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“Yeah, Sid.” Annie drops my hand with the greeting. “We’re coming.”
I study Annie as she goes—tight jeans, high heels, blue blazerwith a three-quarter sleeve. My insides stir watching her walk away. I know–we are meant to be so much more.
And I’m about to tell her as much.
One grand gesture—one she can’t ignore—coming right up.
36
Annie
The three of us sit in a lineup, with Sid’s camera pointing our direction. I’m in the middle, with Owen on my left and Sid on my right. I’m praying that Sid doesn’t say or do anything to make Owen uncomfortable. He can be a bit forward at times, and Owen doesn’t need that.
He’s not exactly looking to stand out. He’s doing this for me. I hope Sid doesn’t make him regret it.
“We go live in sixty seconds,” Sid says.
I swivel on my stool to glare at Sid, ready to protect Owen from my YouTubing news friend. “Wait,live? I thought we were recording, you’d edit, and then post later. Owen didn’t agree tolive. He—”
“It’s fine,” Owen says, stank face and nodding.
Sid raises both brows, unperturbed. “Margo wanted live.”
“It’s fine?” I can’t imagine Owen really being okay with this. His students will see it. His coworkers. Possibly school board members and parents… If either of us says something regretful on a prerecorded video, Sid could edit it out. But he won’t be able to stop anyone from seeing or hearing somethinglive. Owen must not understand. “He won’t be able to edit, you know, in case—”
“Annie,” Owen says, his hand on my knee. “It’s fine. I know what it means, and I’m okay with a live interview.”
“He seems fine,” Sid says from my other side.
“Yes,” I say, but I can’t help clenching my teeth with the word. “I suppose he does.”
Sid starts the show with his little jingle and tagline—which I am frankly too amped-up to hear. But I pull myself together for introductions.
For aliveaudience.
“You all know our renowned Ask Annie,” Sid says, motioning to me.
I plaster on a smile and wave.
Sid peeks around me at Owen. “But let’s be honest, this man is why you’re all here. You’ve been following his dating life. You’ve been asking questions. Maybe you’ve even submitted a form, requesting a date from our own Ask Annie’s best friend. It’s Owen Bailey. He’s here, live and in person, to chat with us.”
Sid holds a hand out toward Owen.
“Hello, everyone,” Owen says with a smile. He’s so adorably awkward and photogenic—somehow all at the same time.
And with Owen’s simple hello, a dozen comments pop up on the screen. I purposely ignore them all. They’ll only be a distraction.
“Let’s get to it. Annie, what gave you the idea for this series of articles you’re writing? You’re calling it The ONE Experiment, correct?”
“That’s right,” I say, forcing a chipper tone to leave my mouth. “Like all of my best ideas, this one was inspired by a reader’s question. Sad in Sandpoint asked a question we’d all like the answer to: How do you know when you’ve found “the one?” It made me think about the advice that I give every day.And how that advice helps people find someone to truly connect with and love.”
“And Owen, you were a willing participant.”
“Uh, well,” Owen says, with the smallest of chuckles. “Sort of.”
Sid’s mouth stretches into a grin. “Needed a little persuasion, did ya?”
I splay my fingers on the table and look at Owen. “No. Not really. I asked and Owen agreed.”
