Page 24 of Lost Times

Maybe, but I knew that a lot of pain, disappointment and rejection could come from it and that was enough to make menotwant to even try.

Shelving the thoughts for later, I focused on driving as Jasmine chattered happily to Mom. Not having her attention on me meant I was free to think. Would Ludwig ever manage to make it to these kinds of things? Yes, the live stream was a good idea, but eventually it would start to disappoint Jasmine.

Before I could sink fully into my doubts, we pulled up to the school, and everything blurred into a whirl of getting ready and taking our seats. It was only after I’d started the live stream, about fifteen minutes after Jasmine walked out on stage, that I saw the little indicator that someone was watching.

Ludwig’s name lit up under the little dot, and my stomach flipped when it stayed lit for five minutes before flashing out again. The dot came back periodically throughout the recital, and by the time it ended, he’d been here and gone over ten times.

Mom hummed, pulling me back to the present as we waited for Jasmine to come out from the back. Her mouth was curled into a knowing smile and she chuckled. “You already look half in love with the man.”

I choked on saliva, but before I could argue that I didnotlook like that, Jasmine came bounding out, latching onto my hand with a steady buzz of excitement rolling off her.

“We did awesome! How did it look from the seats?”

I shoved the previous topic into a box for later and smiled down at her. “It looked perfect.” Mom nodded, and then Jasmine’s eyes landed on my phone. She bit her lip, toeing the ground with a shyness that wasn’t like her, then she asked.

“Did Ludwig watch too?”

My heart did a little twist and I nodded, stroking a hand through her hair. “Yup, I saw him watching ten different times during the recital.”

Looking down at my phone, I considered it for a minute. I’d made a special group for Ludwig and me for the live stream and while the video had stopped, the chat feature was active. It still showed Ludwig’s indicator as being active.

After a second of thought, I offered my phone to her. “It says he’s still there if you want to send a quick message.” She lit up, but before she could grab the phone, I reminded her firmly. “Aquickmessage, Jasmine. He’s still at work, and he can get in trouble for being on his phone.”

Not really, he owned the company after all, but I didn’t want her chatting his ear off and potentially irritating him.

She nodded, snagging the phone and typing at the speed of light. I almost didn’t expect him to reply, but my phone dinged nearly immediately and Jasmine lit up, showing me the phone.

“He said I looked great!”

I read the short line of messages.

Hi! This is Jasmine, Mom let me use her phone. She said I can send you a quick message. What did you think of the recital?

There were emojis sprinkled throughout the message and Ludwig’s response was far less…colorful, though the words sank liquid heat through me.

You all did a good job. I’ve seen world-class dancers who wouldn’t be able to compete. I certainly couldn’t do any of that.

He’d probably seen people who did leaps and bounds better, but the fact he’d made a point of complimenting her made me smile.

Jasmine redirected her attention to Mom, thus giving me the chance to respond to him in private.

Hey, Thalia here. Thanks, she’s really happy you enjoyed it.

I hesitated, glancing at the others before asking. “Jasmine, what do you think of me inviting Ludwig over for dinner?”

She snapped around, eyes twinkling as she nodded. “Definitely!”

Before she could get her hopes up or start plotting, I cut in. “He might not be able to make it, remember? I’m just offering it to him in case he can.”

She deflated a bit, but nodded.

With her handled, I focused on the phone again.

If you want, you could have dinner with us?

His response took a few minutes, the bubbles moving and freezing a few times before finally the reply came through.

I can’t. The meetings are running longer than I thought and someone called in today, so I need to get that paperwork done so we’re not backed up tomorrow.

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