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“It’s going to be a lot of work,” he said, scratching his cheek as he skimmed the page about the clip art database. “I’d be stealing you away from your other clients.”
“That’s the thing,” I said. “I don’t want you to be a client. I want you to add me to your team as a full-time employee.”
Owen lifted his eyes from the paper to stare at me, his expression unreadable. I fought the urge to say more, fearing overexplaining would reduce the impact of my words. I needed him to see how serious I was. I didn’t break eye contact, and neither did he when he said, “You want to work for me… permanently?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I do. I can be the creative driving force behind these projects, to bring them all to life. You need me.” I only half-believed what I was saying. “But I want you to hire me because you see me as an asset to your business. Not out of pity or because I’m your cousin. If the answer is no, I can handle it.”
Owen rested his chin on his fist and pored over the papers I’d given him, carefully reading every word. I drank my coffee and stared out the window at Main Street—there wasn’t much to look at out there besides the occasional pedestrian strolling in front of the long-abandoned storefronts.
After what seemed like a couple of minutes, Owen laid the papers flat on the table and leaned back in his chair. “I can’t make a decision right away,” he said, tracing his coffee lid with one finger. “I’ll need to talk to my accountant and look at the numbers.”
“Understandable. I knew this wouldn’t be a decision you’d make lightly.”
A grin began to spread across Owen’s face. “This is really impressive, cuz. Sarah asked me what I thought you wanted to talk about this morning, and I told her I had no clue. She was afraid it had something to do with our wedding—but that’s sort of all she thinks about these days.”
I chuckled, taking a drink. “You guys have less than a month now. How are you feeling about that?”
Owen took a deep breath, glancing out the window. “Everything’s coming together—but I’m just eager for it to be here, you know? I’m so ready to just be married. Call her my wife.” He looked down at his hands, clutching his cup. “Start a family.”
“I get it. All the focus is on the big day when that’s not really what it’s about.”
“Right.” We both sipped our coffees, and Owen leaned onto his arms on the table. “What about you? Have you dated since you’ve been back in town?”
I sighed. “Uh, not much. It’s a little hard to put myself out there when I’ve got Finley.” It wasn’t a total lie.
“I bet,” Owen said with a nod. “So—totally off topic here—how’s volunteering in Finley’s classroom going?” His not-so-subtle subject change wasn’t lost on me, and neither was his knowing smile.
I shook my head, trying not to grin. “It’s fine.” I didn’t want to talk about that for two reasons. One, I wouldn’t be able to talk about Kendall with a straight face. And two, I was pretty sure I’d just volunteered for the very last time. “All Finley cares about right now is Halloween. It’s all she can talk about.”
“Oh, you’ll have to make sure to bring her by our house. Sarah’s heart will be broken if we don’t get a lot of trick or treaters.”
“Will do,” I said.
This would be my very first time taking Finley trick-or-treating. She’d spent all of her previous Halloweens with Whitney—even if she was meant to be with me for the weekend. I was looking forward to it almost as much as she was.
And we had coordinating costumes.
Before Owen and I parted ways that morning, I thanked him for meeting with me and gave him a firm handshake. “Give me some time to figure this all out,” he said, which left me feeling optimistic. I tried not to allow myself to get too excited about it just yet—for all I knew, his accountant could strongly advise against this.
But Owen had the final say—and I just hoped I made a convincing enough argument that he needed me.
* *
“Hey, Fin. Guess what?” I asked Finley the second she climbed into the backseat of the Jeep in the school pick-up line.
“What?”
I turned around to make sure she buckled up before I pulled away from the curb. After I heard the click, I said, “We’re going trick-or-treating at Owen and Sarah’s on Halloween.”
She gasped. “Will I get to pet Leia?”
“I don’t know, maybe? They might have her put up that night.”
Finley gave this some thought as I drove on. I dreamed about the day I could get this girl a dog. When we had our own place, it would be first on my agenda.
“I’ve got something else to tell you about, too,” I said, lowering the music. I glanced at her in the rearview mirror to make sure she was listening. “I don’t think I’m going to volunteer in your classroom anymore.”
“What? Why not?”
