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“Thank you! Hey, listen, are you in Boston right now?” I asked.
“I’m like fifteen minutes away from my apartment. What’s up?”
“Do you want to go out for drinks to celebrate? The patio at Dolce is open,” I suggested.
“Oh, I wish I could! I have to be in Dover at eight tomorrow morning, and I’m exhausted from this week. Could we do next weekend?” she asked. I felt a pang of disappointment settle in my stomach.
“Sure,” I said. I didn't want to sound disappointed, at the same time I felt a surge of irritation bubbling within me. Was I really that terrible to hang out with? My phone beeped. I checked the other line; it was Olivia.
“Hey, my sister’s calling me. Can I call you back?” I asked.
“I should probably get going. I’m not the best at talking on the phone while driving. I’ll see you later, Sebastian. Congrats again on closing with Mr. Quinn.” Becca quipped.
I hung up and pressed “accept” for Olivia’s call.
“Hey Liv, what’s up?”
“Hey! I know this is last minute, but I was wondering if you wanted to go to the book signing at the shop tomorrow! It’s our first big event of the Spring, and I’d love it if you could come,” Olivia said.
“What time is it?” I asked. I’d been promising Olivia that I’d make it to one of her bookstore events since she opened last year, and now that Mr. Quinn had finally closed, I was looking at my first free Saturday in months. Plus, more than a small part of me was hoping I would run into Becca at the Tulip Festival. I shook my head. I was like the quarterback showing up at a football game, hoping the cheerleader would notice me. I was being ridiculous. What happened to the man who never texted the same woman twice?
“It’s at eleven. I’ll take you to that bakery with the oatmeal scotchies afterward. We can make a day of it. It’ll be good for you to get a good look at Dover and know the lay of the land,” Olivia said. She had a point there.
“Okay, I’ll be there. Do you want me to come early to help set up or anything? Do you need someone to move chairs?” I asked. It wasn’t like I would be doing anything before then.
“No, it’s okay! Ellie and Jenna will be there. I have a staff now, remember?”
“Oh yes, employees in the plural. How could I forget?” I beamed. I was incredibly proud of my sister for doing the one thing I was never brave enough to do: shirking my father’s money altogether and striking out on her own to follow her dreams. Her store was thriving. My father still scoffed at the idea of a woman owning a business. I wanted to print out the pages of five-star reviews customers left for her store and throw them in his face. Again, it pained me to realize Becca was right—I sounded like my father. I wondered if Olivia could talk to Becca about owning a business after the event. I had a feeling they would get along well.
“It’ll be nice for you to meet them. And I can’t wait to show you The Cookie Cove! I swear, it’s a hidden gem.”
“Well, if the rest of the cookies are half as good as the oatmeal scotchies, I’m sure it’ll be great,” I said.
“Oh, they’re all wonderful. You literally cannot go wrong. I want to talk to the owner and see if she makes cakes. You know, for Joey’s birthday. Or maybe even a cookie cake. Who knows?”
“Yeah, either way, that sounds great,” I replied.
“Hey, what’s up? You sound … deflated,” Olivia said. I sighed. While I prided myself on my emotional discretion, Olivia could read me like a book.
“It’s nothing,” I snapped, gritting my teeth.
“It is something. You’re getting snappy!”
“I am not!”
“You are too!”
“I am not!”
“You are! Jesus, Sebastian, what’s with you? Spill. Who do I need to beat up?” Olivia joked. I laughed humorlessly.
“It’s Becca,” I admitted.
“Really? I thought you had such a great time in Napa!”
“We did. But we never do anything spontaneous. It's like she only hangs out with me if she has to.” I explained.
This was the first time I voiced these worries out loud, though they had been crowding my head for weeks. This was all new to me. I’d never worried about a woman before. I always told myself that worrying only led to heartache and that it was best not to get attached. But Becca only became more interesting as time went on. I wanted to know every thought that passed behind her ocean-blue eyes.
