“Reality doesn’t always live up to the fantasy.” He paused. “You never said if you still like pineapple pizza.”
“Yup, I still do.”
“I’m meeting Ryder at six thirty so I’ll meet you at six.”
Carly ended the call, set her cell phone aside, resisting the urge to rest her head against her desk and pound her fists in frustration. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her middle as a numbing cold whipped through her. Owen remembered what kind of pizza she liked. After fifteen years. Something about him saying he didn’t want to discuss all his plans on the phone sent an eerie sense of déjà vu spiraling through her. They’d been down this road before when he wanted to convince her to attend Texas A&M with him.
For two people who agreed to keep things uncomplicated, Carly and Owen’s lives had become more entangled than a soap opera’s story lines. Now, with Owen, she had what she’d dreamed of finding with Max, and she was torn between what she’d envisioned for her life and her feelings for Owen.
Oh, Lord, no. This couldn’t be happening.
Chapter Fifteen
The next nightthe spicy tang of tomato sauce mixed with the scent of warm bread swirled around Owen as he drove toward Carly’s place. He wondered what she’d say about his resume. While he admitted he wouldn’t be as qualified on paper as other candidates, he possessed other advantages. Having been a client, he viewed the agency from a unique perspective, allowing him to assess the program and potential problems in a new way. His military background would help him understand and wade through the bureaucratic health care system. Lastly, living in Service wouldn’t be a problem for him the way it had for past applicants. All those factors would help his case with the board, and he’d emphasized them in his resume. That didn’t worry him.
How Carly would react to his plans was another story. Thinking of laying out his plan with her, left him sweating and shaking, worse than when at sixteen he’d asked her out on their first date.
A few minutes later when Ryder answered the door, they headed to the kitchen, and Owen opened the pizza box. “Grab a few pieces before I take this to Carly.”
“You’re dumping me?”
Cringing at the teenager’s reaction, he said, “Hell, no.” The tension on Ryder’s face and in his body eased. “I emailed her my resume, and she’s going to tell me what she thinks before you and I meet.”
“You’re applying for a job? Here in town? What about the Army?”
“I don’t want to say anything until I hear what Carly says about my resume.” Then he told Ryder they’d review for the test when he returned, and after picking up the pizza box, he headed for the Horses for Heroes’s offices.
He tried to calm his nerves, but nothing like having his future hanging on the next few minutes to make a man shake in his boots.
When Owen entered Carly’s office, she smiled weakly and took the pizza box from him. He leaned over to kiss her, but she turned her head, causing him to plant one on her cheek instead of her full, inviting lips. Red lights flashed, bells clanged, and railroad crossing gates lowered in his head. What was up with that?
“Another couple weeks and you’ll be out of this cracker box,” he said.
“It’s going to be exciting for the agency.” Carly placed the cardboard box on what had been Holly’s desk. Then reached into a filing cabinet, the drawer squeaking as it slid open, she withdrew paper plates, tossed them on the desk, and closed the drawer. Another loud screech shattered the room’s silence.
Once they grabbed pizza, they returned to Carly’s desk. Instead of eating, she placed her plate on a far corner of her desk. Then she patted the papers in front of her. “I had very few comments on your resume. You did an excellent job using nonprofit jargon. Overall, it’s solid, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Not having experience in the field will be an obstacle with the board, despite your unique qualifications. That said, it’s less of an issue with an agency this size than a larger one, and it’s definitely not an unsurmountable problem if you address it in the interview.”
Carly’s flat tone and her reserved business attitude sounded as if she was speaking to a casual acquaintance. The warning sirens kicked on in his head again. “What’s up? What’s changed between us?”
“Nothing. It’s been a long week, and I’m running on fumes.”
Carly toyed with her earring.
“You’re fiddling with your earring.” He stiffened. “I might have a brain injury, but even I can tell from that comment something’s wrong. Even if I couldn’t, you playing with your earring is a dead giveaway you’re lying.”
She sighed and folded her hands on her desk so tight her knuckles grew white. All the while looking anywhere but at him. Not good. Whatever was wrong wasn’t little.
“When we talked yesterday, I thought I could take a dinner break, but after meeting with the temp agency last night I have more work to do for someone to start on Monday,” she said. While that could well be true, the fact that she still hadn’t looked in his direction told him he hadn’t gotten to the heart of the matter.
“Let me help, then we can talk. I’ve had thoughts on the job, and on you and me. I want to run them past you.”
“What needs to be done would take too long to explain. Regarding the rest, send me an email laying everything out. I’ll read it in the next couple of days, and let you know what I think.”
“Email my idea, and you’ll try to get back to me in a couple days? What the hell, Carly? Level with me what this is about. Tonight.” When she hesitated, his throat tightened. “Please. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“You applying for my current job and the fact that we had a personal relationship is awkward for me.”
A rock settled in the pit of his stomach, heavy and sharp. “Had?Did I miss something?”
