Page 23 of It Had to be You

When the phone beeped, he left a message.

"Blair. This is Alexander. I haven’t heard back from you about the tour today. Please let me know if you’re coming. There’s less than twenty minutes before we’re due to leave. I hope to talk to you soon." He ended the call and hoped that she’d heard the urgency in his tone at the end of the message.

Looking up, he saw that the check-in line was dwindling. Down to three couples.

He turned his head back toward the bench and saw Tatum bidding the older couple goodbye.

Everything changed in the moment that she turned away and that ridiculous hat fluttered in

the wind. She was walking away.

Leaving.

Looking down at the phone in his hand, his thumb hovered over the ‘dial’ icon as he struggled to make a decision.

And then he realized that it wasn’t a difficult decision at all.

He dropped his phone into his pocket and jogged over to the check-in line. Apologizing to the

couple standing at the podium, he quickly explained the situation and pointed at the couple on the bench. The young woman behind the podium gave him a soft smile. "No problem, Mr. Wen."

Again, he apologized to the couple who was waiting, but they waved off the apology with

bright smiles. He stopped at the bench to shake Ben’s hand and pressed a gentle kiss on the top of Pearl’s head. He didn’t explain. He just called out to them as he took a few quick steps backwards. "Enjoy the tour!"

Once that was said, he let out whatever breath was still left in his lungs and turned around,

his eyes scanning the crowd for that ridiculously huge pink hat. The crowd was going to be a problem. The parking lot was filled with people and moving vehicles, but instead of standing in place, he moved, making his way through the crowd, heading toward the main road.

Just as he set foot on the sidewalk, a part in the crowd gave him a glimpse of bright pink.

He found his way through the traffic, knowing that he was likely breaking the law, but he just

couldn’t stop himself. On the other side of the street, he saw her waiting to cross at another corner.

"Tatum!"

She paused and held back when others started to cross.

"Tatum, wait!"

Turning around, she had to set her hand down on her hat. "Alexander? What… what are you doing

here?"

It took him a few steps to get to her side, but when he did, he couldn’t help but see that the surprise of his arrival wasn’t a bad one. "I’m glad I caught up to you." He gestured over his shoulder. "I haven’t been able to get a hold of Blair all morning and when I saw Ben and Pearl waiting, I told the tour company to give our reservations to them. They’ll really enjoy it."

Her smile made him feel like a hero. "I’m sure they will. That was really sweet of you."

"I don’t know about sweet." He swallowed, hoping to ease the tension in his throat. "I was

hoping that you wouldn’t mind me tagging along with you."

"Uh-" He saw her smile, but he also saw how hesitant she was. "What about Blair?"

"She’s not answering my calls. Two she put through straight to voicemail. I guess she’s still busy with work and really," he took in a breath and settled his nerves, looking right into Tatum’s eyes, "I want to spend some time with you."

Her eyes widened, and the hand she had on her hat slowing dropped to her side. "Me?"

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