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Three
Lydia
“You didn’tactuallytell Jack you were going to run a marathon with him?” Ashley said. Lydia could hear her snickering through the phone. “You told him you were joking, right?”
“Obviously not. Why else would I be trekking out to the gym at some ungodly hour of the morning?” Lydia said, checking for traffic before darting across the street.
“You’re actually serious about this?”
“So serious that I’ve hired Luke to make sure I don’t make a fool of myself in front of the firm. Did you know a marathon is like twenty-six miles?”
“Twenty-six point two. And wait. Luke? As in the guy you walked face-first into and—”
“Told he took my breath away.” Lydia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “You both have to get over that already. This is a do-or-die situation. The whole conference room was staring at me. And Marco thought it was such a great idea. I can’t disappoint the big boss.”
Standing up and announcing to the whole room that she’d deliriously volunteered because she was harboring a secret office crush wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that instilled confidence. If she wanted to impress Marco and the leadership team, she should probably try not to humiliate herself or Jack.
“Oh, you have it bad for this guy,” Ashley said. “You’re tripping over yourself to impress him.”
“I wasn’t trying to impress him,” Lydia argued. “I was just trying to be nice. He was standing up there all alone and the room had gone silent.” She couldn’t even say what it was exactly that made her speak up. Jack’s hopeful smile? His dimpled cheeks? The enthusiasm? Lydia ran her hand down her face, remembering the feel of Jack’s hand as he high-fived her and their fingers tangled together. A hot flush crept up the side of her neck. God, Ashley was right, she did have it bad. “He called me his running buddy. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I want to be his teammate. I want to see where this leads. Maybe there’ll be sparks when we cross the finish line.Andit’s for charity,” she tacked on.
“You’ve had a whole fantasy about this, haven’t you?”
“Shut up. It’s for the kids.”
“Yeah, sure, the kids.” Ashley laughed. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this sooner. I would have met you at the gym.”
“I’m not going to the gym with you,” Lydia said, horrified by the thought. “You’re going to make fun of me.”
“I’d be there for moral support!”
Lydia snorted.
“Hey, I’vealwaysbeen there for you and your ridiculous ideas. Remember when you gave yourself bangs? Who fixed them? Or in middle school when you needed help convincing Mom and Dad that you were going to be a professional tap dancer? And then you never went to a single class because you always conveniently had a stomachache.”
Lydia’s lips twisted as she remembered doing everything she could to avoid going to tap class.
“You kinda like to jump into things without thinking them all the way through.”
“Hey!”
“I’m just saying. If you don’t take this seriously, the only thing you’re going to get to see is the back of Jack during the race as he runs away and you pass out from lack of oxygen.”
“That’s not funny.” Preparing for this marathon was going to be work. Lydia knew that. On top of her regular nine-to-five and prepping a competition proposal for the Manhattan Youth Center, spending all of her free time for the next five months training was going to take some serious dedication. But if running this marathon would force her to step outside her comfort zone, maybe volunteering hadn’t been such a bad idea. If she wanted to impress Poletti’s and get proper recognition for her work—if she wanted to get Jack’s attention—then she was going to have to start putting herself out there in ways she hadn’t before. “I think maybe I can do this, Ash.”
“You know twenty-six point two miles translates intohoursof running, right?”
Lydia didn’t think about that. She thought about Luke promising to get her across the finish line as long as she remained focused and determined. She thought about the sense of accomplishment she’d have finishing the race. She pictured the glowing smile on Jack’s face as he lifted her off the ground in a tipsy, exhausted hug. They’d probably celebrate after. Marco would take them all somewhere nice for food and drinks. Maybe she’d finally tell Jack how she felt. Maybe he’d smile that dimpled smile, lean over and kiss her.
God, she wanted that.
“Are you even listening?”
Lydia threw open the door to the gym. “Yeah, hours of running. But I’ve got months to prepare, right? Anyway, I’ve gotta run. Literally.”
“Let me know how it goes,” Ashley said. They hung up and Lydia spotted Luke leaning against the front desk, holding a stack of papers. When he caught her eye, she straightened, wondering if he noticed her mismatched activewear—things she’d definitely raided from Ashley’s closet.
“Morning!” Luke flashed her a smile. She pursed her lips in response, making him laugh. “Not a morning person?”
