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“Nothing,” Liz blurted far too quickly.
“Nothing? I don’t think I’ve seen you up this early in a long time. And you went grocery shopping?” Becca picked up a bag of chips and a jar of dip. “Though, I must say it’s not really the sort of thing I’d expect you to get for breakfast.”
Liz yanked the jar from Becca’s hands. “First of all, it’snotfor breakfast. Second of all, it’s not that early.You’reup.”
“Yeah, but I’m a morning person.You, on the other hand, are a night owl.” Becca rested her elbows on the counter. “So, spill. What have you been up to?”
Liz glanced at Becca once more, then to the countertop as she traced circles on it with her finger. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Liz flushed, finally meeting Becca’s concerned gaze. “It’s notbad. It’s just gonna be a change.”
“That definitely doesn’t sound good,” Becca laughed softly. “What’s going on? Are you moving or something?”
Liz looked away again.
“Youare! Oh my gosh, when were you going to tell me? When it was too late for me to find a roommate?”
“It’s not as bad as all that. I’m not going anywhere for at least three months.”
“Three months! Are you kidding me? It takes longer than that to vet people in the city. I don’t think I’m going to have time to find someone to take your place with my writing schedule and the deadlines coming up.” Her heart fluttered wildly. She should have known better than to think everything would settle down when she got back to the city. “Why? Is it something I did?”
Liz’s eyes shot back to Becca, and she shook her head so hard a strand of hair fell loose from her bun. “Of course not. You’re the best.”
“Then why are you leaving?”
She worried her lower lip, pulling it between her teeth, but she couldn’t hide the smile that hovered just beneath the surface. “I got a job.”
Becca stiffened. “You have a job.”
“I got a promotion,” Liz clarified. “The company opened an office in the UK last month and now they’re promoting fromwithin. I had to go to a meeting at seven this morning—well, it was more like an interview—to see if I would be a good fit.”
“Well, if it’s an interview, how do you know you’re going to get it?” Inwardly, Becca grimaced. She shouldn’t have asked that. It made her sound like she didn’t have any faith in her friend—the friend who had been so excited about her getting represented in the book world.
Thankfully, Liz didn’t seem to take note. She jumped on her toes and released a high-pitched squeal of excitement. “My supervisor called me while I was at the store. They want to hire me. I’m at the top of their list and they get to take five people, so I’m in.” She jumped again. “Can you believe it? In three months, I’m going to be living abroad!”
Becca smiled wide. “I’m so proud of you, Liz. That’s amazing.” She pushed down her feelings of insecurity. Without Liz here to be her wingman, she didn’t know what she would do. She’d never lived on her own before, and the task of finding someone to take Liz’s spot felt more daunting than ever.
Her stomach churned as she settled back and let Liz recap what had transpired since the new location had opened overseas. As Liz neared the end of her story, Becca withdrew. She offered one more congratulatory hug and then took her laptop into her room to wait for Anna’s call.
Everything continued to pile on. Frantic about her living situation and her job hanging in the balance, Becca came back to one very heavy thought.
Ethan.
He would know what to say to get her back on track. They’d gotten close enough for her to appreciate their friendship… if not want a little more.
She pulled out her phone and swiped through the contacts until she came to his name. Her finger hovered over the number and her whole body tensed. If she called him right now, what would he say? They hadn’t spoken since she’d left.
Her finger slipped as if it had a mind of its own and she tapped his number. Becca just about swallowed her heart as it leaped into her throat. She fumbled with the phone until she was able to end the call. He hadn’t picked up, but he would certainly see that he’d missed a call from her.
Dang it! Now he was going to ask why she’d called.
Worse, he was going to ask why she hadn’t left a message or why she’d hung up so quickly. She tossed her phone on her bed and stared at it like it would turn into a viper and strike.
At that moment, her laptop started buzzing with the Zoom call coming in from Anna and she let out a muffled scream. She grabbed the phone, turned the ringer off, and laid it screen down before she went over to accept the Zoom call on her laptop. The phone was across the room and wouldn’t be a distraction. Thank goodness because that’s the last thing she needed.
The screen on her laptop filled with two faces as she clicked in to the call. One was familiar. Anna flipped her red hair over her shoulder and smiled broadly. “Becca, how are you doing?”
