“So what’s the problem?”
He ran a hand over his face. “It’s complicated.”
“Can I give you some sisterly advice?”
“Are you going to take no for an answer?”
“Obviously not.” She laughed. “But if you really like this girl, and it sounds like she likes you too, maybe you should explore what could happen between you. If it’s love, you can figure out the rest. Just like I did with Joseph.”
“Not everyone is willing to move cross-country for someone.”
She smiled. “But they are for the right one. Just something to think about.”
Grant would think about it, but he wasn’t the one who needed convincing. He was willing to give things a shot as soon as Em gave him the green light.
“Can we come in yet?” said a young girl’s voice from the screen.
“Please, Mommy,” said another. “We want to see Uncle Grant.”
Katherine laughed. “I don’t think I’m going to keep them out much longer. So if you have anything else you want to get off your chest, do it now or forever hold your peace.”
Grant was relieved for his nieces’ interruption. He didn’t think that he could talk relationships with his sister much longer. “Let them in.”
Katherine called the girls, and they came running in. They basically pushed their mom out of the way to fill the entire screen of his laptop. They started long monologues about their toys, their friends, and how much they missed him.
After fifteen minutes of this, Grant finally got to speak. “I miss you guys too.”
It was true. He did.
But this was finally his chance to do what he loved for a bit.
And maybe find love too.
Emmeline
Something feltoff to Em at Saturday night’s Storm game.
Normally, it was all about cheering for her brother and the other guys while eating greasy concession food with Miriam.
But this week, she couldn’t stop thinking about Grant. He invaded her thoughts without permission, and as much as she had tried to deny it, she had a crush on him—not that she was willing to admit it to Frida.
Her friend walked beside her as they entered the arena. Em hadn’t planned on inviting her after she’d not-so subtly played matchmaker at the school, but Frida had begged until Em said yes.
They wore matching O’Brien jerseys, just as they had the week before. Miriam was already there when they got to their seats, typing wildly on her phone. When she was done, she looked up at Em, eyes wide. “Thank goodness you’re here.”
Em raised her brows. “I didn’t realize my attendance was so important.”
“It’s not. I mean, it is.” Miriam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I have this really fun halftime show planned for tonight’s game, but I absolutely cannot use one of the people Greg chose to participate.”
It wasn’t uncommon for the Storm office staff to put together halftime shows that involved fans. Sometimes it was a shooting contest to win free tickets, or a trivia question for a gift card from a corporate sponsor. One time, they sold ping-pong balls to fans for a chance to win a brand-new car. They pulled the vehicle onto the field, opened the sunroof, and let everyone throw their balls from the stands. If they got a ball in, they won the car.
But Em couldn’t think of any reason to bar someone from participating in any of those events. What did Miriam have cooking this time?
“Uh…”
“Did you see the sign-up online?”
Em shook her head. “No. Why?” Other than a quick peek at Grant’s Instagram, she had been swamped at work with much less time than usual for time scrolling through social media this week. Good for convincing herself her crush was under control, bad for keeping up to date on Storm news.
