Page 62 of Break the Barrier

There was something small and niggling in the back of my mind, something like jealousy that he was able to have that so soon in his life, and I was just now with someone I could see being with for the long haul.

When I signed that contract in the courthouse, when we putthat faith in each other, I won’t deny that I pictured what it would all be like if it was real.

I could definitely see it.

I could see her going to church with me and then coming here on Sunday afternoons. I could see her in my bed every morning when I left for work, pressing a kiss to her forehead before leaving. I could see coming home to her every night or going to the restaurant to visit her before I went home because I couldn’t go that long without kissing her.

I could see us building a house or getting something bigger for all of us. I could see her filling that role for Lue that was always missing.

And I could see us having more kids, little feet running around the house, screams of laughter and joy always making our house feel like it was coming alive.

My heart pinches uncomfortably in my chest as I think about all of those things, and I feel like I can’t breathe.

Now that I’ve envisioned it, now that I’ve allowed my brain to go down that road, I want to make it happen.

But it was far too soon for that.

We were just…dating, feeling each other out.

We were serious, though.Iwas serious about how I felt about her.

“You okay, man? You got lost there for a minute.”

I blink and look back at him. “Oh yeah, I’m good.”

“So, hey, can you take over operations next week?” His voice is low, and I realize he’s trying to tell me something in confidence.

I lean closer and nod my head. “Yeah, man, no problem.”

“Your head and arm are good?”

Frankly, I’ve barely thought about my injuries over the last couple of weeks. “Yeah. I’m set.”

“Cool. I’m taking Dani on a surprise honeymoon. She thinks we can’t, with the timing of the business, but I’ve already contacted her clients and mine and got us a few days so we could go somewhere.”

“Dani will love that, man.” She would, too. Dani wasn’t a huge traveler—she tied herself down with work and obligations.

If anyone needed a vacation from how hard she worked, it was Dani.

“Yeah, I hope so.” CT peels at the label of his beer and sighs.

“You good?”

“I’m good, it’s just…” He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and staring down at the bottle in his hands. “I’m fucking grateful. It’s stupid, but I am.”

I don’t say anything for a minute, wondering exactly what he was talking about.

“I wish my mom could see us now.” He shrugs his shoulders, a small, sad tilt to his mouth. “She would be fucking thrilled that Dani and I are getting married, that we are building what we are together.”

Roughly seven years ago, CT’s mom passed away from cancer. It was the thing that tore him and Dani apart. It hit CT hard when it happened. They had been really close, and losing her had made him lose a part of himself.

“I mean, she probably wouldn’t say it like that, but yeah,” I say to lighten the tension.

He laughs. “Yeah, she’d beat my ass for saying that.”

“More than likely. Then mine for laughing at it.”

We laugh, both thinking of Donna. She’d been like an aunt to me, just like Aunt Sandra is. Our families had been sointertwined growing up that there were people who didn’t even know whose kids were whose.