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“You think I knew they were coming?” Noah snorted. “You’ve forgotten how they are. They just call and expect me to be free.”
I guess I did vaguely remember that. “Drive safe.”
“Thanks. See you in the office tomorrow.” Noah lifted a hand before he turned and broke into a light jog. Maybe I should have offered him a ride?
I went to my car and climbed in behind the wheel. Then I just sat there. I didn’t want to go home. I hadn’t been kidding about the fact that I rattled around in the place. Sometimes, having my own space with no roommate or anyone else around was great. But most of the time? I had the TV on just to keep it from feeling ridiculously empty.
Lonely.
I turned on the car and checked for traffic before pulling out of the parking spot. I should go home. Maybe I could find a series to stream from the very beginning. That would give me something to look forward to every evening.
And yet, instead of turning where it would take me to my place, I found myself on Megan’s street. There was a spot right in front of her door. I took it as a sign and made quick work of parallel parking.
I shut off the engine, unbuckled, and pushed open my door.
Maybe she was out. She could be busy doing paperwork at the bookstore or hanging out with the girls—although Whitney and Scott had taken off yesterday for an extended vacation, so it would just be Kayla. And maybe Jenna.
I doubted Kayla was spending her Sunday afternoon away from Austin. Did newlyweds do that?
Better not to think about it too hard.
Nerves jumped in my belly as I approached her front door, which was dumb. We were friends. I was just a friend stopping by to say hi. That wasn’t weird at all.
Right?
12
MEGAN
Ialmost ignored the doorbell again when it rang the second time. It was Sunday afternoon and I just wasn’t in the mood to buy wrapping paper or candy or popcorn or whatever the little kid who was out there not taking the hint was selling.
I groaned.
I wasn’t old enough to be this obnoxious. Next thing I knew, I’d be yelling, “Get off my lawn!” and shaking my fist at the children skateboarding or riding their bikes on the sidewalk in front of the townhouses. Of course, it’d be nice if their parents paid attention every now and then, because some of them…
I stopped that train of thought and forced myself up off the couch. This was ridiculous. I was going to answer the door, smile, and buy at least two things to prove—to myself if no one else—that I wasn’t some crazy old lady.
With a glance in the mirror of the hall stand that was beside the door, I fixed on my brightest grin, winced a little, toned it down so it didn’t look borderline insane, and opened the door.
I blinked at the back of the man walking away from my door. “Cody?”
He turned and cocked his head to the side. “Hey. You are home.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I was…” How was I supposed to explain that bit of temporary madness? I wasn’t. So yeah, leave that alone and move on. “Did you want to come in?”
“Not if you’re busy. I was, ha ha, in the neighborhood.”
I snorted. My hand flew up to cover my face as it burned. I could only imagine the fire-engine red pulsating through my pores now.
“Nice.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, well. You’re always in the neighborhood. You basically live in the same neighborhood. We all do. You’ve never stopped by before.” Oh, man. I shouldn’t have said that. The slight undercurrent of accusation was uncalled for. Because why would he have stopped by? Maybe to see Austin. But Austin was always busy, so the guys made plans to get together. They weren’t a group of random, spontaneous hanger-outers.
Hanger-outers? Ugh. What was wrong with me? I needed help.
Obviously.
I cleared my throat. “You can come in. I’m not busy.”
