Heart and Soul by Carrie Elks

15

Meghan opened the back door of her Honda and Isla jumped out, a huge grin on her face as she ran up the path toward her grandparents’ large redbrick house. Isla hadn’t mentioned Carlyn again – it felt as though she’d completely forgotten about their run in at the pool, though she’d asked more than a few times when they would be able to go to the beach with Rich again.

Meghan didn’t have an answer for her, because she’d only seen him three times since that kiss. And each time had been rushed – he’d been running out of the door to work, or she’d been talking with Gloria in the hall and he’d given them both a brief hello. Once he’d asked her if she’d heard anything from Carlyn, the relief evident in his expression when she’d told him she hadn’t.

So was that it? They were done being friends? It felt like a loose end that was constantly nagging in her mind. Like she couldn’t get comfortable because they had unfinished business.

“Come here and give your Granny some kisses.” Meghan’s mom hugged Isla tight as she reached the top step of their house. “We have so much fun planned this weekend, I hope you’ve got lots of energy. And I made your favorite dinner.”

“Chicken pot pie?” Isla’s eyes widened.

“That’s right. And if you’re very good we’ll make some cookies for dessert.”

Isla turned to look at Meghan, her eyes dancing with delight. At least one person in her life was easy to please. She’d been so excited about sleeping over at her Granny and Gramps’ house she hadn’t stopped talking about it for days.

And if she was being honest, Meghan was excited, too. For the break more than anything. She couldn’t remember the last time she had the apartment to herself for more than half an hour. When she finished work tomorrow she planned to veg out in front of the TV with a Netflix series, with a pizza on one side of her and a pint of ice cream on the other.

Bliss.

“Hello sweetheart.” Her mother gave her a tentative smile. “Thank you for letting Isla stay.”

Meghan nodded. “She’s looking forward to it.”

“So are we.” She cleared her throat. “Your father wanted to talk to you. He’s in the living room.” Grabbing Isla’s hand, Meghan’s mom led her into the hallway. “Why don’t we take your bag to your room? I bought you a new book to read. I thought we could start it tonight.”

Meghan closed the front door behind her, as Isla ran up the stairs, her grandma bustling behind her. The living room door was ajar, so she pushed it open, seeing her dad sitting on his easy chair with the newspaper folded in his hands. He was wearing his reading glasses, a pen poised between his thumb and finger.

“Mom said you wanted to talk about something?” Meghan asked.

He put the paper down, gesturing at her to sit on the sofa opposite. “First of all, I wanted to thank you for letting Isla stay with us. I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but we love her very much.”

It was the closest he’d ever come to conciliation. “I know.” Her throat felt tight. Sure, she hadn’t had the kindest upbringing, but they treated Isla so differently. That was a good thing. “She’s been looking forward to it all week.”

“Your mom’s hoping you’ll let her come and stay every couple of months. That little girl is the apple of her eye. She lives and breathes for her.”

“I know she does.” Meghan smiled. “She’s a good girl.”

“And that’s thanks to you.”

Whoa. She wasn’t quite sure what to say to that.

“There was something else I wanted to tell you. A man knocked on the door on Tuesday asking questions about you.”

Meghan blinked. “What kind of questions.”

“It was a lawyer, I think. He wanted to speak with you. I told him you didn’t live here any more.”

“Did he say what it was in connection with?” She wondered if it had something to do with the shop. That was the last time she’d used anybody from the legal profession.

“I’m not sure. He left a card.” Her dad stood and walked over to the shining oak bureau on the other side of the living room, taking a small white business card from the pile of letters there. “He seemed very nice. I wondered if he had anything to do with Aunt Grace’s will. She’s going into the hospital next week and was talking about updating it. She always talked about leaving some money to you and Isla.”

He passed Meghan the card and she looked at it. “I guess I’ll give him a call.”

“Good idea.”

It was getting dark by the time she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building. The pool area was closed and locked, and lights blazed from the windows of the tall white buildings, the occasional shadow of a person passing in front of the glass. The wind must have been blowing from the west, because she could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Tomorrow was forecast to be a bright sunny day, and she’d already asked all her staff to come in. The tourist season was well and truly up and running, and she knew they’d be run off their feet.

“Hey.”

She jumped at the sound of his voice cutting through the darkness. Rich was walking around the corner of the building, from the underground lot where he parked his car. She’d been lucky enough to score a space on the surface lot, which made life a lot easier when she had things to carry.

His hair was damp, brushed back from his delicious face. He was wearing an old, washed-out gray t-shirt with a Nirvana logo on it, the words half peeled away, and a pair of dark sweat pants that hung low on his hips. Over his shoulder was a gym bag, his fingers curled around the handle.

Her eyes lifted to his and she felt her chest tightening. For a moment he said nothing. Just stared at her with those vivid blue eyes, his lips slightly parted, his brow pinched as though he was trying to work her out.

Meghan swallowed hard, trying not to think about the last time she saw him and that kiss that haunted her dreams.

“Hi.” She was almost breathless even though she hadn’t moved an inch.

He inclined his head at the lobby. “You going up?”

She nodded. He pushed the door open, holding it for her as she passed him. The warm notes of his shampoo twisted in her airways. Swallowing hard, she walked over to her mailbox, unlocking it and pulling out the brochures and junk mail from inside. Her cheeks were blazing, her breathing uneven. Why was this so weird? The memory of that kiss weighed down her shoulders, making her muscles ache. And still her nerves tingled because they wanted it again.

Wanted him again.

There was a postcard among the junk. She lifted it up, looking at the image of two guys standing next to a llama in front of tall, green mountains. The sky was blue, peppered with wispy clouds that seemed to circle around the peaks.

“That’s Kevin and Grant.” Rich’s voice was close. She could feel the warmth radiating from him as he leaned over her shoulder. “I got my postcard yesterday.”

She turned it over.

Bringing this one home with us. Do you think she’ll fit in the elevator? Kevin and Grant xx

Meghan smiled. “It was sweet of them to send us one.”

“They’re good people. You’ll like them when you meet them.” His eyes caught hers.

“When are they coming back again?”

“In a month or so, I think. They saved up for years for this vacation. They’re both freelancers. Kevin writes music for jingles and Grant’s a photographer. So they don’t have a strict deadline to come back for.”

She looked at the postcard again. They had such lovely faces, both grinning like loons as the fluffy llama peered between their shoulders.

“They’ll love Isla,” he told her, then looked around. “Where is she anyway?”

“With my parents for the weekend. I just dropped her off.”

She could feel the tension wafting off him. Had she said the wrong thing?

Locking her mailbox, she slid the envelopes into her purse and followed him into the waiting elevator, stepping back against the rail to put some space between them.

He pressed the tenth floor button and the doors slid closed. He looked as awkward as she felt, his gym bag at his feet as he leaned against the side elevator wall. His head tipped back, his jaw razor sharp, as he glanced around the car, his eyelashes sweeping down as he blinked.

Meghan fixed her eyes on a tarnished piece of handrail, counting down in her mind as they passed each floor. When they reached the tenth and the doors slid open, she let out a lungful of air, walking past him into the lobby, her arm brushing his.

Rifling in her purse for her keys, she turned to look at him. Rich stood outside the elevator, the doors closing behind him as he stared at her, his lips parted as though he was trying to say something.

She pulled her lip between her teeth. How did things become this awkward?

You kissed him and almost came against your apartment door. That’s how.

“Well, goodnigh—”

“Can we talk?” He frowned at their clash of words, lifting his hand to brush his hair back from his brow. “If you have time that is?”

“I have time.” She’d do pretty much anything to get rid of this awkwardness that had been in the air for weeks now. Unlocking her door, she held it open for him to walk inside.

His eyes grazed over the door where he’d kissed her. There was a a little tic in his jaw, dancing where it met his cheek.

“Would you like a drink?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I won’t stay. I just wanted to say…” He sighed, dropping his bag on the floor. “I hate this weirdness between us. I’m sorry that I messed things up.”

“I hate it, too,” she admitted, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

He took a deep breath, the corner of his lip curling up. “I shouldn’t have kissed you that night. It was wrong and I made it worse by running when we should have talked about it.” He cleared his throat. “I should have said something then, cleared the air. All I want is for things to be normal again.”

“I want that, too,” she said softly.

His shoulders visibly relaxed. “You do?”

“Yeah. I’m not about to go all Carlyn on you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what I thought.”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re a good kisser and all, but not that good.” It felt such a damn relief to be able to joke about it. “So you can breathe easy. You won’t wake up in the middle of the night to find me standing in the dark beside your bed.”

He grinned. “I won’t?”

She shook her head. “Nope. That’s why I had the cameras installed. So I can watch you from the comfort of my own home.”

This time he laughed, and it was like air had rushed into the room. She felt lighter, as though she could breathe again.

“Damn, I thought I’d messed everything up.” He was so beautiful when he smiled. “And this is why I should never have kissed you. I’m terrible at relationships. Seriously, I should come with a warning sign or something. This guy will ruin your mojo.”

“You have a poor opinion of yourself,” she said lightly.

“I’ve learned it through years of trial and error.”

“Well you can rest safe. I’m a big girl. I’m not going to fall for you after one kiss.” Lies, all lies. But she wanted her friend back, dammit.

“But it was a good kiss, though? That’s what you said.” He ran his finger along his rough jaw.

“It was passable.”

His eyes widened. “Passable? I’m wounded.” He put his hands on his chest and sighed. “I guess I’d better go back to my apartment and look for my self confidence.”

“You do that.” She smiled. “And thank you for clearing the air.”

“I should have done it sooner. I wish I had.” He was still grinning. “Hey, when’s Isla coming home?”

“My dad’s dropping her off on Sunday afternoon.”

“So you’re free tomorrow night?”

She tipped her head to the side. “I have a hot date with a Netflix show.”

“Well I don’t think I can compete with that. But if you get bored, I’m meeting some friends for dinner. You should come along. I think you’ve met Harper. She’s married to my friend from work, James. They’re nice people and they have a daughter, too.” He glanced at her through his thick eyelashes. “As a friend, not as a date or anything.”

“No more barely passable kisses?” she teased. “Now I’m the wounded one.”

“Maybe we should stop talking about that kiss before my feelings get hurt.” He gave her a soft smile.

She grinned. “It’s a deal. And thank you for the invitation. I’d love to meet your friends.”

“Great. Does seven work for tomorrow? Or will you need more time after work?”

“Seven is perfect. I’m looking forward to it.”