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Sara nodded. “It sounds good to me.”
Buzz.
It was his phone. He pulled it from his back pocket and saw the name of one of the companies that he’d applied to. “I’ve got to take this.”
“Go ahead,” Sara said. “We’ve got this.”
He pressed the phone to his ear as he turned for the door. This was one of the calls he’d been waiting for—hoping for. But now that they’d called, he didn’t feel the elation he’d been expecting.
Chapter Fifteen
Shecouldn’twait.
Monday afternoon, Sara couldn’t stop smiling. It wouldn’t be long now until she saw her sister. It’d been close to two years since they’d last been in the same place at the same time. And now everything was coming together.
At the end of the month, Cari would be back on Bluestar Island. Sara’s family would at last be whole once more. She couldn’t wait to introduce Cari to the newest member of the family, Oreo.
“What are you smiling about?” Kent’s voice drew her from her thoughts.
Sara glanced across the lobby at him. “I was just thinking that Cari will be home soon.”
He approached her. “Speaking of your sister, I haven’t received a signed lease or a deposit.”
“That’s strange.” Cari recalled how hard it was to get ahold of her sister—even harder than before she started the process to move home. “She’s been really busy lately with the move and everything.”
“I understand. But we also have other people interested in the apartment. I just need to know she’s serious about the place.”
“She is!” The words came out quicker and more emphatic than she’d intended.
“You’re really excited about her coming home, aren’t you?” He studied her.
She nodded. There was absolutely no point in denying it. “She’s the only family I have left. We were close when we were younger. I hope we can be that way again.”
“Don’t forget that she’s been gone for years. She might have changed.”
Sara shook her head. “I talk to her. Cari is still the sister I used to know.”
“Maybe she is. I just know with my siblings that we’ve all grown and changed. Look at Liam. He’s now a father. I still can’t believe my little brother has a son of his own. And he’s such a good parent.”
She didn’t know Liam very well. He was several years ahead of her in school, and they didn’t share the same group of friends. He seemed like a nice guy and was handsome but not nearly as good-looking as Kent.
“I saw him with his little boy in town a while back. They looked really cute together. It’s a shame his marriage didn’t work out.”
“They tried to make it work, but they wanted different things. Eventually, it pulled them apart.”
She wondered if that was what would happen if she and Kent were to get together. Would he eventually resent her for keeping him on the island instead of letting him follow his dreams to the mainland? She couldn’t imagine the pain of falling in love with someone and expecting to be together forever, and then one day it’s over. The pain must be staggering. And something she didn’t want to put herself or Kent through.
It was better for her to concentrate on things she could control—like making her sister’s homecoming the best it could be. She wanted her sister to know how much she’d missed her and how welcome she was in Bluestar. Maybe she should plan a welcome home party, but first she needed to know when her sister’s arrival would be.
And then she had another moment of genius. “I know. We should do a refresh project on my sister’s apartment.”
“Whoa. You’re jumping ahead.”
She sent him a puzzled look. “You don’t want to fix up the place?”
“It’s not that. She hasn’t committed to taking the apartment.”
“I’m sorry. She’s been super busy. She’s been gone a really long time. She must have collected a lot of stuff.” Sara wasn’t about to let this apartment slip through their fingers. “I can put down a deposit and sign the lease.”
