186 Miles by Nicole Hildreth Read Free Book Online Page B

table.  I couldn’t. 
I placed them in my lap.
     
    What
if someone that I knew was here?  What if Ryan’s mom showed up?  Did the
waitress recognize me?  Surely, she would know I was unfaithful.
     
    It
was irrational, I knew.  I still couldn’t help it.
     
    “Hey.” 
His face was soft.
     
    Oh
God, he did love me.  I needed to deal with this fast.
     
    “Just
don’t.  I can’t touch you here.  We’re a block from my office.  I lost my
husband less than two months ago.  Just… stop.”
     
    I
was such a bitch.  Why was I being like this?
     
    We
ate our food.  The noises from the restaurant were deafening through our
silence.  When the waitress brought our check, Vince handed her his card; she
walked away.  He grabbed my silver metal chair and scraped it across the ground
until it touched his.  Our faces were inches apart.  He leaned in and brushed
his lips against mine.  A soft, wet kiss.  In front of everyone!   He
pushed my chair back just as the waitress walked back up with the receipt.
     
    “Thank
you,” he told her, his eyes never leaving my face.

Chapter
Six
     
     
    I
wanted him to pack his bags.  Go home early.  Never come back.  Didn’t I?
     
    He
was taking his time.  Flipping channels.  Feet up on my coffee table.  Thumbing
through my magazines.  He wasn’t going anywhere . 
     
    He
was supposed to leave tomorrow, but I thought that he would be ready to pack up
after the way I treated him all afternoon.  When we went to the canal, he tried
to hold my hand.  I pulled away.  When he leaned down to kiss my face outside
of the car, I dodged him and fumbled around in my handbag.  I was cold.  Frigid .
     
    He
patted the couch.  “Come.  Sit with me.  I want to talk to you.”
     
    Here
we go.
     
    “I
want to take that job.  Bob called me back today and said it’s mine if I want
it.”
     
    “I
can’t tell you to take the job or not.  You should make your own decisions.”  I
was being unpleasant.
     
    “Do
you want me here with you?”
     
    “Vin,
don’t move here for me .  If you want that job, that’s your business.  I
don’t want you to leave your life because you think that we’re going to run off
into the sunset together.”
     
    Ouch.
     
    “If
I move here, can I see you?”  His eyes were pleading with me.
     
    “Of
course we can see each other.  But what happened here today… that can’t happen
again.”
     
    He
leaned into me.  “Rachel...”  He brushed his finger across my bottom lip.
     
    I
pulled back.  “I mean it.  I don’t regret it and I can’t take it back, but I
need time.  I told you I needed time before, but you pushed me.”
     
    His
face snapped back like I had slapped him.  “I pushed you?”
     
    “You
know what I mean.  I don’t mean physically, you know that.  I just mean
that I wasn’t ready and I told you that.  Then this morning, you just took what
you wanted.”
     
    “Took
what I wanted ?  Fuck you, Rachel.  You wanted me too.”  He
stood, angry.  Confused.  I didn’t blame him.  I did want him.  He knew
I was hitting below the belt.
     
    “You’re
right.  I wanted you.”  It came out like a whisper.  “I’m sorry.  I
didn’t mean what I said.  I just think we need to slow down.  Like way down.”
     
    He
sat back down and placed my hands in his.  He lazily rubbed the insides of my
palms with his thumbs.  “Help me find a place?”
     
    “Here?”
     
    He
beamed.  “Yes, here.  I can’t commute from Chicago to my new job.”
     
    My
heart was beating out of my chest.  Was he really going to move here?  
     
    “So
you already took the job then?”
     
    “I
start next Monday.  I have a week to find something.”
     
    “You
can stay here until you find a decent place.  Don’t move into the first one you
see.” 
     
    What
was I talking about?
     
    “Yeah? 
Okay.  I’ve started to look, but I don’t really know the city, so I need your
help.”  He looked