Faith and Lies (Vera Reid, Reid Family Book #2)

Part 36

Vera tried not to look...

But she honestly couldn't help it. 

How in the world was she supposed to concentrate? How in the world could she not look?

HE was right there. The man she had spent seemingly endless nights obsessing over, the one that made her feel like she might fall apart just when she thought she was doing better. It took such a long time to feel like she was okay. Even then she knew there was a lot of things that had changed about her that might never be the same, but she was just starting to feel like she wasn't miserable all the time and then here he was... rising from the ashes like some fucking phoenix. 

What was this special talent men seemed to have? Like they can sniff out when a woman is doing well without them... how did he know that she was ready to pull herself out of it? If he had stayed away a bit longer, she might have begun to heal. 

Vera frowned. Was that even true? Had she just been lying to herself when she said she was okay? How long would this last? This feeling like she was always two steps from an anxiety attack? Jesus... was this how Echo always felt? The lump in the throat, the restlessness... the way she woke up every night at 3:30 like clockwork. This man... 

Tom sat with a faint smile on his lips, a pair of glasses sitting over those green eyes that used to steal her breath. His eyes were narrowed at the moment, as if he were watching something with humor. Or maybe he was just really enjoying the task at hand...

"Check this out." Tom said suddenly, standing with a piece of paper and a pencil. "Tell me this isn't... perfect?"

Vera was silent as he thrust the paper in front of her. 

"If I bring these down..." He explained slowly as he drew some sharp lines. Vera turned to him watching the muscles in his face flex gently as he talked. His lips were a little chapped, it was still cold out and she'd seen him drinking more coffee than water lately, but they were nice lips nonetheless. 

Her eyes darted back to the paper, watching the lines take shape and she suddenly sat up in her seat, leaning forward as his words started to become clear. 

"What do you think?" He asked after a moment, picking up the paper and holding it in front of his face.  

Vera stared up at him, unsure what to say. What in the world made him think he could just come up to her this way? Didn't he know how much she hated him? How disturbing he was?

She should tell him that. She should let him know that in the future he should just leave the copy in the tray or email her and she would put it on her list. Then again, what future? She wasn't going to allow for him to stick around any longer than the project.

"Right?" She heard him say once again, realizing his green eyes were on her. She took a breath. Say it, Vera, just tell him to back off. 

"Right." She heard herself saying with a nod, before taking the paper he was holding to her face. "You're absolutely right, this opens up the space."

"Exactly." He said with a smile. "Alright..."

Vera watched as he took the paper back from her and sauntered back to his desk, immediately picking up a scale ruler and getting back to work. He pushed the glasses further back on his nose and pulled a lamp closer to the area. It was usually pretty bright in this room but now, as the afternoon burned out slowly and the sun gave away to night, it was dim and an orange glow spread across the carpet. 

"What time is it?" She managed to mutter aloud before looking down to her watch. 

"Huh?" Tom looked up as if he was noticing her for the first time. She avoided his gaze, turning back to her computer and pretending to type an email. Don't look, she told herself. Don't look.