Page 49 of The Luck of Finding You
“Awesome,” Noah says. “You’re staying at the hotel across from where the event it is, right?”
“Yeah, how did you know that?” I ask, because that’s borderline creepy.
“Everywhere else was booked. I guess there’s some big convention or something also happening this weekend, and everything was full except that hotel. I booked right after I got my event ticket.” Okay. Less creepy.
“Yeah, same.” I had been wondering why everything seemed to be booked. St. George isn’t exactly a super hopping place at the beginning of October. At least I wouldn’t have thought it was. I’d just been too lazy to look up why everything was booked. I got a room, that was enough.
“Well then, do you want to take your car or mine?” Noah asks.
“Uh, would you mind driving?” I ask. Up until this point I’ve been thinking only about how incredibly awkward this will be. Even though it’s only awkward if I make it awkward; that’s something I feel like Mom would say. I’d completely forgotten about the fact that I hate driving on the freeway.
“Sure,” Noah says. “Oh, and do you think that Gran or your dad could come let Mo out a couple of times each day?”
“Gran would probably love to just watch him at her house, if that’s all right.” Gran talks about getting a dog about three times a week. It truly is surprising she doesn’t have one yet.
“That would be so great! I’ll bring him over Friday night when I pick you up?”
“I’ll check with Gran, but that should be fine,” I tell him. “I’m going to head out now.”
Noah nods. I grab my purse, waving to Olivia as I head out of the shop and to my car. Then, after this weird day, I’m finally headed home.
I accidently honk my horn when my phone vibrates from somewhere in my purse that’s sitting on the passenger seat.
This earns me a middle finger from the person in front of me. “Sorry,” I say, even though I know they can’t hear me. Since I’m at a red light, I pull out my phone.
There’s a string of texts from Holly.
DAD’S GETTING MARRIED!!??!
I’m trying to process. BUT HE’S GETTING MARRIED?!
ANSWER YOUR PHONE, WOMAN!!!!!!
I also have seven missed calls from her. Oops, guess I should turn my ringer on more often. Holly is probably combusting. I am combusting. I call her and she answers on the first ring.
“Dad called you?” I say when she picks up.
“On my lunch! I had to have the teacher across the hall cover my last class since he has a prep period.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
“A million things.” Holly sounds like she’s about to cry. She was twenty-two when Mom died, and while I sort of got really realistic about love and how it ends, she dove deeper into her fantasy of finding the perfect guy who still has yet to appear. But I’m not going to bring that up right now.
“Same.” I feel myself deflate a little. At least we’re both feeling a million things. “Like, Beth is so good for Dad. I think they’ll be happy together.”
“But she’s not Mom.” Holly says the words perfectly.
“Yeah.”
We’re both quiet for a minute.
“I just can’t believe he’s going to get married,” Holly finally says.
“I know.”
“And I don’t want to go to another wedding without a date,” Holly says, surprising me. She may be a bit of a hopeless romantic, one with a list a mile long with qualities she wants in a man. But she’s never complained about being single before.
“I’ve got one!” I burst out. This is probably the wrong thing to say in this moment. I should have told her that since Dad hasn’t picked a day to get married yet, she still has time to find a date.
