Accidental Neighbor by Sharon Woods

Chapter 31

Thomas

Sitting at the conference room in Joshua’s office for an urgent project meeting, I have been zoning in and out of the conversations. Murmurs can be heard around me, but I can’t recall a single clear sentence. Since seeing Jennifer last night, my head has been filled with noise.

I want to kick my own ass for reaching out and touching her, but I can’t control my actions when she is around. It’s this electricity whenever we are in close proximity that causes me not to think and my body to act. It remembers how soft her delicate skin is and how she reacts to my touch. It causes my body to rise and act without a second thought.

“Tom.” Hearing my name repeatedly and getting louder, I thrust my chin up and find Joshua staring at me. His face is a mixture of pissed yet amused, his eyebrow peaked. When he realizes he has my attention, he repeats the question I obviously missed.

“Thomas, what do you think about the deadline?”

“For which project?”

Joshua rolls his lips, and Ava giggles beside me. Joshua flushes and becomes ridged, his eyes fleeting down. He ruffles the papers in front of him before meeting my gaze again. “For the tunnel we have just won. Will we meet the predicted deadline?”

Right, the tunnel. Focus, Thomas. Don’t think about her anymore, concentrate on work. Checking my papers, I turn toward Ava who has a smirk, but nods.

“Yes, I think we can do it.” I return my gaze to him as I answer.

He sits back in his black leather chair. “Great. Well, let’s get back to work. I will arrange regular meetings for this project. We cannot afford to run behind on it.”

Nodding and shuffling my papers together, I say, “Tom, can we talk for a second alone?” The tone alone is for Ava.

“Sure.”

“Can you get a start on this? I won't be a minute,” I ask her as I hand her the documents and she stands up beside me.

“No rush, boss.” She wanders out the glass door and toward the elevator with the rest of our colleagues who had sat in on the meeting.

I return my gaze to Joshua. I walk over to him and pull up a chair beside him that was just vacated by another colleague.

“Are you okay, Tom? You aren’t focused or acting yourself at all.” His toned conveys his worry.

Clearly, my daydreams about Jennifer are seeping through to my real life. I really need to get my head back in the game and refocus on my job.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just a lot on my mind with the girls.” It’s a half lie. My mind is always on my girls, but he doesn't know that also includes Jennifer.

His face tells me he isn’t sure, so I quickly redirect the conversation. “I see you blushing over Ava. Has something happened there?” I tease.

“Pfft. As if. Ava is not my type.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

I don’t buy it; the flush on his face tells a different story. He takes cheeky glances at her when he thinks no one is looking. But I am holding on to my own shit, so I can’t really expect him to share.

“I better get back to work. I will see you soon,” I say.

“Good idea. I will see you for the game Saturday,” he replies, rising from the chair.

◆◆◆

Saturday arrives and the girls are playing in the living room, and I'm in the kitchen, drinking coffee. Mom’s chewing her lip off as she stares down at her coffee, clearly trying to hold back something.

"Spit it out, Mom. The way you're chewing your lip, I know you have something to say." I pop a brow.

Her eyes widen and she stops chewing on her lip and laughs. "You know I want to know what’s going on with that sweet young girl, Jennifer."

Hearing her name has me frozen still, and a pain shoots up my neck—the beginning of a headache.

I try to rub the pain from my neck and take a sip of my coffee before answering. "I told you nothing was going on. I'm focusing on the girls and work." I don't say anything else, not wanting to get into it any further.

But, of course, she won't stop poking. It's Mom. I should know better.

"Hmm, but you two have grown close?" She chooses her words carefully.

Glaring at her with a serious face, I say, "She needs to live, Mom. She is young, as you keep telling me, and I'm holding her back. She talks about more kids, and I can't—" I shake my head, the pain in my chest returning. Taking a few slow controlled breaths, I attempt to calm my pulse down.

"So she knows about Victoria?" Her voice is light, and I swallow past the uneasiness.

"No—" I cut in, really not wanting to continue the conversation.

"But she might be happy to accept just the girls, or are you sure that the door is completely closed?"

These are the questions that have been playing on my mind, so when she asks me, I can't really give her an answer. Having been through so much pain, I don't think I could handle anymore.

"I don't know, Mom," I answer honestly.

"I think you need to talk to her properly about this. You shouldn't cut out someone who you clearly like because it starts to feel too much or too real. You don’t deserve to feel guilty."

My mouth drops open. How the fuck does she know?

She laughs. "I'm your mom; I know everything." And with that, she winks.

I laugh softly and shake my head.

I deeply care for Jennifer; I know that in my heart. But to expose my past—I don't know if I'm ready to do that.

A knock comes at the door and it's James. He said he would pick me up. I walk to Mom and kiss her on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom, for watching the girls. I'll be home straight after the game."

"No rush, love. Enjoy yourself."

Walking to the front door, I pull it open. James stands to the side staring toward Jennifer's house. My face scrunches. "What are you doing?" I ask.

He thrusts his chin in the direction of her house as someone walks out the front door. “They are loading furniture into a moving truck.”

I tense from his words, panic swelling inside me. "What?" I push forward, moving James out of the way.

"Jeez, man. Calm down."

Stepping out into the entryway, my eyes widen. Sure enough, there is a moving truck parked out front in the concrete driveway. I can't tell who is moving, but a feeling of dread washes through my body.

"Maybe you should go over there and check," Mom says behind me.

"What's going on? I thought you two were dating?" James asks.

"Not currently," I mumble, unable to remove my gaze from the truck.

"Love, just go talk to her," Mom encourages.

Can I? I stand frozen, my legs unwilling to move. No, I have no right; I broke things off with her. I'm still working out what is going on inside my messed-up head. The other night, seeing her in my house again, touching her, I just wanted to go back. But we can’t…

I shake off the thoughts. "No, let's go. We have to meet the boys."

"Are you sure?" says James. His hands are stuffed inside his dark-blue jeans, his white shirt undone at the top and rolled up at the sleeves.

I stalk toward his car without answering. I can hear his faint, "See you later, Mrs. Dunn. Yes, yes, I'll look after him."

I'm leaning on his fancy-ass car, watching him with a blank stare.

I hide any real emotion, before he unlocks his car as he stands by his door. He looks at me with a knowing expression, shaking his head. "Get in, dickhead." He laughs and clicks his key to open the doors. I pull open the door and slouch on his leather seat.

We have a twenty-minute drive where we talk about all things sports. Neither of us discuss women or work. James knows me well and understands when to back off and let me think.

A few hours later, James drops me off at home after the game, he thrusts his chin at the front door. "Looks like someone wants to have one last goodbye.”

I spot Jennifer standing at my door, but as I watch, she swivels and turns to walk to her house.

Without thinking I push open the door and race toward her, hollering, "Jen, wait." I throw my hands up in the air. She spins and her lips turn up and reveal her pretty smile.

She stops and I keep running until I catch up to her. As I reach her, I abruptly stop and gaze into her magnetic eyes. I try to catch my breath.

She says, “Hi. I was coming to check on the girls before I move.”

Hearing those words leave her mouth makes my heart feel like it is being ripped in half. "Moving?" I softly questioned.

She nods. "I'm moving in with Olivia."

"Why?" I ask.

She tears her gaze away from mine and looks down and draws patterns with her feet. My brows crease. "I feel it's time… And this is too hard." Her gaze flickers to mine and I see the glossy look and a tear sitting on her lashes.

My heart squeezes, and I can't speak. The words are stuck in my throat.

"I better go. I need to meet the truck at the house." She purses her lips.

She is waiting for me to say something and all I can do is stare; nothing leaves my choked-up throat other than a croaky, "Okay."

She hesitates before turning around and as I see her leave, I think to myself, it's now or never. Do I want to open up and find a way for us to work? It's clear she wants me, and I want her.

But I just can’t.