“As fun as that sounds, I really think I just need to take a minute and…regroup.”
She gives me an appraising look, like she’s waiting for me to crack.
I lean my hip against her kitchen island, crossing my arms, and stare right back.
It’s the morning after my surprise arrival, and Rachel and her guys are busy packing up Ilmari’s truck to head for the airport. They’ve got the Winter Classic game this weekend in New York City, which means I’ll have their house to myself.
Well, me and the dog. He’s currently chasing the guys around the front yard as they load all their gear into the truck.
“I promise I’ll be fine,” I say. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll walk on the beach with the dog.”
“Yeah, you gotta throw his ball at least once a day or he loses his freaking mind,” says Jake, walking up to Rachel and slipping her backpack off her shoulder. “This your last thing, babe?”
She nods at him, and he slings it onto his shoulder, brushing his lips against her temple.
He looks like a dream in his tailored grey suit and black tie. Ilmari is dressed up too. Apparently, all the players have to be in a suit to get on the plane. It’s an NHL rule. Rachel says they all change once they get airborne, meaning she gets a sexy strip tease while snacking on peanuts and Diet Coke. That image alone is enough to have me reconsidering her offer to join them.
“I put three pints of Cherry Garcia in the freezer for you,” Jake calls. “And the dog food is in the pantry, left side bottom.”
“Thanks, Jake,” I reply. “Cherry Garcia is my favorite.”
“He knows,” Rachel and Caleb say at the same time.
With a smirk, Jake shoulders Rachel’s bag and heads back down the hall.
Caleb lets him pass and then sweeps into the kitchen. He’s dressed in his Rays polo and athletic pants. His tattooed arm stretches out across me as he reaches for a banana from the fruit basket. I gasp, leaning back, as he turns and tosses it wordlessly to Ilmari, who has quietly joined us.
I feel so in the way. They have a life here, and now I’m daring to just set up camp for the next…who knows how long. Days? Weeks? I told Ilmari I would help him get his nonprofit off the ground. It’s not like I have anything better to do while I face the bullshit terms of my temporary leave.
“What?” says Rachel, reading me like a damn book.
“Nothing,” I say, flashing Caleb a smile as he steps wordlessly past me.
“It’s not nothing,” she says. “Did you change your mind about coming with us?”
“No,” I say, watching as Ilmari steps out too. “It’s just a little weird, right?”
“What’s weird?”
“Me being here. It’s weird, right?”
She huffs a laugh. “Tess, we lived together for almost three years. I know your habits better than I know theirs.”
“But that’s my point,” I press. “Rach, you just got married. You’re all still figuring each other out. I’m in the way—”
“Don’t,” Rachel says, stepping around the island. “You’re not gonna do this. You’re not going to talk yourself out of staying.”
“Rach—”
“I’ve been praying for this moment of clarity to hit you for three freaking years. And now that it has, we are not going backwards. Do you hear me? You’ll go crawling back to Cincinnati over my dead body.”
“Babe, we gotta go,” Jake calls from the entryway.
“I’ll be right out,” she calls back. Then she’s focused on me. “Listen, if you feel that weird about staying here, I have another place you can stay.”
“Another place? You a real estate mogul now, Rach?”
She smirks. “No, it’s Ilmari’s old place. Cute little bungalow about fifteen minutes from here. Right on the Intracoastal—”
“I can’t do that,” I cry.
“Why not?”
“Well…because it’s his house. Staying here with you and your guys feels weird but staying in Ilmari’s house feels…weirder.”
She slips her hand into her pocket. “It’s not like he’s using it. He lives here now, remember? He just hasn’t sold it yet. Here—” She works a small silver key off her keychain and holds it out. “Consider it part of your package deal, Ms. Director of Operations. Keep in mind that free housing comes with obligatory dog-sitting…you know, when you’re not turtle-sitting.”