Page 177 of Time Stops With You

He bobs his head. “Cullen’s taking you?”

“Um, he said he would,” I answer, still stunned by the train of this conversation.

“I’ll come with you instead.”

“Don’t you want to go to the fundraiser?” I ask my little brother. “Aren’t all your friends going?”

“What friends?” He snorts and pulls out his phone.

The kid has a point.

My phone buzzes at that moment.

“Is it Cullen?” Josiah asks, craning his neck to look at my screen.

“No.” I glance at mom. “It’s the rich client I mentioned earlier.”

Mom shoos me from the table and I head to my bedroom to answer the call.

Sunny’s charismatic voice fills my ears. “Sorry I missed your call this morning, Nardi. I’ve been running up and down with the boys. They’re trying to find a gift for my mom and,of course, they waited until the last minute.”

A chorus of young, male protests erupt from her end of the line and I can imagine Sunny’s sons making a fuss about her exposing that to me.

I chuckle. “I don’t want to keep you long, but I had a question. I was wondering if you’d found anyone to cater for the party?”

“We did, but the moment mom heard we were having non-Belizean food, she insisted on cooking rice and beans herself. We couldn’t stop her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I do have an offer for you, Sunny. My mother is visiting from Belize?—”

“Oh how lovely!”

“—and she’s available to cater for the party tomorrow. I’ll be helping her, but only in a small capacity. I won’t be endangering my wrist.”

Sunny pauses.

“If you’re hesitating because you don’t want to offend Cullen, please don’t worry. I’ll talk to him.”

“It’s not that,” she stammers.

“Is there something I’m not aware of?” I press, confused by her hesitant response.

“Nardi, Cullen only used your wrist as an excuse. He didn’t want you or anyone in your family working at the party tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?”

Sunny hesitates again.

I’m burning with curiosity now and urge her. “What did Cullen do, Sunny?”

“He spoke to Darrel and I,” Sunny says cautiously. “About you.”

My heart skitters. “What about me?”

“He wanted you to meet us and our friends. He wanted us to make those introductions tomorrow and he wanted you focused on that and not worrying about the food.”

I rub my forehead. “Sunny, I still don’t understand. I’m just a regular office assistant who sells from a food stall on Saturdays. Why would Cullen push you to introduce me to your friends? Why would he try to force something like that?”

I’m trying not to be annoyed and embarrassed, but I am both in equal measures. I feel like that kid on the first day of school who found out her ‘bestie’ only asked her to sit at the cool table at lunch because their moms are friends.

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