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“No, you didn’t,” she tells me. “Because you’ve got it covered. You really do.”
As soon as I end the call, I look up to see a group of people smiling at me. Keenan, Allie, Tina, Edward, and Chad. They’re all in bright green, red, and white tacky clothing, and they all start to clap, even Chad.
“Well done, Gwen,” Keenan says. “Family hurdles are the toughest ones to cross.”
Allie holds her arms out for a hug, and I stand, relief washing over me.
“Are we okay?” I whisper.
“Yes, we’ll be fine,” she whispers, squeezing me tightly. “I’m so proud of you.”
I pull back and smile at her. “I really said all the things, didn’t I?”
“You really did,” she says, and I hug her again.
Out in the hall, I hear Chad murmur, “Oh my God, what is he doing here?”
Allie and I let go of each other and I look at her with wide eyes because there’s really only one ‘he’ that Chad could be referring to.
Ty.
“Mr. Sterling, what a surprise to see you here,” Keenan says.
Oh. My. God. It is Ty.
“I’m here to see Gwen Fox,” he says, sounding all sexy and in charge, of course.
“How do I look?” I ask. “Is my face all blotchy?”
She winces and tilts her head, but says, “You look beautiful.” Grabbing a couple of tissues out of the box on her desk, she says, “But let’s just get some of the snot off your face.” She wipes under my nose, just as Ty steps into my office, looking devastatingly perfect in a dark grey suit.
My face flames. My body hums with excitement at the sight of him, while I simultaneously wish I could blink my eyes and be in a little black dress and sexy heels instead of a light-up sweater, jeans, and elf slippers that have bells on them. Okay, Gwen, act casual. “Oh hey, Ty. Nice to see you again.”
Good. Very breezy.
He glances down at my outfit, his lips quirking up in a grin. “I see you’ve kept the bright colors in your wardrobe.”
“Well, Marisol did say red was my color, so…”
He stares at me for a second, his eyebrows knitting together. “You all right? You look like you’ve been crying.”
“Happy tears,” I tell him. “I just had a very meaningful conversation with my mother. Someone told me I should stop letting my parents make me feel less than, and I decided to take his advice.”
“Whoever that was sounds wise,” he tells me.
Allie, who is standing between us, glancing back and forth at us, says, “He does sound wise. Who told you t—” She pauses, her face lighting up. “Oh, he did.”
Without breaking eye contact with Ty, I grin and nod. “Yup.”
She clears her throat. “How about we give you two a few moments alone?”
“You must be Allie,” Ty says, holding out his hand to her.
She takes it and they shake while she smiles up at him, her cheeks bright pink. “Uh-huh.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Allie. Gwen’s told me lots of wonderful things about you.”
“She has?”
