The faint sound of video games escapes from the living room window, occasionally punctuated by Max or Owen’s yell of victory or defeat. I take her to the porch swing on the far edge of the house. The wraparound porch goes all the way around the house and Mom put a swing on three sides of it. The east-facing swing is the newest so you won’t get splinters in your butt, and it faces the neighbor’s corn field. Not exactly a great view, but not a bad one, either.
“Talk to me,” I say, sitting down and patting the spot beside me.
She sits cross-legged on the swing, hands in her lap. “I’m a really good event planner,” she says, gazing out into the corn field.
“Yes.”
“So, the news thing? Not only did my boss love it, but she also used it to get herself a raise.”
“What?”
“Jenny made this whole thing about it, telling corporate that she assigned me to get more media coverage even though I had nothing to do with that. Ethan secured the news coverage, notme, but I’m in it, and the news mentioned Perfectly Planned in their article and now Jenny came to work today with cupcakes for everyone to celebrate being promoted!”
“Wow.”
“You know, I’m the lowest paid party planner there?” she continues. “I’m tier one, which is entry level because I’ve only been there a couple years and everyone else has more experience but you know what that means? It means they get to pick and choose the easiest events for themselves and all the crap ones get put on me. And I’m great at what I do, but they get paid more than me! And I turn the crap events into awesome events because I’m freaking amazing at what I do.”
I get the feeling she just wants me to listen, so that’s what I do. My foot keeps a gentle swing going while she vents about her boss, who sounds a lot like bosses I’ve had in the past. People like that don’t rise to the top because they’re good at what they do, they rise to the top because they sit on the backs of hard workers.
“I’ve been applying for jobs,” she says, turning to me. “Most event planning companies are in the big cities, so I’d probably have to move. I don’t want to be far away from my mom, but I can’t just stay here at Perfectly Planned.”
“Put me as a reference,” I say. “I’ll give you a recommendation so glowing that you’ll get hired for any job in the world.”
“I know it sounds crazy but I keep thinking about just going out on my own. Making my own event planning business.”
“Yes!” I say, pointing both fingers at her. “You should do it. I already plan on requesting you for every event I have for the rest of my life.”
“It’s not that easy. I have rent to pay, bills, health insurance…and there’s no guarantee that I’ll get any clients.”
“Sometimes the risk is worth it,” I say.
“Yeah…” Her teeth dig into her bottom lip as she stares out at the vast horizon. That overwhelming urge to kiss her falls over me again. It happens more and more lately, and it’s agonizing. I want her but I can’t have her.
I straighten my shoulders and snap myself out of it. “What if you ditched your apartment and moved in with family, or your boyfriend? That would save on bills.”
Her gaze whips to me so fast, some hair in her messy bun comes loose. “Boyfriend? If I had a boyfriend I would have already moved in with him and quit this job a long time ago,” she says with a snort laugh.
“Wait. What do you mean?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend. Why would you think that?”
chapter twenty-five
Charlotte
Caleb’s phone alarm goes off, starling both of us. I’m not letting a “saved by the bell” situation happen here. While he checks his phone, silencing the alarm, I say, “This is the second time you’ve said that, you know. Are you just trying to push my buttons?”
“Never,” he says with a grin. “I mean… not any more than I normally like to push your buttons. It’s time for me to walk Rex. Since it gets so hot in the summer, I like to walk him at night when it’s cooler.”
I stand up. “Well, let’s go.”
“You sure?”
“Rex and I are cool, but you and I are not cool until you tell me why on earth you keep saying I have a boyfriend.”
“It was on your phone at the donor dinner.”
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
