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We were in two different states. I had my boutique here in San Diego and he was a detective in Salt Lake City. A relationship would never work.
Heck, look at our friendship. Even that ended up failing.
So why in the hell was he the reason I couldn’t find, and keep, a healthy relationship?
A backhanded tap on my arm brought me back to the here and now. “You want to hang out this weekend?” Sydney’s smile was all-knowing.
“No.” I shifted in my seat. I often felt that Sydney could read my thoughts.
Her brother could. It wouldn’t surprise me if she could too.
“You so do. Hang out with us this weekend.”
“I’m sure Sawyer has better things in mind than me hanging around you guys.” I crossed my legs, pulling down the hem of my linen skirt when it rode up.
If Sawyer was coming for the weekend, it likely meant he needed to get away from home. I could only imagine the horrors he saw daily. Salt Lake City was in the news often with reports of trafficking and child crimes.
And that’s not even taking into consideration that these days, people seemed to detest their city’s finest.
Even if he and I were in the same city, the same state, my emotions and brain could not handle what he did for a living. The not knowing if, when he left for work, that would be the last time I’d see him smile, hear him laugh. His job was simply too dangerous.
“You guys have such a great time together! I wish you would give him a chance.” Sydney put her phone in her purse with a sigh just as one of the store’s baristas came over and informed us they were closing in ten minutes.
“Dang, the time always goes by so fast when we get together,” Sydney told me.
It was true.
She and I met under the oddest of circumstances—on a dating show. Not many people knew, even five and half years later, but Sydney had been with the casting department and after she and Caleb hit it off, she found herself on the show herself. Total unfair advantage, yeah, but what she and Caleb had was more than evident the first time I saw them together.
In a weird turn of events, after the show I moved from my small Midwestern town of Galena, Illinois, to the San Diego Bay area to open up an online boutique with the intent of someday opening up a store front. I could have opened Sweet Grace back home, but like when I applied for the show, I had been in a mindset that I needed to force changes in my life.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was introverted, but I definitely had some anxieties, so forcing myself away from all that I knew had been a challenge.
One day, shortly after moving west, I was walking outside this exact coffee shop and ran into Caleb and Sydney; thus, beginning our off-show friendship.
Sydney stood and shouldered her purse, snapping me back to reality. I followed suit, standing and grabbing my own purse as well. I picked up my mug to return to the bar.
“Seriously, though, Grace,” Sydney continued as we walked out into the chilly San Diego night. “You should stop by this weekend. The kids would love to see you.”
I smiled. She didn’t play fair, bringing in my pseudo-nephews and niece. “I’m sure.”
“They would!” Sydney laughed.
I shook my head, still smiling. “I’ll think about it.”
And I would.
And about Sawyer’s smile. About Sawyer’s voice.
About how Sawyer made me feel.
