Page 102 of Sparks Fly

Addison answered my FaceTime call on the second ring, her hair loose and glasses perched on her nose.

“There you are,” she said with a smile.

“There’s my girlfriend.”

Warmth spread across her face. “You like saying that, huh?”

“A lot.”

“I should be asleep,” she said, adjusting the phone.

“I won’t keep you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You say that like it’s true.”

I laughed softly. “I miss you.”

Her smile softened. “I miss you too.”

“I told Blake and Nina about us tonight.”

Her expression shifted slightly. “You did?”

“That you’re my girlfriend. Nothing you wouldn’t want them to know.”

She relaxed. “How did they react?”

“They’re happy for us. And they want to meet you.”

“I’d like to meet them.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “I want to know the people in your life.”

Something warm settled in my chest.

“I want you in my life,” I said.

“I’m working on it,” she replied softly.

We didn’t talk for much longer, just enough to make the distance between us feel smaller.

When we hung up, the room was quiet again, but it didn’t feel empty.

I had a girlfriend.

And for the first time in a long time, letting someone fit into my life didn’t feel complicated at all.

* * *

31

Addison

By mid-morning Tuesday, I was already on my third cup of coffee and my second headache.

The day had started with back-to-back calls, a scheduling mess involving a seller who couldn’t be bothered to be in the country, and a parking ticket that had materialized in the fifteen minutes I’d spent grabbing a key from a lockbox.