Grounded for Love: A Reunion Romance Novella (8 page)

“Maybe we were.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Once.”

“I guess.” Annie shrugged and kept her gaze straight ahead. “Because you certainly can’t go back in time. And you obviously can’t go find her now. Or see if there’s anything left between you two. That’d be ridiculous.”

“Yes. Ridiculous” He really hated that his sister was so, what was the word? Well, he didn’t know, but irritating would do.

“Oh, look, Tiffany is going to throw her bouquet.”

Graham watched Annie walk away. She was so annoying when she tried to analyze him or make him do something through reverse psychology. That might work on Sarah, but it didn’t work on him. He was involved with Dana. Seeing Serena might have tilted his world a tiny bit, but it was back on its axis. In fact, it was so back on its axis that he was going to call Dana and spend some time talking to her.

Serena sat in the cozy living room. The house was quiet, except for the heater kicking on. Being in her childhood home made her feel safe, secure. And loved.

Her thoughts went to Graham. And what could have been.
I suppose I’ll always regret what happened.
That’s what it was—regret.

Even if they’d had a
moment
in Denver, it had passed, and they were both moving on in their own individual lives. He was with someone else. And she was… it didn’t matter. Someday, she’d find someone. And she’d love that someone even more than she’d loved Graham. For so long, she’d nursed her hate, thinking he’d betrayed her. It was easier that way. Now that she knew the truth, it wasn’t so easy.

Seeing him reminded her of so many great times together—memories that she’d buried. But now she let them rise to the surface, fully immersing herself in them and finally allowing herself to mourn the loss, instead of focusing on hating him.

Tears built behind her eyes as she gazed out the window at the bare branches of the trees.

“Hi, honey,” her mom said, making her jump.

“Hi, Mom. How did you sleep?” Serena said.

“I haven’t been sleeping very well since your dad…”

“When can we go see him?”

“In an hour or so.”

Serena played with the fringe on the couch pillow.

“You know, your dad’s heart is going to be okay, but…”

“What?” Serena turned to her mom, suddenly worried.

“I don’t know about
your
heart.”

“Mine?” She patted the pillow. “Mine is fine.”

“Seeing Graham has thrown you for a loop.”

Serena waved her hand. “Not really,” she lied.

Her mom gave her a disbelieving look. “You can’t pretend you aren’t hurting.” She sat next to Serena and slung her arm around her daughter’s shoulders.

“Mom, I really messed up.” A warm tear slid down Serena’s cheek. “But now it’s too late.”

“It’s never too late for real love.”

“He loves someone else.” Serena snuggled into her mom’s embrace, soaking in the safety and comfort she always found there.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

They sat together for a few minutes without saying anything while Serena let her tears fall. Finally, she wiped at her eyes then cleared her throat. “I need to focus on helping you and Daddy.”

“I appreciate that. But I want you to think about your own heart.”

“There’s nothing I can do.”

“There’s always something you can do.”

Serena sat up. “And what I need to do now is get a shower.” She forced a smile. “Then go see Daddy.”

In the hot, misty shower, Serena thought about her mom’s words, but it was too late with Graham. She’d blown it. He’d moved on, as he should have. It wouldn’t be fair to expect anything now and she had no right to. The only option was to learn from her experience, move forward, and forget about Graham.

The water slid down her back. She was thankful her dad would recover and that she had a few days to spend with her parents. Since the doctor said her dad would be able to come home in a day or two, she planned to return to San Francisco next week. She could get caught up on reading the manuscripts she brought and check for any important emails that she needed to answer until she got back to work.

After her shower and some lunch, Serena took her mom to the hospital. Although the hospital was relatively new, it still had the look and smell of sick people. The less time she had to spend there, the better.

She left her mom at the nurse’s station and made her way to her dad’s room. “Hey, Daddy, how are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, actually. You?” He sat up a bit. His face wasn’t as pasty white as it had been and his eyes were brighter.

“Fine.”

He studied her. “You don’t look fine.”

“Wow, thanks.” Serena adjusted her dad’s pillow.

“You look a little sad.”

“Are you kidding? I’m happy that you are doing so well, and we can spring you from this joint.”

He smiled. “I’m sorry you had to come all the way back—”

“I needed a little vacation.” Serena sat in the chair next to the bed and grabbed her dad’s hand.

“Are they working you hard?”

She nodded. “But I love it.”

“I wish it weren’t so far away.”

“As soon as a big publisher relocates to Durango, I’ll be the first one to apply.”

“It’s good to see you, Princess.”

She gave his hand a squeeze. “Next time, let’s make it under better circumstances.”

A guy with blue scrubs and curly brown hair walked into the room, and Serena recognized him immediately. “Colby Whigton?”

“Serena Johnson.” His voice was filled with surprise.

“I haven’t seen you since graduation.”

He smiled and the skin around his blue eyes crinkled. The years since high school had been good to him. He’d grown into quite a good-looking man who had filled out in all the right places.

“You’re working here at the hospital?”

“Yeah. I got my nursing degree then came back. No better snowboarding than around here.”

“I remember you were pretty hooked on winter sports.” He seemed to have a perpetual tan during the coldest months of the year.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’m a book editor. I work for a publisher in San Francisco.” She gestured toward her father. “This is my dad.”

“Hello, sir. I have some medication for you.” Colby handed her dad a small cup with some pills in it.

“These look like horse pills,” her dad said, wrinkling his nose.

Colby laughed. “I hear that a lot. They are pretty big.” Colby handed him a glass of water. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I need to get out of here.”

“I hear that a lot too.” He checked his patient’s vital signs. “Looks good. The doctor will be in later today to talk to you.”

“To spring me, I hope.”

“You must be feeling better,” Serena’s mom said as she entered the room.

“Try to get some rest,” Colby said. “I’ll check on you later.”

Serena walked with Colby to the door. “It was good to see you,” she said.

“Are you in town for long?”

“A few more days. Maybe more. Depends on how my dad does at home.”

“Maybe we could get together and catch up?” Colby grinned.

“I’d like that.”

Serena gave him her number then watched him walk down the hall. They’d had a class together their junior year and became pretty good friends. It would be fun to hang out with him and talk about high school memories.

“He’s handsome and has a great smile,” her mom said. “And he lives in Durango.”

“Don’t be getting any ideas. We were only friends, Mom. Besides, my life is back in California. Which reminds me, I need to return a couple of phone calls.”

Serena spent the rest of the day with her mom going between the hospital and places around town to run errands. They met with the doctor, who said her dad could be released the next day. As she and her mom were in the hospital room visiting with her dad, Serena’s phone pinged. It was a text from Colby.

Sorry this is last minute. I’ve been busy all day. Do you want to get a bite to eat tonight?

She thought for a moment. Usually she didn’t like such short notice, but considering they’d only seen each other today and she’d probably be leaving town in a few days, she decided it was fine. Going to dinner with an old classmate, especially one that was as attractive as Colby, might be exactly what she needed.

Sure.

Firehouse Pizza?

Sounds good.

I can pick you up.

I’m at the hospital right now. My mom can drop me off on her way home.

7:00?

I’ll be there.

She hadn’t been to Firehouse Pizza since she was in high school. It used to be kind of a hangout. It’d be fun to go back and reminisce.

“I can come back and pick you up after dinner,” her mom said as she pulled up in front of Firehouse Pizza.

“I’ll let you know. Probably Colby will bring me home.” Serena felt like a teenager having her mom drop her off.

“Have fun.”

Serena got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. It was like stepping back in time. She glanced around and saw Colby talking to one of the waiters.

“Hey, Serena,” Colby said. “We have a great table in the back.”

She followed him to a booth. “This place looks like it did back in the day.”

“And they still make the best pizza. I already ordered the house special. I hope that’s okay.”

“Sounds perfect.” She liked that Colby had no problem taking charge of their date—if that’s what this was.

Colby motioned for a tall, skinny waiter to bring them some drinks.

“So what made you decide to go into nursing?” Serena hadn’t pegged Colby for the healthcare type. She figured he’d end up as a skiing instructor or maybe a professional snowboarder.

“I was in college and one of my buddies was going on a trip to Mexico to provide medical services. I tagged along and got hooked on helping people. I decided to get my nursing degree. I might go back to medical school. I’m not sure. Right now, I’m here living with my mom because my dad passed away last year.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your dad.”

“Thanks. Complications from diabetes.”

Serena swirled the ice around in her soda, feeling grateful that her father was still alive and recovering so well.

“What about you?” Colby asked. “How did you end up in San Fran?”

“Right before I graduated from college, this amazing job opportunity practically fell into my lap, so I took it.”

The teenage waiter brought a large house special pizza and set it in the middle of the table. “Can I get you anything else?”

“I think this is more than enough,” Serena said, wondering how they would ever eat all of this pizza.

Colby let her take a piece then grabbed one for himself. “We used to sit next to each other in English when we were freshmen.”

“We did?” Her cheeks warmed as she tried to recall sitting by him. How had she forgotten?

“You probably didn’t notice. I was a dorky, skinny kid.” He paused. “But I noticed you. In fact, I had a crush on you.”

“Really?” She’d had no idea.

“I never had enough nerve to talk to you in that class, though.” He bit into his pizza.

“I do remember we had biology together our junior year. You talked about snowboarding all the time.”

“I guess I was a little obsessed with it.”

“A little?”

A smile exploded on Colby’s face. “Remember when we dissected that baby pig?”

“Ew. Everything about that experience was disgusting, especially the smell.” Thinking about the strong scent of formaldehyde almost made her lose her appetite.

“I remember you totally freaked out.” He tapped the table with his palm.

“Great. Exactly how I want to be remembered—the freak-out girl in biology.”

They both laughed.

“Yeah, and I still had a crush on you,” Colby said, playing with the straw wrapper.

“You did?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you ask me out?”

He shrugged. “Too shy, I guess.”

They sat for a few minutes steeped in awkwardness. Finally, Serena said, “Well, I’m glad we could go out tonight.”

“Me too.”

They continued to eat pizza and chat about each other’s lives.