“Chloe!” Grace greeted me warmly when I walked intoWhat the Heart Wants. “You’re here to pick up Lola’s letter?”
“And drop off one of my own.” I held up my envelope.
“Wonderful, I’ll give Cain a call in a little bit. I think he keeps—abnormal hours maybe? I’ve called him a couple of times in the early morning and it always sounds like I’m waking him up.” She chuckled under her breath.
“Well, he’s a firefighter so he probably works twenty-four on, forty-eight off. I’d sleep all day too if I had that schedule.” I nodded quickly.
“True, I didn’t think about that.” She handed me Lola’s letter and took the one I had written for Cain.
“What happens next?” I leaned against the counter. “This will be my third letter for him—and if he writes me back, the next step is our first date, right?”
“Yes, that is correct.” Grace smiled and put my letter in a basket on the counter. “I will give you both a call and try to set something up. It sounds like you’ve already made your decision.”
“I have.” I nodded quickly. “I definitely want to meet him.”
“Wonderful!” She pointed to the wall. “You two might end up over there with all of my success stories.”
“Maybe…” I turned towards the wall. “We’ll see how it goes. Cain is definitely different from the guys I’ve dated in the past.”
“I think the two of you are going to hit it off. You both understand how important it is to nurture and protect the relationship once you have it—if everyone understood that, I wouldn’t have a job!” She chuckled and nodded.
“Hopefully, neither of us need your services again.” I exhaled sharply. “Honestly, if it doesn’t work out with someone like Cain, I’m not sure there’sanyhope for me.”
“There’s always hope.” She nodded quickly. “But I have a good feeling about the two of you.”
Well if there’s always hope, mine is that you’re right.
It was strange to feel excitement about a guy—and a date. I always walked on eggshells when it came to relationships, afraid that one misplaced step would break them. To have that fear removed was exhilarating. It felt like a freedom that I had never been able to experience before. The lingering worry and soul-crushing doubt wasn’t trapping me in a haze with Cain. I believed everything he said was true, and if he was willing to accept me—broken pieces and all—then we might actually end up on Grace’s wall of success stories after all.
Now I’ve flipped from being unable to comprehend putting my trust in someone to planning our future—and I haven’t even met him.
I leftWhat the Heart Wantsand stopped by the office where Chloe worked so I could drop off her letter. She was practically gushing with excitement, so I hoped the letter was everything she expected. I didn’t have to stay curious about it for long, because she called me before I got back to our apartment. Mr. Doctor was apparently the man of her dreams. I thought I was rushing into things in my head, but she was ready to name their kids. At least I hadn’t gone that far—yet.
* * *
Later that day
Ispent the rest of my morning and afternoon working on my resume, looking for new opportunities, and emailing some of the companies that I had already applied to. I was starting to doubt my career choice, considering the silence I was getting in return. I didn’t have experience, but that shouldn’t have been required for an entry level job. It wasn’t like I expected an advertising or marketing firm to hire me and immediately give me their biggest account. I was okay digging through the scraps if I could get my foot in the door.
It’s starting to feel like that internship I had after junior year was a waste of time.
“Chloe! You got a letter!” Lola opened the door and came running into our apartment.
“Already?” I looked up at her.
“Yep! I was almost home when I got the call from Grace. I decided to go get it since you were nice enough to bring mine to me at work.” Lola tossed the envelope on the counter in front of me.
“My last letter…” I picked it up and held it in my hands. “After this, we get to actually go on a date.”
“Well stop talking about it and open the dang letter.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I hate suspense!”
“Fine…” I tore open the letter and unfolded the paper.
Dear Chloe,
I want to meet you too.
-Cain
