Time for Change Read Free Page B

“What if he’s messing with
other women?”
    “I’m going on a date with
him. I’m not sleeping with him.” She hit him with her hip to budge him out of
the way. “Besides, when are you going to be serious about one of your women?”
    “I’m not.”
    She served them both some
food then took hers to the counter to sit. He sat beside her, inhaling her
vanilla and cream scent.
    They ate in silence, and all
the time, Chris was thinking of how he could stop Rachel from dating the chef.
    “Stay tonight,” he said,
needing her to be close.
    “Fine. I’ll stay.”
    Christmas was a month away,
and he didn’t want to spend it alone. Chris didn’t want to spend any more time
alone. His feelings for Rachel were scaring him though. The women were a
distraction, nothing more, nothing less. It wasn’t a good enough excuse, and he
shouldn’t be using women to make himself deal with his
feelings. Claire would kick his ass if she was alive.
    The women had to stop, and
he needed to figure out how to handle his feelings for Rachel. He wasn’t going
to lose her because of his stupidity.

Chapter Two
     
    Rachel rubbed her hands
together even though she was wearing gloves. Chris was bending over to leave
some flowers, and she was admiring the curves of his ass. She was a bad person
for checking out his ass. Her sister was dead and had been for three years.
There was no way he’d even look at her the way he looked at Claire. No words
were spoken; there never needed to be.
    The tears were no longer
present either. Was she becoming a bad person for the fact she could no longer
cry?
    Shaking her head, she
bounced on the heels of her feet to try to bring some heat back into her body.
It was cold. Even wearing jeans, a sweater and a coat, she was still cold.
    Chris took a step back, taking
hold of her hand as he did.
    “I do miss them.”
    “I know.”
    “I’ve accepted that they’re
dead.”
    She nodded. “They’re still
loved though. We’ve got by without them.” She blew out a breath. “When Claire
was going through her morbid stage she mentioned to me about letting you move
on. Have you thought about dating again?” she asked.
    Screwing everything in sight
was a little different from dating. It would kill a part of her to see him
settle down with another woman, but he deserved to find love again.
    “I hated her morbid phase. I
never thought anything she said would come true. It freaks me out when I think
about it.” His hand tightened around hers.
    “I know what you mean. I
think she meant every word she said. I mean, she’d probably be happy with you finding
someone you love. You need to get back out there and date someone.”
    She smiled at him, trying to
make light of it.
    “Let’s go and get some
coffee.” They’d not gone back to the café where they heard the news. She was
surprised when he took her to the place where she worked.
    “I didn’t know you knew
where I worked,” she said, laughing.
    He entered without smiling,
and Steven, the guy on the door, greeted them.
    “We’ve got your seat waiting
for you,” he said.
    “Wait? Seat?” she asked,
looking from Steven to Chris.
    “Thank you,” Chris said,
escorting her through the room. She’d never eaten at the restaurant as she
spent enough time serving customers rather than being the customer.
    He helped her into her seat.
She glanced over toward the bar where they served drinks. Rachel reached for
the menu. Chris stopped her from taking the menu with the prices on. There was
no way she could afford this place, and she always put half toward lunch.
    “Chris, I need to see the
cost.”
    “No, you don’t. You’re
eating with me. I can afford this food.”
    “Even working part time?”
she asked. She’d been by the phone this morning when the call went to answer
phone. The head of the hospital was begging for Chris to change his mind. The
hospital needed him as he was a good doctor.
    “I was going to tell you
about that soon.”
    “When?