I frown. “Coworker or client?”
Annie is the office manager at a midsize law firm that specializes in divorces, though ironically her real passion is writing romance novels. If her date is a client, it most likely means he’s soon-to-be or recently divorced.
“Neither. We had to hire a cybersecurity company to come in and evaluate our online security for the website and intranet. Tanner was one of the consultants.”
A breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s great. Cybersecurity consultant sounds like a cool job.”
Annie props a hand on her hip. “Delaney,” she says in a warning voice.
“What?” I smirk at her. One of my running jokes about Spencer is that he has the most boring job on the planet. He’s an actuary and was always talking about “loss reserving” and “stochastic modeling.” Actually, I’m sure risk assessment can be a very interesting job; it was the man himself who was duller than a drawer of manila file folders.
“Spencer was not boring. He was reliable and steady.”
I reach my cabin and push open the creaky screen door. “He wasn’t right for you. A guy doesn’t have to be boring to be reliable.”
Annie, with her hand still on her hip, narrows her eyes. “Oh and you know this from all your successful long-term relationships?”
Okay, fair. But still, rude to bring it up. The truth is I’ve never liked a guy enough to have a serious relationship with him. Well, other than Gage, that is. I always kind of told myself that I’d take a relationship seriously when I found a guy I liked more than Gage. It hasn’t happened.
I groan. “Let me see the outfits. After that crack, you’ll be lucky if I don’t pick the ugliest one.”
The first week of camp speeds by. Weirdly, the kids and even other staff keep calling me Olivia, even though I definitely introduce myself as Delaney. I correct each person the first few times, but it becomes so frequent that I start letting it go. I don’t know where they’re getting it from.
Monday is all about helping the kids get comfortable with being at camp. I walk each group through how to safely use the boats and help Rocky squirt a half-vinegar, half–rubbing alcohol solution from a baby bottle into the kids’ ears to prevent swimmer’s ear when they get out of the lake.
Tuesday, I make my rounds to check on Nina in the craft cabin in between water sports groups. She has a group of eight-year-old girls making friendship bracelets with tiny rubber bands and beads in a rainbow of colors.
Wednesday is “wacky Wednesday,” and the kids and staff are encouraged to wear our craziest outfit combinations as we eat breakfast for dinner and make up new, chaotic rules for the games we play.
Thursday is color wars day. The campers are divided into two teams: purple and green. They compete in a series of challenges, earning points for their team to see who the final winner will be. There’s tug-of-war and water Olympics, which I’m in charge of and includes a fire brigade relay and water balloon toss. In the afternoon, there’s a massive game of capture the flag that includes the cabin counselors, where the winning team has a chance to double their point total from the morning’s events.
Friday is the final day of camp, culminating in Skit Night, where the campers’ families arrive for a bonfire and show. The kids sing camp songs and perform the skits they’ve written about their week at camp while stuffing themselves with s’mores. Skit Night wraps up around six, and the kids check out and leave with their families to go home.
And through it all, I really only see Gage in passing, like when he brings his campers to the lake for swimming or boating.
At first, it’s a relief. I’m grateful for the space so I can get my head straight and go through all the reasons Gage and I being together is a bad idea. Reasons that are really hard to remember when I’m with him.
But after a few days, I begin living for the glimpses of him I get across the mess hall. When I know it’s time for his campers to have free swim in the lake or go out in the canoes, I notice I’m on edge, jittery until I see him marching toward me, black Longhorns cap on backward as he leads the way for his kids.
When he greets me with that sunshiny smile, I like to imagine there’s a little something extra in his expression reserved for me. And when his hand brushes mine softly, maybe it’s intentional and sends the same shiver across his skin as it does mine. Like he’s also spent the day looking forward to this small interaction. Like it’s the highlight of his day, like it is for me.
Chapter fourteen
Olivia
Nicole:
Finally home from the honeymoon and back to our regular schedules
Molly:
Aww, I hope you had fun!
Nicole:
We had so much fun! I can’t believe I’m MARRIED!
Molly:
