Page 13 of Spotlight
“Well now I feel left out,” I whine playfully, although there is a small part of me that wishes I were going to be hanging out with my family tonight. The much larger part is excited for a night out with my friends. It’s my best friend Sabrina’s engagement party so it’ll be a fun time, but there’s always a point in the evening where I miss Greer so much I feel like I can’t breathe. It’s more about me than her. I know that when she’s there, she’s well-loved and taken care of, and Greer looks forward to staying over at her great-grandparents’ house. But tomorrow morning I’ll be anxious to pick her up and see her sweet face.
“I’ll save a cookie for you,” Gigi says to me.
“I won’t.” Ruby smirks.
“Jerk,” I mouth and stick my tongue out at her.
She makes a face back and just like that we’re kids, poking and taunting each other until Greer is in a fit of giggles that almost sends her falling off the stool.
“I think that’s our cue to get home.” Grandpa lifts her into his arms.
I step forward and kiss my daughter on the cheek. She wraps her arms around my neck.
“Tell Aunt Brina hi for me, and Uncle Archer that I’ve learned how to sign all the letters of the alphabet, and Uncle Brogan that I’ve been practicing my touchdown dance.”
“Okay. I will try to remember all that.” I squeeze her hand. “Be good. Have fun. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Bye, Mommy!” She waves as Grandpa carries her away.
“Wait. Can I catch a ride with you?” Ruby grabs her backpack and runs after them, leaving me and Gigi in the store.
“You should get out of here too,” Gigi says.
“We don’t close for another hour.”
She raises both brows as she looks around the quiet store. So far, my new window display is not doing the trick of bringing new people inside. Maybe Grandpa is right. What even are whimsical springtime vibes?
“I’ll stick around for a bit. You go have fun. Enjoy your night with friends.” She shoos me with one hand.
“It’s early. No one is there yet.”
“Then go home and change.” She looks me up and down. “Maybe go to the bar first, chat up some nice young men.”
I snort a laugh. “There are no nice young men at the bar on a Friday evening.”
She gives me a disapproving head shake and mutters something about wanting more great-grandbabies while she can still pick them up.
“Okay. Okay. I’m going.” I get my purse from the back room and scan the store for anything that needs doing before I go, but everything is exactly as it should be.
Gigi motions with her head when she sees me lingering.
Laughing to myself, I lift a hand to wave goodbye and then head out of the bookstore. It’s a short drive to my apartment. I change into a dress for tonight and redo my makeup and hair while blasting all my favorite pop songs that I usually skip because they aren’t appropriate for Greer’s little ears.
Even taking my time, I’m ready to go before it’s time to leave. Sabrina and Archer rented out the back room of a popular restaurant and bar for tonight. Nerves bounce around in my stomach. The guest list is insane. Archer plays professional football for the Mavericks and so does his best friend, Sabrina’s brother, Brogan. All their teammates are sure to be there. I’ve only been around the whole lot of them once before, but they’re a big, rowdy, intimidating, but loveable group.
I think Gigi is secretly hoping I’m going to meet one of Archer’s teammates, fall madly in love, and give her a dozen more babies. She’s still offering to take Greer so I can go out and meet people any chance she gets.
My mind flitters back to the last time she watched Greer while I went to New York with Ruby. Brown eyes, a playful smirk, rough hands. My stomach flips at the memory of him.
I met someone. And was promptly reminded why I stopped dating. He snuck out while I was sleeping. I’ve done the walk of shame before, but it never felt as awful as waking up that morning and realizing he’d left without a goodbye. I mean, how embarrassing that he had to leave his own room to get away from me?
I shake off the memory and negative thoughts and check my reflection in the mirror one last time before I head out the door.
I turn up the music in my car and try to reclaim the happy, excited mood from earlier, but my thoughts keep drifting back to that hotel room. I have replayed that entire night from start to finish so many times. Each time I do, I look for the clues. I mean, sure, he was ridiculously hot and charming, but he didn’t seem like a phony. I guess good phonies never do seem that way.
A billboard near the exit catches my attention. Brown eyes. Playful Smirk. My heart lurches and I blink a couple of times. I swear that looked just like him. I turn my head to get another look, but I’m already past it.
“Okay, you’ve officially lost your mind,” I say to myself with a small chuckle as I get off the freeway. Now I’m seeing him on giant signs? I’ve reached a depressing low. For the first week after I got back to Arizona, I thought I saw him everywhere—on TV, on the street, and every time my phone pinged, my heart jumped. It was irrational since I didn’t give him my phone number or my name.
