Free Fighting Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 2) by Heather Guimond

I went to the kitchen, still lost in my thoughts.  I was pulled into memories of my life with Vance as I poured a glass of milk and grabbed the package of cookies.  Then I found myself wandering to Vance’s office.  It stunned me to realize that I still thought of it that way--Vance’s office, Vance’s desk, Vance’s computer.  I sat at the desk and looked around.  All of his stuff was still there.  I’d never really had the urge to erase his touch from the room, although I’d long ago packed up his clothes and other belongings from around the house and donated them to charity.  I did allow myself one photograph of the two of us together to remain in the living room--our wedding photo.  I’d never taken a moment to think if that, or keeping his office unchanged, had any significance to it.  I didn’t know if I was ready at that time to think about it either.
         I powered up the computer and clicked open the file containing all of our photographs.  We had taken so many in the brief time we were together.  There were snapshots of us with the guys on various outings we had taken.  Pictures of us in front of one landmark or another on the many short weekend trips we’d taken.  Selfies of us, a few of us when we were lying in bed together.  I slowly clicked through all of them, carefully studying each one.  The first year of our marriage had been pure magic.  I seriously doubted I’d ever have that kind of love again.  It just wasn’t possible. 
         Then there were the few photos that Miriam had taken while he was sick.  She’d needed to have a sense of normalcy during that time so she sometimes had acted like nothing was wrong.  There were pictures of me sitting next to him with my arms looped around his neck as we both smiled for the camera, pictures I had taken of her sitting by his bedside, both smiling as if the days we’d had weren’t numbered, and pictures of me curled up next to him on the bed, both of us asleep.  It was still painful to see him so gaunt and hollow looking, ravaged by that terrible disease.  Cancer.  What a dirty word.
        I smiled, cried, and chuckled as I clicked through all of them.  Maybe all I needed was a little visit in my head to that part of my past.  It had been awhile since I’d been there, and these new developments may have just reminded me that I missed him.  After all, it wasn’t as if I were starting some kind of relationship.  I’d just had a quick, but decidedly satisfying fuck.  It wasn’t a momentous or earth-shattering change in my life.  I just finally got laid.  Under the circumstances, I even think Vance would have approved.  He had told me he wanted me to go on to live my life and eventually fall in love again.  That wasn’t likely to happen if I didn’t get out there and take a taste of what was around me.
         I leaned back in the chair, still chomping on cookies as I put the file on slideshow and watched them all slowly fade in and out on the screen.  After about five minutes of my second walk through the past, my mobile phone rang.  I got up to get it from the kitchen where’d I’d left it when I got home.  I looked at the display.  Justin was calling.  I picked up slightly breathless as I walked back to Vance’s office.
         “Hey, gorgeous.  How are you?” I asked, trying to sound normal.  There was only a little quaver in my voice, but of course, he noticed. 
          “Hey Peaches.  What’s wrong?  You told me you were going to call me when you got home, but you didn’t.  Now I call you and you don’t sound so good.  Did something happen while you were gone?”
         “No, no.  I had a good time.  I just had a dream about Vance that’s kind of put a hitch in my step,” I said as I sat back down at the computer.  I hit pause on the slideshow.  It stopped on one of our selfies in bed.  He was holding the camera above us, and I was cuddled up on his bare chest, the