Page 58 of Denim & Diamonds

Brock

“Don’t kill me,” my brother Axe said as he walked into my house one afternoon.

I patted Patrick’s back to burp him. “No guarantees on that. What’s up?”

He crossed his arms as he leaned his back against my kitchen counter. “So…I follow your girl February on social media.”

Alarms went off in my brain. “Okay…”

“Some guy tagged her in a post.”

My fist tightened. Some guy? “What kind of post?”

“It was a location check-in. Some fancy restaurant. Might not have meant anything, but I just thought I should tell you. I stalked the guy’s page. Looks suspicious.”

“Suspicious in what way?”

“Like good-looking, rich suspicious.”

Great. “Well, she and I aren’t officially dating at present. We decided a week ago to just be friends. So while I appreciate the information, who she dines with isn’t my business anymore.”

Axe frowned. “Oh crap. I didn’t realize that.”

I nodded. I was pretty sure I’d remained calm on the surface, but damn. On the inside? This news was killing me. I warned myself not to overreact. Having dinner with someone didn’t mean anything. And if it did, I didn’t have a right to be upset anyway.

After Axe left, I had the worst time concentrating for the rest of the day.

I kept messing things up around the house.

Instead of warming Patrick’s formula in a pot of water like I normally did, I dunked it into the tomato soup I was making for myself.

Then later that afternoon, I accidentally threw my phone into the dryer while doing laundry.

Thankfully, I caught my mistake before it was too late.

As dinnertime approached, I enjoyed a rare moment of rest with Patrick asleep in the playpen. I turned to Oak, who’d been staring at me.

“This is crazy, right? Why am I so worked up that she had dinner with some dude? If she and I are gonna be friends, I can’t be reacting like this.”

Oak rested his chin on my leg.

I rubbed between his ears. “I know you think I’m pathetic. Why sit here and theorize about what it meant when I can just call her and ask, right?”

He yawned.

“You know what?” I scratched his head again. “You’re right.”

Taking out my phone, I stood up and went to the bathroom so as not to wake my son.

February looked alarmed when she answered. “Everything okay? ”

I normally didn’t call before her workday was over.

“Sure, yeah.” I cleared my throat, and an awkwardly long pause ensued.

She narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong, Brock?”

“Are you dating someone?” I blurted.

Her eyes widened. “No. What makes you think that?”

I shook my head. “Never mind.”

“No, wait. Why did you ask me that?”

I sighed, surrendering to my humiliation. “My brother Axe follows you online and saw you tagged in a post, out with some guy. He got a vibe that it might’ve been more than a business meeting. It’s none of my fucking business, though.”

She shook her head. “There’s absolutely nothing going on there. It was a business dinner. His name is Matthew. He’s a friend of Oliver’s. He might have been interested in more with me, but I know for sure that isn’t what I want.”

Even as relief washed over me, I pulled on my hair in frustration. “I can’t be reacting like this, Red.”

When I looked back at her, she was smirking. “I don’t know. I kind of like it.”

I chuckled. “You like torturing me?”

“I think your jealousy is sexy.”

Her tone lit an unwanted fire inside of me. “Well, I’m sorry for overreacting.”

“I’m sorry to have caused you to overreact. This isn’t going to be easy. There’s no playbook for how to go from lovers to friends, when neither of us is really ready for that.”

“That’s for damn sure. ”

The christening was coming up in a few days. She hadn’t mentioned it, so I figured she probably wasn’t going to make it. I didn’t bother asking for an update. I didn’t want her to feel pressured.

“Well, I already ate up enough of your time,” I told her. “I’ll let you go.”

“I’ll always make time for you, Brock.”

I smiled, wishing I could reach through the phone and taste her lips. “Take care, Red.”

After I hung up, I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. Oak looked over at me from the corner of the room.

“Did you enjoy me making an ass of myself?” I groaned. “I shouldn’t have listened to you. All that call did was make me look like a jealous prick.”

He barked.

“I know. I know. That’s what I am .” I laughed at myself. “Now I miss her even more. Thanks a lot.”

***

The following day, I went to the local farmers’ market with Patrick in tow.

It soon became clear that if I planned to go to a public place with my son, I needed to be prepared for extra attention left and right.

I’d never had trouble attracting single women in this town.

But Patrick attached to my chest was a new, unwanted magnet.

As I sampled some homemade smoked sausage, Tori, my one-time babysitter, materialized next to me.

“Hey, Brock. ”

“Oh, hey, Tori.”

I hadn’t called her again after I’d gotten the vibe that she might’ve been interested in more than just babysitting Patrick.

“I’m surprised you haven’t needed me to babysit again.”

I wiped my mouth with a napkin. “My sister-in-law has that pretty much covered lately. But thank you for offering to help.”

“Well, you know, you can always call me for other reasons.”

“I got that.” I nodded once. “Thank you.”

Then some other woman I didn’t recognize interrupted our conversation as she hovered over my son. “Isn’t he the most precious thing? Looks just like you, Brock.”

“Thank you.”

“I hear you could use some help?”

Tori walked away, seeming annoyed.

“No, I’ve got it covered,” I told the woman. “But thank you.”

“Well, I’m certified in CPR. Here’s my card if you ever feel overwhelmed.”

I glanced down at the card. Her name was April, which comes after February. April was certainly attractive, but she didn’t hold a candle to the preceding winter month, if you know what I mean.

At one point, hoping to escape April’s clutches, I turned toward a table where a woman was selling pickled turnips. But it wasn’t the turnips that caught my attention. It was the gorgeous woman staring back at me. She’d apparently been quietly observing my interactions .

“Excuse me,” I muttered as I abruptly left the conversation with April.

My heart squeezed. “What are you doing here?”

February grinned. “Didn’t you invite me to Meadowbrook for Patrick’s christening in a couple of days?”

“Yeah. But I assumed you weren’t coming.”

“Well, that’s why you should never assume.” She winked.

I inched closer but managed to stop myself from kissing her. “I’m glad you made it, Red.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it.”

She kissed the top of Patrick’s head and rubbed the back of her hand along his cheek. “I missed you, little buddy.”

“We missed you. ” I placed my hand briefly over hers. “How did you find me here?”

“I wanted to surprise you. After I dropped my stuff off at the hotel, I went to your place, but you weren’t there. So I texted Trevor to see if he knew where you were. He told me where to find you.”

She’s staying at a hotel . For a second, yet again, I’d forgotten we weren’t together anymore. She won’t be sleeping in my bed tonight. How’s that for torture?

“Where are you staying?” I asked.

“At Brooks Inn.”

“Not a lot of places to choose from here, I suppose. Although it’s weird that you’re in town and not staying with me.”

“It’s best, don’t you think?”

“No,” I groaned. “I think it sucks. I want you in my bed.”

She smiled. “You’re nothing if not honest, Brock. ”

“We can be friends until kingdom come, Red. I will never not want you in my bed.”

Her eyes lingered on mine as she murmured, “I get it.”

“You do, do you?” I said seductively. It was impossible not to flirt with her.

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m gonna make you dinner tonight.”

She rubbed the top of Patrick’s head. “How are you gonna manage that and take care of him?”

“I’m getting better at balancing everything. He likes to watch me cook now. He sits in his little seat. As long as I talk to him, he’s good.”

“How about I entertain him while you cook?” she suggested.

“I think he’d love that.”

“Good,” she cooed as she pinched his cheek.

“I really appreciate you coming.” And I’d like to show that appreciation by making you come again later.

“Like I said, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“I’m happy you came a little earlier so we can spend some time together.”

“That was the plan.” She smiled up at me. “I’m gonna go back to the hotel and freshen up, though, before I head to your place.”

“All right. Don’t take too long. I hate wasting precious time when you’re here. You should’ve just stayed at my apartment.”

All I wanted right now was to break every friend-zone rule.

“I’ll see you in about an hour?” she said.

“Sounds good, baby. ”

Baby. Once again, I couldn’t help myself. But I wasn’t even sorry. Maybe I was undoing whatever progress we’d made since the friendship declaration, but my feelings for this woman were just as strong as they’d always been. And I couldn’t deny it. I wouldn’t deny it.

On the way back home, I detoured toward the grocery store to pick up some stuff to make for dinner. I’d changed Patrick on the bed of my truck before we left the farmers’ market, so he’d be good to go for a little bit.

I felt a bit giddy, knowing I’d get to spend time with February this evening. My mind raced as I thought about what to make for dinner. I peeked into the backseat at my son, the happiest I’d been in a while, knowing the woman who still had my heart was nearby.

The moment my eyes returned to the road, I saw it veering toward us.

And then? Everything went dark.