Page 48 of Savannah Sweethearts

I rubbed Maggie’s cheek. “Wrap it up. We’re taking it home.”

Over lunch, we laughed and talked. Maggie filled us in on all the goings-on in her building. Some of the residents were dating and two were caught canoodling—Maggie’s word—in the back of the recreation room. Giggles erupted from her as she told the story.

“Surely people are allowed to date.” Piper’s laughter faded as she thought a little more about the situation.

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Well, yes, but they’re not supposed to get to second base in a public area!”

I was getting way too many shocks from my sister on this trip. First the overly girly crying because of a dress and now she’s talking about people groping each other. “You’ve never done that have you, Mags?”

A pointed look turned to me as my sister’s dark eyes turned serious. “Why would I tell you if I’ve gotten to second base? You’re my brother. Ew.”

Piper laid her hand on Maggie’s. “He’s just looking out for you the way a big brother should. He wants to make sure you’re safe.”

Another eye roll came my way. “No, I have never gotten to second base, Alonso. Thanks for reminding me.” She turned to Piper and crinkled her eyes before blocking her face from me. “But I wouldn’t mind if it happened!”

Laughter burst from Piper so loud that a few other patrons of the restaurant turned to look at us. Of course, I had heard my sister, who was not exactly great at whispering. I wanted to be upset with her, but it had been a while since I had gotten to second base myself and I wouldn’t mind it happening again sooner rather than later. I laughed with them.

Suddenly it occurred to me that Maggie was treating Piper like one of her best girlfriends. Something a completely normal twenty-something woman would do. And all I had ever wanted for Maggie was for her to live as normal of a life as she could. Part of that was having crushes on boys and possibly kissing a few.

Maggie was completely smitten with Piper, I could tell. Part of me worried what would happen if things soured between Piper and me, but then I remembered we weren’t dating. We were just coworkers. My singleness was completely on purpose.

It was then that I remembered something my abuelo had said to me. Relationships built on nothing but passion will fizzle out and leave things in a bad place. But relationships built on friendship and respect - that’s where the passion builds over time instead of dying a miserable death. He had looked at Abuela and winked at her. They had that relationship built on friendship and respect. When they passed, they had been married for fifty years.

My parents’ relationship, on the other hand, had been built on nothing but a passion that quickly died out. They had tried to stay together for me, but in the end, they both had given up on each other and their children.

Maybe not all relationships started as a burst of flames only to be doused when reality hit. Maybe, just maybe, they could start as a little warmth and grow into a roaring fire that would last.

And maybe I could convince Piper Campbell to turn her icy feelings towards me into a little warmth. After all, we could only get warmer from here.

Piper

The idea about ableist businesses had been a huge hit with the bigwigs at Action News. As it happens, Mr. Edward’s nephew was autistic and had experienced his share of ableism in stores, so it was something he was all too happy to have us tackle. I even gave credit for the idea to Alonso, who had looked at me with surprise.

After several phone calls and finding some great resources, I told Alonso we were heading back to his sister’s place.

“What? Why?”

“I’m doing an interview for the piece on ableism. And you can ogle that desk clerk.” Wagging my eyebrows, I grabbed my bag and made sure I had my phone.

A scowl crossed his face. “Wendy? Really?”

I burst into laughter. “Okay, maybe it’s more like she ogles you.”

Alonso scratched the stubble on his chin and winked at me. “Jealous?”

My nose scrunched up automatically. “Hardly.” And yet, that wink did things I was not prepared for. I dug in my purse looking for nothing until I could regain my composure.

“Oh, well, in that case, maybe I should get her phone number.” He pretended to slick his hair back, which only resulted in his curls springing all over the place and my heart fluttering a little.

The ride was quiet, and I found myself contemplating the change that had occurred in my heart recently. I hated Alonso Ortiz. For years. But after the past several weeks, I found that not only did I not hate him, but I kind of liked him. A lot. My heart rate would increase and my body would flush when he called my name. His infrequent, work-related texts caused my breath to hitch.

But he’s my co-worker and not only are inter-office romanced frowned upon, but I would have to still work with him if we broke up. When we broke up. Because he was adamant about his confirmed bachelorhood, so there would be a breakup at some point. So why bother?

When I shook my head at my own inner-conversation, Alonso looked my way. “You okay, Piper?”

My cheeks flushed as he said my name. “Um, yeah. Sorry. I was just arguing with myself in my head.” My attempt at a chuckle came out more like a choke.

“Who won?”

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