“I know it may feel like everything is fixed now and in the past, but it doesn’t happen that easily,” Marco went on. “One bad blow, one thing that leads you to pick up a drink, and you could be back to square one. You could undo it all. Focus on the food truck and your students,” he said, going back to his meal. “Baby steps. Don’t put yourself in a position to get the rug yanked out from under you again.”
Wes took a deep breath, trying to rein in his anger. He’d put his family through hell. He’d made them worry he’d die. He’d laid traumatic worries at their d
oorsteps. Marco had earned his concerns. It didn’t make the lecture easy to accept, though. “I hear what you’re saying, but how would I be doing that? Wanting to date someone should be a good sign. A step forward.”
“Seeing people, yes, but getting serious about it, no. I’ve gotten to know Rebecca a little. I’ve talked with her over these last few weeks when she visits Knight, and I know you. You’re both great. But you’re from different worlds,” he said plainly. “You saved her that night, and there was an attraction. That’s it. You need more in common than that.”
That’s it. Was that how Rebecca thought of it? Wes’s mind went to the way she’d clammed up about the freak-out at the brunch. About how she called him a fun distraction. About the way her father had looked at him like he was some rodent sniffing around his daughter. Would the man have reacted that way if he’d walked in on her with some suit from the law firm? Nothing in common. Different worlds.
“This has ‘fling’ written all over it,” Marco said, breaking Wes from his looping thoughts. “Which is fine. Enjoy yourself. But don’t open yourself up to a gut punch, because she’ll walk away at some point and get back to her normal life.”
Wes pushed his plate aside, his appetite suddenly gone. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, bro.”
“I’m not trying to be a dick. But last time I didn’t do enough, didn’t pay close enough attention, and when I finally realized you were in trouble, it was too late. I promised myself I’d say something if I was ever worried again. So this is me saying it. You have an addictive personality and an impulsive streak. It’s part of who you are. Managing that is learning how to recognize when you’re getting too deep into something. And I can see it on your face and hear it in your voice when you talk about Rebecca. It’s starting. I don’t want to be bailing you out of the drunk tank when she ends things.”
Wes stared at his brother, wanting to tell him to fuck off, to throw a punch, but he dug his clenched fist into the ridiculous western-style booth instead, breathing through the urge. Marco didn’t understand. Wes knew he had a tendency to get hyperfocused on things. It was what had ruined his marriage in the first place, being obsessed with the restaurant. But Rebecca wasn’t a restaurant or booze. He wasn’t obsessed with her. He just liked her…a lot.
That was all.
A heavy weight settled on his chest.
He lifted his hand. “Check, please.”
chapter
TWENTY-TWO
Rebecca walked into the after-school program Thursday afternoon, her cell phone buzzing in her pocket. Email. Buzz. Message. Buzz. More email. Buzz. She pulled it out and turned it off. Enough.
After her father’s unexpected visit to her house, she’d been pissed but also had heard the wake-up call. Her partnership was going to slip through her fingers if she let the food-truck project and her relationship with Wes distract her too much. She’d worked all her adult life to get that spot. She couldn’t stumble and lose it now. So she had taken the week to buckle down and get refocused. In the free time she’d had, she’d squeezed in a few therapy sessions with Taryn’s friend. They were still in the opening sessions and Rebecca hadn’t shared about the flashbacks yet, but Frieda, the therapist, thought Rebecca’s new bout of panic attacks was due to the documentary and her taking on too many things, putting herself under undue stress.
High-pressure job. Campaign assistant. Charity project. New guy.
Frieda had suggested whittling down the list. She wanted Rebecca to pick two areas to focus on and to let go of the others. Rebecca obviously couldn’t let go of her job, but she was struggling with the other three. She didn’t want to end things with Wes. She felt he eased the stress more than added to it, but she’d accepted that she had to check out of the charity project. Wes had told her she could take a more distant role, but the thought still made her stomach hurt. She’d been looking forward to being hands-on with it, feeling like she was making more of a difference than writing the check.
But she was only one person, and she was tired of feeling on the edge of losing it.
So today, she was going to get dirty and hands-on with the project, get a piece of the experience she’d been looking forward to, but then she was going to have to tell Wes that it was her last day to do that. She needed to be fully present at work.
When she walked into Wes’s class and saw him hunched over the table at the front with two of the students, laughing and pointing at something on a list, Rebecca’s heart squeezed in her chest. She hadn’t seen Wes since the Saturday before, and even though it’d only been a few days, she couldn’t help but feel the unmistakable sense that she’d missed him.
That was a dangerous feeling, but she was too mentally exhausted to fight it at the moment.
Wes glanced up from what he was doing, and when he saw her standing there, a wide grin broke out. “Well, if it isn’t the one and only Ms. Rebecca Lindt. It’s our lucky day.”
Some of the students turned her way and smiled, too. Lola called out, “Woo!”
Rebecca curtsied.
Wes left what he was doing up front and strode over, his gait easy, his eyes smiling. He still made her belly flip every time she saw him. Working on this project looked good on him. He’d always been gorgeous, but it was almost as if the project had turned on a light inside him and that energy poured out of him now. He reached her and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “This is a nice surprise. I thought you couldn’t get out here this week.”
She hiked her purse higher on her shoulder and returned his smile. “I’m sort of playing hooky, but I had a hell of a day in court this morning and needed a break from the office.”
“So you figured hard labor in the heat would fit the bill?” he asked skeptically. “You have an interesting way of relaxing, Ms. Lindt.”
She laughed. “I know, but the company’s good and I finally get to pick up Knight on the way home today. I thought maybe you knew someone who could help me with that.”
“I am great with dogs,” he said solemnly. “And I own a cool truck that has a lot of room.”