Page 19 of Halo

I nod. “I’ve never met her before. She’s always busy with work.”

“Sweet Grady,” Chelsea coos. “He’s a little fella, ain’t he? How’s he doing?”

I glance up at her, giving her a sympathetic look. “That’s what I’m concerned about. He is the youngest kid in class, but I don’t think it’s his age or his process development that’s creating learning challenges. Before I make a referral to intervention, I’d like to talk with his mom.”

“Good call, Ms. Harrison.” She chuckles. “Speaking of good calls …”

I groan. “Chelsea—”

“What?” She sits on the edge of my desk, pushing my loose french braid over my shoulder. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“I’ve got a hunch it has to do with a certain single paramedic.”

She laughs. “I was just wondering if you returned his phone call.”

I scoff, turning my head to lay on my other cheek.

“I thought the blind date was good. Was it not?”

Chelsea is a little matchmaker. Like me, she found love at a young age—and is still madly in love—and now, she wants everyone to find their person. What she doesn’t understand is a broken heart. How much it takes for someone to move on after being hurt and betrayed. I love that she believes in fairytales, but my romance story isn’t a fairytale. I only have two options, and it doesn’t include someone new.

“It was—it was very, uh … nice.”

“So why aren’t you calling him?”

This meddling woman ... “We agreed we were better off as friends.”

She groans. “Leah, I thought you were going to make an effort to meet new people—”

“And I have.” I sit up, offering a smile. “I actually kinda sorta met someone last night.”

“Shut up! In person?”

I let out a sardonic laugh. “As opposed to …?”

She shrugs. “Tell me about him. Who is he?”

“Well …” I drag my teeth across my lower lip. “His name is Nick—”

“Red flag number one.”

“Chelsea!” We both let out a string of giggles. “He came into the bar, all dark and surly, trying to be all ‘I’m damaged. You wouldn’t understand. I'm a sad boy.’”

She blinks, staring at me. “And … this attracted you how?”

I snort before getting serious. “Ah, he was just having a bad day and wasn’t at his best, but he warmed up. He was actually very kind. Funny. Conscientious of other people. There’s just something about him.” I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Oh my god … Look at you. You’re glowing—”

“Oh, stop. I’m bloated, not glowing. Besides, the night ended on such a weird note.”

“What do you mean?”

Sitting up, I rest my elbows on the desk. “Well, it was raining, right? So he walked me to my car. He offered me his arm and umbrella, made sure I was inside. And then he started leaning in—”

“Yeah? And then?” Chelsea nods, vibrating with anticipation.

I sigh. “Absolutely nothing.”