullshit. She never did. She’d always been able to see right through me. “Nice try kiddo, but I always know when something is bothering my baby boy.”
There was no use in trying to deny it. She wouldn’t let up until I told her everything. “You’re right, Mom. There has been something on my mind other than dad’s illness.”
She moved over to the bed, sat down, and patted the mattress so I’d know that she wanted me to join her. “How about you tell your mom what’s going on? It’s girl trouble, isn’t it?”
I chuckled softly and shook my head. “How did you know?”
She tapped her finger against the cell phone I was still clutching in my hand. I hadn’t even realized it was still there, but it wasn’t a surprise since I hadn’t let it out of my sight the entire time I’d been in Chicago. “Normally, I would think that it was a work problem that was bothering you with the way you’ve been watching that phone like a hawk every day. But you’ve gotten plenty of calls from the office since you’ve been here, and not a single one of them has stopped you from keeping your phone near at all times. Plus, that look in your eye is a dead giveaway that a woman is involved.”
“What look?”
“It’s one I’m quite familiar with since it’s what I’ve been seeing every time I look in the mirror.” She leaned against my side and wrapped one of her hands around mine. “You look like you’re missing your other half.”
I dropped my head into my hands and ran my fingers through my hair. She’d nailed exactly how I was feeling. Being away from Melody for so long was hard—and without knowing why she hadn’t called me, it was torture.
“I met someone when I moved into the apartment I’m renting while the builders finish the house. She’s my next door neighbor, but I saw her at the grocery store first. It was my first day there, and I was flat-out exhausted from the drive and the move. But none of that mattered. Not after I saw her. It was like I’d been shot up with adrenaline or something.”
“It sounds like you were hit by Cupid’s arrow to me.”
My mom was being corny as hell, like usual, but I couldn’t even deny it. I’d felt something stronger than lust when I’d first laid eyes on Melody. “Maybe,” I admitted softly.
“Oh, my,” she gasped. “Did my baby boy just admit to meeting the girl of his dreams?”
I bumped her with my shoulder. “Tone back the corny stuff or I’ll zip my lips about her from here on out.”
She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at me. “All I heard was blah blah blah, you’ve fallen in love, and you want to tell me all about her.”
“Her name is Melody. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but she’s also smart as hell and so damn sweet. Her brains and heart are part of what make her such an incredible nurse.”
“What kind of nurse is she? Does she work in the hospital?”
“No, she’s at a doctor’s office. Her boss specializes in reproduction.”
“Oh, nice. She helps make families.” My mom grinned at me. “I bet she loves babies.”
Considering how Melody had begged me to fill her up with my come and give her one, she definitely loved babies. And holy fuck...we’d had a shit ton of unprotected sex that night. Three weeks had passed. What if she was pregnant?
A big part of me hoped she was because then I could latch onto that as a reason to break through whatever bullshit reason there was for giving me the silent treatment this whole time.
“She’s beautiful, smart, nice, and loves babies. What’s the problem, then?”
“I’m not sure. She hasn’t called since I left.”
“There’s an easy solution to that.” My mom poked at my phone again. “Call her.”
“I—um—don’t have her phone number.” The tips of my ears heated, a sure sign of how embarrassed I was to admit that to my mom. “She lives right next door, and we were spending basically all of our free time together. So we kind of never got around to exchanging numbers.”
“If she can’t call you, why have you been looking at your phone like someone kicked a puppy every time it rings?”
My ears grew hotter. “We had—uh—finally spent the night together for the first time, and then you called about Dad’s heart attack the next morning. She was still asleep, and her door locked behind me when I went back to my apartment. But before I left, I slid a note under her door explaining what had happened.”
“Maybe in all the craziness you forgot to put your number on the note?” my mom suggested.
I closed my eyes and pictured what I’d written down. It’d been brief, but I was positive the number had been at the bottom. “No, I didn’t forget.”
“How big was the piece of paper it was written on? Maybe she didn’t see it.”
I’d torn off part of a piece of paper from my kitchen counter. It had been small, but should’ve been easy for her to spot when she woke up and went in the living room. “That sounds pretty far-fetched. Do you really think it’s possible?”
“Your dad just survived a heart attack that should’ve killed him.” My mom patted my hand. “With love, anything is possible.”
“I don’t know,” I sighed, shaking my head.
“And you won’t, not until you go home to the woman you love...even if you aren’t quite ready to admit it to your mother yet.”
Chapter Nine
Melody
Being around the happy couple while all I wanted to do was go home and wallow in my own misery was pure torture—especially since I hadn’t talked to anyone about the night I’d spent with Trace. It was just too painful to talk about, with him disappearing off the face of the planet the way he had.
“Finally,” I grumbled under my breath when I spotted Aubrey and Nash. Ethan and Madison had been putting the wait to good use by kissing each other’s faces off, while I stood as far away as possible.
“I’d tell you to get a room but you’ll make out anywhere, so what’s the point?” Nash teased.
“It’s sickening. Seriously.” I shivered a little, in only slightly exaggerated disgust. “I don’t need to see my boss’s tongue down my best friend’s throat. That’s practically my sister you’re defiling there, Ethan!”
My boss finally tore himself away from Madison, and had the nerve to chastise us all for taking too long since we had a reservation at the restaurant. I rolled my eyes, while Nash flipped him off and Aubrey laughed at our antics. Ethan and Madison led the way as we walked down the street since they’d picked a place close to our office to finally celebrate their engagement with a group dinner.