Feels Like Falling - Kristy Woodson Harvey Page 0,7

that all straight.” He paused. “Take the ones you’re happy with. On the house. I’ll personally drop the others by this afternoon.”

Before he even said anything, I knew that soon I’d have all the time I needed to look for a new job.

CHAPTER 2

gray: seven-year itch

After my impromptu solo diving competition, Marcy, my favorite partner in crime, still hadn’t shown up. I pulled out my laptop and tried to get some work done, but I couldn’t keep my mind off how miserable I was going to be without Wagner. We had said our pre-trip good-byes that morning because Greg and Brooke were taking him to their house straight from tennis. But I needed one more hug and kiss—maybe two.

I smiled when I saw him talking to his friends in front of the tennis hut—and I realized right away that I had made the right choice stopping by. I mean, sure, the tennis pro was just a kid, but it did my battered self-esteem some good that he did a double take when I walked up.

There’s some universal rule that tennis pros must be delicious. I don’t mean good-looking. I mean delicious. And Wagner’s tennis teacher for the summer was no exception.

“Hi,” he said as he conspicuously took in the long expanse of leg peeking out from my pareo.

He winked at me underneath his Straits Club sun visor. “So, you here for my class?”

I smirked; his class was the twelve and under clinic.

Before I had a chance to respond, Brooke said, “Excuse me.” I struggled to keep from rolling my eyes.

I eyed the tennis pro to see if he thought she was as hot as my husband apparently did, but he barely glanced her way as he told her, “Moms can watch if they want, but don’t feel like you have to hang around.”

Wagner ran up to me excitedly and said, “Mom?” and then looked over his shoulder, making sure that nobody had seen. “What are you doing here?”

I ran my hand through his shaggy hair, controlling my impulse to lean over and kiss him. “I missed you already.”

Much to my surprise, Wagner squeezed me tight and kissed me on the cheek. He must have needed one last hug and kiss too.

The tanned, racket-wielding man-child to my left looked from Brooke to me and said, “Wait, you mean you’re his mother?” Then he laughed. “No way. What, did you have him when you were twelve?”

It was the absolute best-case scenario. I mean, he would be getting a tip so large at the end of the summer that he could retire.

“I’m Wagner’s soon-to-be stepmom,” Brooke announced, wiggling the fingers on her left hand. I couldn’t help but notice that my engagement ring had been much bigger, which was ironic since Greg had so much more money now. He probably didn’t want to invest as much in this one in case he decided to trade her in for a newer model too.

Andrew looked at Brooke blankly and said, “Great. I can already tell he’s an awesome kid.”

“Hey, Mom, I’m going to go warm up,” Wagner said.

“I’ll be watching!”

“Me too,” Brooke called behind, before turning her attention back to the pro. “Andrew, when should I come back to pick up Wagner?” She shot me a look. “I was trying to ask you this morning, Gray, but I couldn’t get your attention.”

“What? I didn’t even see you,” I lied.

She raised one eyebrow. “You’re a beautiful swimmer,” she said pertly, as if she didn’t want to compliment me but couldn’t help it.

When your big brother drowns when you’re a baby, your parents’ life mission is to make sure you and your sister are expert swimmers. I almost said that just to see her reaction, but it felt like overkill. I wondered if she already knew about Steven. I wondered what else she knew about me, what secrets I had shared with Greg that this total stranger was now privy to.

This afternoon Brooke and Greg were taking Wagner to Raleigh, where we lived the rest of the year, and then off to France, Italy, and Spain for three weeks on their first “family” trip. As if trying to take my company from me weren’t enough, he had to take my child away for nearly a month too.

“Brooke,” I said, “we need to go over a few last-minute details before the trip.”

Her smile was so self-satisfied that this time I couldn’t control my eye roll. “I sent you all the travel details this morning. Did you not see