Page 19 of You Found Me
He shakes his head with a sigh. “I walked right into that one, I guess. What I meant was we’re actually coming back from a trip. We went to visit our cousin in Nashville for his birthday.”
I watch as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He gives a small laugh after looking at it, then tells us, “Sorry to cut this short, but Beckett realized he doesn’t have a way to get into my room and is probably too flustered to come back down here. It was good running into you. Quite literally,” he says with a wink. “Maybe I’ll see you next time you’re in town?”
“Well, I’m going to be around here a lot more now, so I’m sure you will.”
***
Spencer
Why did she look so defeated when she said that?
When she mentioned being closer at the diner, she seemed happy about it—delighted even. But just now, her eyes looked puffy, like she’d been crying, and she’s already back in town so soon after just being here.
Could something have happened between her and Chance? Now I’m mentally slapping myself because it’s none of my business. I’ve got to get my shit together. Maybe the next time Ms. Clara or the other older women in town set me up on a date, I’ll give it a shot.
I don’t want to say I’ve pined after Emmaline all of these years, but maybe subconsciously that’s what I’ve been doing. Whenever Mom asks about my love life, I tell her I’m focused on building my career. Which isn’t technically a lie because my job is important to me. But it wasn’t fully the truth either.
I get to my front door to find Beckett on the phone. He moves aside to let me unlock it and when we walk inside, I hear him say, “I promise to come over tomorrow as soon as I get back in town. I’ll talk to you later, babe.”
“You didn’t have to get off the phone for my benefit. If you want to call her back, it won’t hurt my feelings.”
He sighs as he makes his way over and drops down on the couch. “Nah, it’s cool. I told her I’d let her know when we got back. And that I told you and Bastian about us. She seemed happy, said she hopes to meet you guys at some point.”
“I’d like to meet her too, B.” I grab some beers for us, bringing both of them with me to sit down beside him. “I hope you know I’m not hurt or anything by you not telling me about her. You’ve always been private, and I respect that. I’m here if you ever need to talk anything over.”
“Thanks. I wanted time before I told anyone—especially before telling Mom."
I laugh. “Surprised she hasn’t caught on.”
Beckett gives a wry laugh. “I’m not the favorite which makes it easy to go unnoticed. So, that was Emmaline, huh? She’s cute. I get why you’re caught up on her.”
Leaning back into the couch, I pick at the paper on the beer bottle. “Yep. That’s her. I didn’t know she was in town again.”
He makes a noncommittal hum. “What was up with her friend calling me Clark?”
“You’re going to love this, but she thinks you look like Tom Welling.” I see his lips curl up before he catches himself.
“I think she might need glasses.”
“From what I’ve seen, that’s just Mia being Mia. Always friendly but there’s often a bit of mischief or trickery lurking. Oh,” I add, “she also said you’remuch hotterthan he is. So just know anytime you’re around, she’s going to mess with you.”
He’s fighting a smile so hard. I watch as he actually tries wiping it off his face and I wonder if he doesn’t get complimented often. I figure his girlfriend would, but his reaction makes me think otherwise.
Instead of ragging on him, I ask, “What time were you planning to head out tomorrow?”
“I don’t have a set time I need to be back. I took time off at the restaurant until Tuesday so I’d have a day to relax and see Alicia.”
“I planned to meet Theo at Edie’s for breakfast. Why don’t you come with me? I’m sure he’d want to see you since you’re in town.”
“Works for me. You’ve talked a lot about Edie’s skills in the kitchen. It’d be nice to try it.”
I clink my bottle to his. “Sounds like a plan. I’m going to jump in the shower. I can order a pizza or pasta from Anatoli’s if that sounds good to you.”
“Either works. You know I eat just about anything.”
“Okay. I’ll call in the order for delivery now.”
After I make the call, I once again think about Emmaline. I’ve got to reel in my wandering thoughts because this is getting ridiculous. I especially need to stop thinking about her when I’m in the shower.
