Page 57 of Long Story Short

“Josie’s my neighbor. Her grandfather owns the house next door to my new house. We’re getting to know each other.”

“You know the reason they’re talking about it so much is because you’re never seen with anyone.”

“I know.”

Winnie watches me for a few moments, but I can’t get an exact read on what she’s thinking. My sister’s always been great at minding her own business. I thought it was the age difference between us, but even as we’ve grown closer and the years between us don’t seem as large as they used to be, she’s still not one to pry. If she’s curious about me spending time with Josie, she doesn’t indicate it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a little curious because she’s right.

I’m rarely seen with any women. I’ve been so married to my job, I never took the time to date, especially publicly. Plus, the chatter that came with the Manhattan elite used to scare me, but with Josie, I don’t seem to care anymore. Not really. All I want is to spend time with her, and I don’t care if other people know about it or not.

I wonder if this time, Winnie will push me to tell her more, but instead, she just gives me a soft smile. “I hope you’ll introduce her to me.”

The thought makes me smile. It’s so incredibly new with Josie that I can’t even begin to put into words what will happen with us, but that doesn’t change the fact that even if we’ve only just met, I’m still excited at the thought of her meeting my sister.

When did I turn into a hopeless romantic?

“Same,” I tell Winnie. “I think you’d love her.”

“I know I will.”

We’re both quiet for a moment as the words settle between us. I hope that things with Josie progress enough that Winnie and Archer can meet her and we can spend some time together this summer.

“Enjoy your dinner tonight, Ty,” Winnie tells me before bumping her shoulder against mine. “Don’t scare her off.”

I scoff as I don’t even have to pretend to be offended. “Me? Scaring someone off? I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I respond sarcastically.

Winnie rolls her eyes. “Yes, you do. Have fun tonight. Don’t forget I’m stopping by tomorrow to run over some house things with you.” Her words stall for a moment as she looks at the ground. “I’ll make sure to text first to make sure you’re not…busy.”

I gawk as I realize what my sister’s saying. I hurriedly nod, even as my ears begin to get hot. “Bye, Win,” I manage to get out through the embarrassment of what her words were insinuating.

I duck into the closest aisle and shake off the lingering awkward feeling. How am I thirty-seven years old and still blushing at my sister’s vague mention of sex?

I lose myself in gathering the rest of the ingredients. I was worried I might have to go to another store a little farther from home because of how small this one is, but I’m able to find everything I need.

The entire drive back to my house, a restless kind of anticipation settles deep in my chest.

I saw Josie this morning, and somehow…I still missed her all day.

Even on work calls, even while sorting through emails, my mind kept drifting back to her. It’s not something I’m used to—my thoughts wandering to someone like this—but it’s a welcome change.

There’s something about Josie that gives me a sense of excitement I’ve never felt before. The more I think about it, the more I realize how nice it is to feel that excitement. It’s something new. I’ve always been so wrapped up in work that the only thing that brought me any kind of joy was the prospect of succeeding enough to make my father proud. For as long as I can remember, I’ve never allowed myself to get excited about anything that wasn’t work-related.

Until now.

Maybe it started with buying the house. Buying a place in the Hamptons and letting myself step away for a while, spending time with my sister without everything revolving around work, and letting myself believe a summer could be about something other than work were all ways I started to allow myself to untangle my identity from my job.

And then I met Josie, and a new sort of enthusiasm has taken hold of me. Instead of thinking about work, I’m thinking about her. I’m wondering what she’s doing, if she’s thinking about me. And it’s so bad that it’s even bled into work. I even missed important bits of a meeting because my mind had wandered to her.

I glance at the clock on my dashboard, already looking forward to seeing her in just over an hour. Our morning together was better than I could’ve ever imagined. I can’t wait to see how the night will go.

THIRTY

JOSIE

Is this dress too much? Maybe it’s too much.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror, second-guessing my outfit choice.

When I hurriedly packed for the Hamptons, I hadn’t ever expected to go on a date. I thought I was going to live in shorts and tank tops for the little time I was here. I packed a few dresses just in case I wanted to go to Pembroke, but I didn’t bring a ton of cute options. When I fly home for dinner with Pop in two days, I’m definitely going to be grabbing some more clothes while I’m in Manhattan. If Tyson takes me up on my proposal, I’ll need better options than what I currently have.