Next Time I Fall by Barbara Freethy

Author:Barbara Freethy [Freethy, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fog City Publishing

Chapter Sixteen

Chloe made a point of staying away from Decker and the rental house on Wednesday, needing a little more time before she saw him again, but when Thursday morning came around, she knew her reprieve was over. With Leo at school and the breakfast rush done, she really had no reason not to go to the house.

She needed to deal with Eleanor's things, and she couldn't keep avoiding Decker. Not seeing him wasn't making things better. She was just missing him, building him up in her head. She needed to deal with reality. There was no point, no future possibility of a relationship with Decker, and she didn't want to waste time or risk her heart on someone else who would eventually leave.

Although, it might be really fun for a while. And she hadn't had that kind of fun in a long time.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Marian asked, as she passed by on her way to the register. "You've been somewhere else all morning."

"Nothing," she said. "Just distracted by a lot of things I need to do."

"Are you sure you're not distracted thinking about your man?" Marian asked with a smile.

"Joel?"

"Who else would I be talking about?"

"Uh, no one."

"What's going on, Chloe?"

"I told you I'm just going over my long to-do list. I need to get Eleanor's things cleared out of the house so Decker can start working."

"Then what are you doing here? I've got things covered here."

She put down the towel she'd been using to wipe the counter. "All right. Thanks."

"And don't worry about coming back today. My nephew, Ross, is on spring break and was asking me if he could help. If it's okay with you, I'll bring him on for the week."

"That sounds good. We could use the extra hands. And thanks, Marian. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, you won't have to find out, because I love my job and I love you." Marian smiled. "Maybe you can also take a little time to figure out what's going on with the man that you're not thinking about."

She rolled her eyes. "Joel had to go out of town. There's nothing to figure out until he gets back. Who knows when that will be?"

As she left the restaurant, she hoped Joel would return soon, because she needed to see him, to verify her feelings. If they didn't have a strong enough attraction or weren't on the same page, then they shouldn't waste time trying to make something right that wasn't. She hadn't felt that easy connection with Joel in weeks, and she had a feeling she was hanging onto something that was already gone. Maybe because she didn't want to reach for something or someone else who definitely did not check off any of her boxes. Well, maybe one. One big one, she thought, her body tingling every time she thought about kissing Decker. But passion wasn't enough. There had to be more. She didn't have just herself to think about; she also had a child.

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