“Walk me to my car?”
“Absolutely.”
When we reach the small hatchback I borrowed from Fiona, I unlock it and set my bag inside, then turn to face Brady. “Thanks for taking this news a lot better than I expected you to.”
His brows draw together in a frown. “How did you think I’d react?”
“Honestly, I had no clue. Like I said, we barely knew each other. You could’ve told me to fuck off the way my—” I stop talking abruptly with a shake of my head. Sharing childhood trauma is a step too far for today. “Never mind. I’m gonna go, and we’ll talk soon, I guess.”
“Soon,” he says, that word sounding like a promise.
As I pull away, I try to convince myself not to bother checking to see if he’s watching. It doesn’t mean anything if he is or isn’t.
But at the last second, before turning out of the parking lot, my gaze jumps up to the rearview mirror.And there he is, still standing in the same spot, watching me drive away.
It’s not easy to ignore the warm feeling that gives me.
8
SAGE
I lied to Brady.I don’t have to get home so Fiona can have her car back. She’s not expecting me until this evening. But I didn’t trust myself to stay with Brady for much longer, or I might have done something I really shouldn’t have. Like asking for a hug.
Back at Fiona’s, the apartment is empty, and so is my stomach. The apple and croissant I devoured with Brady did the trick of easing the nausea, but now I’m starved. At least, I think that’s why I feel the way I do, but it could also be from panic.
Because holy shit, I found Brady, and now I actually have to stay on Vancouver Island for the next several months.
Which means I need a place to live, and a job, fast.
But first, food. I get another croissant and whip up a quick veggie sandwich before settling on the couch with my laptop. Yet, even once I’ve had something to eat, that gnawing sensation in my gut remains. I set the laptop to the side and let my head fall back against the couch.
I thought I had imagined how comfortable I felt around Brady the few hours we were together back in January. It had to have been in my head. How could I feel that way about someone I just met?
But then, the second I laid eyes on him in the freaking grocery store, of all places, I knew I hadn’t imagined it. Simply being near him again made so much of the tension and stress seep out of my body. Only my mom and Fiona have ever made me feel so comfortable, so peaceful.
I feel my eyes grow damp again. “Damn hormones,” I mutter under my breath, blinking rapidly.
Letting my eyes close, I bring a picture of my mom to mind. Not the way she was at the end, sick and fading away, but from before. When she was vibrant, and full of love, and the very best person in the world.
She would’ve been such an amazing grandma.
“What do you think of Brady, Mama?”
Nothing happens, of course. No mystical message from the beyond. But my stomach does finally start to settle. Must be from the sandwich.
I open my eyes, grab my laptop again, and after pressing play on an upbeat playlist from one of my favourite artists, I get to work, searching for jobs and apartments.
And that’s how my friend finds me, hunched over the screen, reading through potential postings at the nearby hospital
“You know, I do pay the electricity bill,” she says wryly as she flips on the lights in the living room.
I blink up at her, shocked to realize it’s now darkoutside—and inside, apparently. “Wow. What time is it?”
“Around 6:30,” she replies, opening the fridge and bringing two canned mocktails over to where I’m sitting. “Whatcha doing?”
“Checking out job opportunities at the Cedar Creek hospital and looking for places to rent.” I crack open the nonalcoholic margarita and drink deeply. “Mmm, thanks for this.”
“No problem. So, jobs, huh? Does that mean you’re sticking around for a while?”
