Chapter 7

My phone ringer is off, but the vibration on the nightstand wakes me at five in the morning. I grab it quickly and see my boss Vivian’s name. It’s Tuesday, but this is early even by her standards. Grabbing my shorts, I head out of the bedroom and close the door.

“Hello?”

“Aiden, I’m sorry to call this early, but we have a problem.” Vivian’s voice is loud and clear and there isn’t any hint of remorse.

“What’s up, Vivian?” I anchor the phone with my shoulder and pull my shorts on.

“Donovan International is buying Peterson out.”

Sitting on one of the counter stools, I rub some sleep out of my eyes. “Does that mean the project is lost?”

She lets out a long breath. “I’m not sure. Maybe, but maybe not. Mark Donovan usually puts a lot of cash into his acquisitions. If we go about this the right way, we could come out in an even better position.”

“How can I help?” I like the idea of a wider-reaching project, and my mind is already working out details of how I can improve my original plans for a front porch community so close to the city.

“I need you in the office this morning with all your ideas so we can put together a plan once I secure a meeting with Donovan.” I can hear her typing through the phone. Vivian is the ultimate multitasker.

“That’s an issue.” I start the coffee pot. “I’m in South Carolina.”

The typing stops and there’s an edge in her voice. “You didn’t mention traveling or taking time on Friday.”

“I had planned to work from here. My best friend’s mother passed away, and I drove down early Sunday morning when I heard.” Leaning on the counter, I watch the pot fill with tangy-smelling coffee.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Of course, you had to go. Can you fly back and figure out how to get your car next week sometime?” Her tone smooths out. “You can expense the travel. The sooner we can get Donovan signing on, the better.”

I’m nodding even though she can’t see me. “I’ll get on the first flight and be in the office this afternoon.”

“Great.” The typing starts again. “Let me know your schedule, and I’ll send a limo to pick you up at the airport.” She hangs up.

I need my computer from the guest room, and I’m figuring out logistics in my head as I turn.

Joy stands by the kitchen peninsula in one of my T-shirts. She’s so fucking adorable. We made love again in the middle of the night and she fell asleep looking like an angel. She’s staring now with wide stricken eyes. “You’re leaving?”

“Something’s come up at work. I’ll need to fly home for meetings and planning. Do you mind if I leave my truck here? I’ll call for a car to take me to the airport.” I kiss her forehead and breathe in her flowers-and-Joy scent.

“Sure.” She turns and goes into her bedroom.

I don’t like the way she looked at me as if I was abandoning her, but I don’t have time to fix this. In the guest bedroom, I grab my laptop and find a flight to LaGuardia leaving in three hours. I book the flight and get my jeans and button-down out. It’s not business clothes, but it’s the best I can do at the moment. Hopefully, there will be time to go home before I meet with Mark Donovan.

Once I’m showered and dressed, I look for Joy. Through the front window, her riotous curls blow in the breeze as she drinks coffee on the front porch. Grabbing a cup, I join her on the pillow-covered bench. “I’m sorry to have to leave so soon.”

Staring out across the road as the sun makes its way toward lighting the world, she shrugs. “I can drive you to the airport.”

“Thank you.” I want her to look at me. “I really am sorry. I hoped to be able to stay a while.”

“Why?” She finishes her coffee and puts the cup on the little round yellow table. “You’d just be leaving later.”

“Are you angry with me, Joy?” I’m trying to sort through why she would be angry. “I can’t not go. You understand, right? This work thing is important. If it wasn’t, I’d stay here with you.”

“Of course. I’m not angry. I guess I thought you might be here a while, but you have to go.” Getting up, she grabs her coffee cup.

I should go after her and find out what’s going on. I should demand she tells me why she’s so distant after the fantastic night we shared. My chest is tight as I go inside and follow her into her bedroom.

Still in my shirt, which reaches halfway down her thighs, she pulls on shorts.

Closing the distance, I wrap my arms around her. “I would much rather stay with you, sweetheart. I’ll come back.”

“Right, you’re leaving your pickup. You have to come back.” Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. In those, there’s only sorrow.

“I want to come back and it has nothing to do with my pickup. Once things calm down in the office, I’ll be back.” I pull her tight, wanting to remember every nuance of her body.

“We better get you to the airport. Are you packed?” She pushes back from me and reaches for the hem of my shirt. “I’ll give you this to pack.”

Stopping her, I hold her hands. “You hold on to that. It looks much better on you.” I’ll think of her wearing my shirt while I’m alone and wishing she were with me. If she didn’t have the bookstore, I’d try to talk her into coming with me. “If you need to go to Booksmith’s, I can call for a car.”

“I open at ten. I can drop you off and be back with plenty of time.” She slips her feet into sandals and grabs her purse. “Ready?”

It’s as if she’s dismissing me but I’m encouraged by the fact that she’s still wearing my shirt. “Alright. We can take my truck and then you can park it where it’s most convenient for you.”

She nods and walks past me into the living room.

By the time I get my bag and backpack, she’s standing on the front porch holding my keys. With my shirt on, it’s not possible to know she has shorts on underneath and it’s an alluring look. I want to drag her back into the house and get naked with her.

My phone rings as I step outside. Pulling it from my pocket, I answer Vivian’s call. “Hello.”

“Did you get a flight?”

“Just leaving for the airport now. I’ll be at LaGuardia at ten thirty if all goes well. Did you get a meeting with Donovan?” I follow Joy and get in the passenger’s side of my truck for the first time.

“We’re meeting him at three, but I need you here. I need to go over the plan. I’ll have a car pick you up.” She hangs up without so much as a goodbye.

“Your boss talks loud and sounds like she doesn’t take ‘no’ from anyone.” Pulling into the street, Joy drives us away from her house and through town.

“Vivian is a great businesswoman. She stands to lose a lot of money today and would like to save all the work I’ve done over the last two months. The account my project is for is being bought out by a larger company. She doesn’t take no, but honestly, Joy, I didn’t say no. I need this to work out almost as much as she does. This is my first big project in the US.” I close my eyes and lean my head back. I can’t stand to see more disappointment in her eyes, so I don’t look. “You know that I love you, don’t you?”

The silence forces my eyes open. She brushes a tear from her cheek and continues to stare straight ahead.

“Joy?”

“You’ve told me hundreds of times, just like I’ve told you, Aiden.” Her lips tighten and her knuckles are white on the steering wheel.

“If I could stay, I would.” Part of my mind is already thinking about my project designs, but I reel that back to focus on what’s important.

“I know.” She pulls onto the highway. “I’m not upset with you. Everything is fine. Go do what you have to do at work and call or text me when you can.”

The damned airport is too close. She pulls off the highway and down a series of roads into the small terminal.

At the departures’ doors, she stops my truck and faces me. “Have a safe trip.”

Dragging her into a hug across the bench seat, I kiss her neck and breathe in the flowery scent of her curls. “I’m sorry to be leaving like this, but I promise, I’ll be back.”

Easing out of my embrace, she gives me a forced smile. “In a few weeks is National Pen Pal Day. I’ll send you a letter like we did back in the day.”

It feels like a dismissal or final goodbye, and I don’t like it. I press my lips to hers for a quick kiss and run my fingers over her soft cheek. “I’ll be back, Joy. Don’t give up on me.”

A security guard taps on my window, forcing me to open the door. I grab my bag from behind the seat. Sticking my head back in front, I take a long look at her in my gray T-shirt. She’s everything I’ve always wanted. “I love you, Joy Smith.” Then I close the door and rush into the terminal.

What more can I do, but tell her how I feel and hope she feels the same? Last night was the greatest night of my life and if it were possible to stay here longer, I’d be by her side every moment.

There’s an hour and a half before my flight, so I find internet access and pull out my computer. There isn’t much time to put together a new proposal for a much bigger client. The ideas are rioting to get out of my head.

Before I lose myself in my work, I text, Lila.

Me:

Hey, I had to leave for New York for a work thing. Can you check in on Joy later?

Lila:

Yup. I thought you’d be staying longer.

Me:

So did I. I’m sure Joy will fill you in. I just don’t want her to be all alone and she might not tell you or Jen that I left right away.

Lila:

lol You do know her well. Safe travels.