Page 10 of Accidentally Sliding Into A Second Chance

Sighing, I pick up the planner I knocked from her hand. “I’m not usually this clumsy, I swear.” I hand over the book.

When she takes it, our fingers brush and a spark shoots through me. Her breath hitches, making my gut twist.

“I don’t think you’d have a job if you were.” She giggles, easing the tension gripping my shoulders. “It’s also normal to be jumpy with such a massive life change.”

My body tenses. Is she talking about Fiona?

“How are things going?”

“Going?” My brows pull together.

“With your new addition.” Ah, yes, the dog. Of course, she’s talking about Emmy. Why should she be talking about anything else?

My eyes narrow when she starts to chuckle, causing her to throw her head back. “You have the same befuddled expression many new dog owners have in the first few weeks.”

If only she knew the full reason behind my baffled look, but I quickly push it away and focus on the reason she mentioned.

“I’m so happy you can laugh at my pain,” I mock, sarcasm lacing my tone. “Please tell me it will get easier.”

“It always does.” She beams, that adorable dimple popping.

She glances down at her watch. “Do you need to go?”

“Yeah, I have a do—an appointment I need to get to,” she responds, shifting her gaze from mine before nodding toward the end of the tunnel. “Are you parked that way? Maybe we can walk together?”

“James!” The locker room door closes, and Logan slaps me on the shoulders. Why did he need to be the one to catch, no pun intended, the two of us talking again? “Stop harassing our new director of fan experience. I know she’s cute, but come on!”

Surprise flits through me, and I see Cat’s cheeks turn pink. I’m not sure if it’s because I found out this way or because Logan was winking at her. A surge of heat runs through me, immediately followed by a trickle of guilt. Tamping down feelings I’m not ready to look at, I focus on Cat’s job.

“So you’re the one who’s going to be harassing me now.” My lips twitch as her face gets a brighter shade of pink.

“Bro, if you would just embrace your social media responsibilities, you wouldn’t need a babysitter.” Narrowing my eyes at Logan, he laughs and then heads over toward the direction of the elevator, pointing at me. “The more you resist—”

“Yeah, yeah…the more it persists.” I roll my eyes, a reluctant grin tugging at the corner of my mouth despite him being so annoying. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Cat!” He yells, before stepping into the elevator, winking again. My jaw clenches. Logan is a good guy and a true friend. But I definitely don’t like the idea of him dating my childhood crush.

Turning back toward Cat, her eyes dance with humor. “Hope said he’s a character.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” I grumble, then nod toward the parking lot and swing my arm out. “Shall we?”

We walk together in silence, the clicking of her heels bouncing off the concrete walls. Just as we through the clubhouse exit into the setting sun, Cat speaks softly. “I’m sorry you had to find out that way. I had intended to bring it up after I had settled in and got more details from Travis.”

“Makes sense.” I feel her eyes on me, but I keep walking forward.

“How do you feel about someone ‘babysitting’ you, as Logan so eloquently put it?”

“I’m not a fan, but I hate social media more.” I shrug. My gut drops at the thought of people getting a peek into my private life. “At least it’s someone I know. Sort of.”

She stops next to a light blue Honda CRV and starts digging in her purse for what I assume are her keys. Instead, she pulls out her phone and extends it to me. “Would you mind entering your number in my contacts?”

“That’s pretty bold, Bailey,” I tease, my voice coming out surprisingly gruff. Grabbing her phone, I start to send myself a text message when a call comes through.

Taking the phone back, she looks at the unknown number and hits decline before pushing the phone back to me. “Take two.”

My mouth curves. Opening a text, I enter my number and hit send. Then hand the phone back to her.

“Thanks.” She pulls out her keys, reminding me she has to be somewhere. “I’ll text you to coordinate a time to talk shop. Maybe catch up—if that’s okay.”

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