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“I’m heading that way myself,” Beckett said. “Do you mind if I join you?”
I’d actually been kind of hoping he’d offer, as much as I hated to admit that. I couldn’t tell whether the store was really on his way or he was just saying that so we could talk more, but it was probably better not to read too much into that comment either.
As we set off along the sidewalk, I glanced at him sideways, thinking about what he’d said in the post office. “So, what kind of work do you do? I guess you must have graduated pretty recently. I mean, assuming you don’t look way younger than you actually are.” I bit my lip. Why did I keep putting my foot in my mouth with this guy? “Sorry, that probably sounded awful.”
Beckett laughed. “No, it’s a perfectly normal question. I don’t know how old—or young—I look to you, but it sounds like you judged about right. I’m twenty-three. But I’ve been helping out with the family business since I was in my early teens, and I basically grew up in the middle of it, so it kind of feels like I’ve always had this job even if I only took it on full-time recently.”
Maybe that explained part of his confidence—the fact that he’d always known what he’d be doing when he grew up, unlike so many of my college peers who seemed to be kind of drifting along, still undecided about everything… often down to their majors. That kind of certainty was a privilege a lot of people didn’t have, but who was I to judge when I’d spent my whole life preparing to follow in my dad’s footsteps with the interests he’d encouraged in me?
I felt comfortable enough to tap Beckett playfully with my elbow. “And am I allowed to ask what the family business is?”
“Oh, we’ve got our fingers in all sorts of pies. My dad and my grandpa before him were always looking for ways to expand and diversify. One of our main focuses is real estate development, which is an area I enjoy quite a bit. We’ve also got some holdings in manufacturing and transportation.”
I blinked. “Wow. Sounds like it’s a pretty big business.” Not some mom-and-pop-type deal. But then, looking at him in his perfectly fitted suit and shiny shoes that I had to imagine cost way more than I’d ever spent on an item of clothing, that probably shouldn’t have surprised me. It was just weird to think of a guy only three years older than me being established enough to be arranging major deals or whatever.
Beckett shrugged, but his smile shifted, turning a bit softer around the edges in a way that told me the enthusiasm in his voice was genuine. “It can get a little unwieldy at times, but I generally enjoy the challenge. And seeing a development project move from an empty lot or a shell of a building into something people are actually going to use is pretty amazing.”
“It’s great that you enjoy it so much,” I said.
Something flickered through his expression, but his voice stayed as steady and warm as before. “It’s not all sunshine and roses. Some of the people I work with can be difficult, and a lot of them aren’t too keen on taking orders from a ‘kid.’ But I know I’m proving myself.”
“I admire that attitude,” I told him honestly.
“You must have the same kind of determination when it comes to your career path,” Beckett said, nudging me back. “Medical research isn’t exactly a slacker job.”
I laughed. “No, it’s definitely not. But I guess it is a lot like you said. Knowing that I could work on something that’s really going to make a difference to people, feeling like I’m building toward cures or treatments that could make their lives so much better or even save those lives… That makes it worth it.”
“Exactly. I think I must have sensed that we had that sort of attitude in common when we first met, and that’s why I wasn’t willing to let you get away with just paying me off for a dry-cleaning bill. I don’t run into a whole lot of people who really care about what they do and not simply getting a paycheck out of it.”
I made a face. “Strangely that’s not the selling point you make it sound like. Madelyn Silver: she works really hard.”
Beckett grinned down at me with a fond expression that made my pulse stutter giddily. “Oh, I think there’s a lot more to appreciate about you than just that, Maddie. And if I’m lucky, maybe you’ll give me the chance to uncover more of it.”
Okay, he was definitely flirting, right? I hadn’t been totally sure with some of his earlier comments, because random guys didn’t normally come up to me out of the blue and hit on me. Mom always said it was because I tended to look too serious for them to think it’d work, but shewasmy mom, so she had to make it sound like it wasn’t anything actually off-putting about me.
I couldn’t think of any other good reason for Beckett to not just have helped me with my groceries the other day but also be joining me on the grand adventure of popping into the dollar store, though. And that grin… It reminded me a little of Slade’s, except his always felt partly joking, more playful than committed to a pursuit. Beckett made it sound like he wanted more than to just goof off a bit.
The thought of Slade drew me up short even as heat tickled across my face. Did IwantBeckett to flirt with me—and to flirt back? My feelings for Logan were still a muddle, and I’d almost made out with Slade at the club the other night.
But was that so wrong?Live a little, girl—that was what Summer would have told me. Nothing was happening with Logan, and I sure as hell shouldn’t put any interest I felt for another guy on the back burner because of him. And I had no idea where things were going with Slade, if anywhere.
I could play the field. It wasniceto feel like a guy as together as Beckett saw something to admire in me. I definitely found him pretty impressive so far, inside and out.
I grinned back at him, hoping my jittering nerves didn’t show in my expression. I mightwantto flirt, but that didn’t mean I was any kind of expert at it.
“I think that could be arranged,” I said.
“Getting my hopes up, huh? Thankfully you don’t look like a heartbreaker.”
I couldn’t hold back a snort—or the comment that tumbled out of me. “Usually it’s the other way around.”
Oh, shit, why had I blurted that out? Now I sounded pathetic. I snickered as if I could pretend I’d been kidding, but Beckett’s grin had faded.
“Has someone been jerking you around?” he asked, cool and even but with a firmness that suggested he thought he could do something about it if I said yes. His sudden protectiveness sent a heady shiver down my spine. “Was it one of those guys you mentioned hanging out with?”
“No, no,” I said quickly, even though I’d mostly meant Logan. Damn it, why did he have to screw up even this? “It was a bad joke.”
Beckett studied me for a second but then smiled again, to my relief. “Good. Because I might not know you that well yet, but I can already tell you deserve better than a broken heart.”
