Out of Focus (Love in LA #3)

Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. “Wow.”

“I’m not always the one that ends it, but I mostly have been. I refuse to settle, and I refuse to string someone along if I don’t see it being long-term.” Yeah, I’m that guy.

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.” She nods, looking down at her hands.

“So, you’re going to go out with Zach again?” Yeah, I’m still fixated on that asshole.

“I think so.” Her brows furrow as she pulls her lips in between her teeth—a move that tells me she’s not sure. “I mean, if he wants to. Do you think he’ll want to?” She looks up at me, and I grip the steering wheel so tightly that my fingers start to ache. Thinking about his texts last night won’t do me any good, but I can’t exactly tell Charlie about them, can I?

“He’d be an absolute dumbass not to, pumpkin pie!” I keep my voice as jovial as possible, despite the thoughts of how many ways I could break Zach’s hands running through my mind.

“Ugh, you had to add the pie onto it, too?” Charlie shakes her head, but I don’t miss the way her hands relax and her lips curl up slightly.

“I was gonna say pumpkin spice. Would that be better? You can be a little spicy sometimes with your eye rolls and that bit of sass you reserve for when I act like a real jackass.” Maybe we can just do this for the rest of the drive. We can talk about all the things I notice about her. Make her almost smile at the dumb shit I say.

She giggles, but she’s looking out of the window, and I don’t turn my head fast enough to see it. Damn.

“If you’re going to add to your already extensive list of nicknames for me, let’s make it spice and not pie, then. We already have enough food nicknames.” A small smile stretches across her face, causing a fluttering sensation in my stomach. My muscles tighten and release as I feel the warmth of her expression.

“You got it, strawberry shortcake.” I grip the steering wheel tightly again because my traitorous hand is itching to touch her.

Her head whips toward me. “That’s only the second time you’ve used that one.” She goes back to looking out the windshield, and I don’t know what to say. She’s right. The first time I thought of that nickname, I had been at the office doing nothing but looking forward to seeing her. Someone had brought in a strawberry shortcake for a birthday or something, and all I thought was about how it was sort of like Charlie with her creamy skin and her red hair.

Later that day, I was standing in front of her building waiting for her, looking up at the sky and smiling because the color was the exact shade of her eyes. I saw her and the nickname just slipped out, much like it did just now.

We sit in comfortable silence for a while, and I catch her bobbing her head along to the music a few times, making a mental note of the songs she seems to like.

She doesn’t push for conversation, so I don’t either. I notice that she perks up when she sees the sign for Ojai.

“Oh, I nearly forgot. Maeve is with the horses, do you mind dropping me there?” Her cheeks turn pink, and I hide my smile behind my hand.

“Of course. You got it.”

Within a few minutes, we’re pulling into Agape Stables. Owen and Maeve finally named it and have started to make things a little more official. There have been a few school groups brought in to learn about horses, and I think using the stables as some sort of rehab center for veterans is in the works.

As soon as we’re out of the car, we can hear Maeve’s voice. I’ve never seen a woman so pregnant and so nimble. I swear you wouldn’t know she could be delivering a whole baby any day now. “Art, come on. They’re my horses!”

“Yeah, Maeve, but it’s my balls I’ll lose if your husband catches wind of this.” Arthur follows that up with a laugh, but I can tell he’s actually a little scared of Owen.

“Hey, party people!” I don’t know why that’s the greeting I choose, but it’s out there now, so whatever. “Maevey, look at you. You’re so beautiful!”

Maeve looks up with a wide smile, and Charlie’s shoulders slump slightly as her sister waddles toward us. Arthur mouths a thank you.

“Raffy! Charlie!” She hugs her sister first, rightly so, then tries to wrap her arms around my waist, but that belly gets in the way. “Ugh, I keep forgetting there’s a whole baby in there. I mean, I know he’s there, and I love our little bean so, so much. But I forget how much space he takes up, you know?”

“I so don’t know, and I have no idea how you forget. That’d be like forgetting you have a watermelon attached to your stomach.” I chuckle, and Maeve does, too. She’s had a great pregnancy, unlike Elaina who basically threw up for nine months straight.

“Well, I hardly notice it. Hey, maybe you can convince your older and grumpier brother to let me see my girls?” She bats her eyelashes at me, and I raise a skeptical eyebrow.

“What does that mean, exactly?” I ask.

“It means she thinks she can ride her horses.” Arthur scoffs, and I understand the comment about losing his balls. Owen would absolutely castrate him if he let Maeve ride while she’s this pregnant.

“Uh,” I start, but Maeve doesn’t let me finish.

“Oh, forget it. Fine. I won’t ride.” She rolls her eyes, and the movement has me immediately looking at Charlie, who’s quietly standing off to the side. “I’ll just go say hello to Scout and Willow. Want to come, Char?” Maeve hooks her arm with her sister’s, beaming with joy, the whole riding fiasco seemingly forgotten.

Seeing that they’re about to take off, I clear my throat. “I’ll pick you up in a few hours then, Chuck?” She gives me a quiet yes. “Text me when you’re ready. I’m only twenty minutes away, okay?”