“Yeah. Yeah. Go enjoy your family. Dallas wants me to read him a book.”
“Tell everyone I say hello.”
“I will. Bye.”
“Bye, Brook.”I love you. Alec pressed “end” on the screen. For a moment, he just stared at his phone, wishing he could reach through it and touch her. Be next to her. Everything Nick had said earlier was swirling in his head. The biggest word that resonated for him waspriorities.Despite every uncertainty, he was so fortunate for this second chance with Brooklyn. And it was feeling more and more like he’d already decided what he needed to do. He just hadn’t had the courage to admit it to himself, mostly because the thought of failing at this one particular thing was too much to bear.
“Uncle Alec,” Sophia appeared in his doorway. “Are you coming? The edges are done. Now we get to the best part.”
Alec smiled and hopped off the bed. “Yes. Come on. Let’s go do that puzzle.”It’ll be good practice for me to figure out what comes next.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It turnedout that the weatherdidend up messing with Alec’s Thanksgiving trip, but not in the way he’d first thought. His Sunday afternoon flight home was delayed due to a freak early-season snowstorm marching east across the U.S. He’d stupidly forgotten to check his flight statusorthe forecast before going to the airport and returning his rental car. He supposed he’d been too eager to get home and finally settle things.
He called Brooklyn when his scheduled arrival time was moved for the fifth time and he knew he was going to be incredibly late.
“Hey, you,” she said when she answered. “Where are you?”
“The airport. My flight is delayed. This storm looks nuts.”
“I know. I’m so glad we took tomorrow off, too. They’re saying we could get six inches, and you know how the city gets when it snows. Everyone loses their mind.”
In the background, he heard voices. “Where are you?”
“Since we already weren’t working tomorrow, Virginia invited my mom and I over. We’re having a glass of wine and talking and playing Candyland with Dallas.”
“Wine?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I’m having seltzer. I have not gotten my period.”
Alec’s heart nearly went into palpitations. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I wish I had an answer.”
“Okay. Well, I’m not going to get in until super late. Can I see you after my meeting with the network tomorrow? I should be done by ten. If we’re getting snow in the city, it looks like it won’t hit until noon.”
“Sure. I’ll meet you at your house at eleven?”
“I might need a nap, but that sounds fantastic. I really want to talk.”
“Ant Bwookwyn, it’s your turn!” It was easy to identify Dallas’s voice, even when he wasn’t on the call.
“Sorry. I should run,” Brooklyn said.
“Tell everyone I say hello. See you tomorrow.”
“Safe travels.”
As he’d anticipated, he landed in the wee hours Monday morning at JFK after being rerouted from LaGuardia. He checked his phone as soon as he could take it out of airplane mode. He was waiting on a return text or call from his agent, Olivia. He’d promised he wouldn’t leave her with her dick in her hand, and he intended to hold up his end of the bargain. But it was only going to work if she got back to him in time.
The network sent a car to pick him up, but there was no real time for him to go back to his house, so they headed straight to theGood Daystudio. Outside, it was cold and still pitch dark, and he tried to grab some sleep, but he couldn’t quiet his mind. So with his eyes wide open and his head resting against the car window, he watched the city go by.
It was eerily quiet when he arrived at the studio. It would be a good half hour until it would really get buzzing. This was the first time he’d ever caught the actual changing of the guard, when the overnight security team left, and Maddie and Jerome took over.
“Good morning, Mr. Trakas,” Maddie said, chipper as ever. “You’re here early.”
“Morning,” Alec said. “Long day of travel, but I’m here, even on no sleep.”
