Page 15 of The Future Play

“Now, if only I could find my son.”

My brow furrows. “I don’t remember seeing any kids running around.”

Because of the nature of the event, it was adults only. There will be another fundraiser in the summer that’s more family-focused which is being set up by a different board member.

She laughs. “He’s not much of a kid anymore.” My eyes must widen, because Marissa laughs. “I’ll take that as a compliment of how young I look.”

“Definitely do,” I say with a laugh.

A blast of cold hits my back as the front door swings open.

Marissa lets out a sigh. “There you are.”

“Sorry I’m late.”

A prick of awareness shoots through me, but it’s not until I’m halfway through spinning around that I register whose voice it is.

Then I’m staring at him. Jamie. JamieHenderson, apparently.

“Hey, Mom.” He kisses his mother on the cheek, then his warm gaze sweeps over me.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the event queen.” Jamie smirks as he swaggers toward me, all fiery red hair, freckles, and aw-shucks smile. He’s wearing a suit and looking… handsome. No. That’s not the right word. He looksdapper. I don’t know who even uses that word anymore, but it’s the only one that seems right.

I suck in a breath and stop staring like an idiot since his mother is standing right there.

“Baseball boy. That’s a great name, by the way. I might have to steal it.Amanda Hamilton. Event Queen.Or maybe queen of events? I’ll have to play with it, but it could really help with my branding.”

“Glad to be of service.”

“You two know each other?” Marissa asks, pleasantly surprised.

“Yeah. Rae and the girls met her at school. Small world.”

“It is a small world. That’s wonderful. Their whole friend group is great.”

“Yes. They are. Rae, Sarah, and Mackenzie actually helped me set things up today.”

“Well, again, it all came together beautifully. Between that and you being a friend of the family, I’ll be handing out your name as often as I can.”

“Again, thank you.”

“Of course. I need to go find Bill so we can keep playing host and hostess. Let me know if you need anything.” She points at Jamie. “Don’t cause any trouble.”

He holds up his hands. “Hey, I’m the well-behaved one in the family.” She narrows her eyes a little, then shakes her head as she walks away.

He leans in and whispers to me, “It’s true. I swear.”

“Mhm. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

He subtly winks at me, a playful smile on his face, and it’s such a difference from the boy I met at Joel’s house who stumbled over his words and seemed unsure of himself.

He looks around the place, taking it all in. “This is amazing.”

“Thank you. Glad you think so. You know, when you said you wanted to see me in action, I didn’t think that meant getting your mom to hire me to plan an event,” I tease.

“Oh yeah. I was desperate before I even knew you. I heard all these rumblings about the event queen, and I had to see for myself. You should definitely steal that name, by the way. I have no doubt you’ll rise to the top.”

I look around the space. It’s an old Victorian home that’s been converted to serve as an event space. We’re in the grand entryway, but there’s a great room with a fireplace and a large dining room off this room, as well as a small access hallway to the kitchen.

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