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“Yeah?”
“I’m nauseous.”
She laughs and stops rocking us. “Force of habit, sorry.” I lay my head on her shoulder. “It’s time to move on though. It’s been two years, and if anything, he spit in your face with that whole show when he paraded Giulia around Sunrise Bay. If you have even a small bit of interest in Ben, I say you go for it. Give the guy a chance.”
With a nod, I pull out my phone before I can change my mind. My thumbs hover over the screen. He won’t get the message until after the game. The crowd groans next door, so I assume that something didn’t go the Kingsmen’s way.
I read his text one more time.
Ben: I’ll pay for your flight. Let me show you the San Francisco I love.
Presley is reading the screen over my shoulder. “That’s cute.”
“I know San Francisco like Sunrise Bay because Xavier and I have done everything there over the years.”
She knocks her shoulder with mine. “Clara, open mind. Give the poor guy a chance.”
With a sigh, I stare at the blinking cursor and finally type out my message.
Me: I’d love to. Let me check my schedule at work and get back to you.
There’s some relief that he can’t answer me right away.
Presley raises her eyebrows.
“What?”
“Nice way to give yourself a possible out with work. But I’m proud of you.”
Leighton stirs, so Presley rises off the floor and unstraps her from the carrier. Leighton slowly peers at me with the same eyes a lot of the Greene family has. Yeah, I can’t deny that I want a family.
Presley’s right—I need to move on. I’m just not sure Ben is the one I need to move on with. I guess that’s why I need to get to know him.
3
“ACTUALLY, X, I GOTTA TALK TO YOU.”
Xavier
A month later and the Seahawks game is here. More importantly, Clara is coming tonight to spend the weekend with Ben. In fact, he’s at the airport, picking her up right now.
“I have a package for you,” Kerbie says, stopping me from just waving and walking into the elevator.
I detour back to his desk and he scours through the packages to find it.
“No Mr. Noughton today?” Kerbie asks while inspecting the packages.
“No. Just me.”
He lifts the package as I’m about to say I’ll come back down for it. I’m fairly sure it’s the jacket I ordered online last week. “Here it is!”
The package is smaller than I’d expect a jacket to come in.
“Thanks, Kerbie.”
I head to the elevator, press the up button, and wait for it to arrive. I inspect the return address to see Greywall, Alaska. A PO box, nonetheless. Greywall borders my small hometown of Sunrise Bay, but I don’t know anyone there who would have my address to send me a package.
The mystery of the contents weighs on me the entire elevator ride up to my condo, so the minute I’m inside, I drop my bag and tear it open.
