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I stood with Holly as Brooke signed her books and her husband, Caleb, stood behind her. He kept his hand on her shoulder, his eyes were heavy on his wife, a faint smile on his lips as he watched her interact with Madeline and other fans. Once Madeline said her goodbyes and shook Caleb’s hand, he leaned down and kissed his wife's cheek, whispering something in her ear. Brooke turned and kissed her husband on the lips, giving him a sweet,“I love you”before she turned back to her next admirer.
I followed Madeline to the register where she purchased her books, glancing back at the author and her husband one last time. It was obvious that they were in love, the sweet looks he would give her and the subtle touches—reassuring themselves the other was there. The look in Caleb's eyes was the same look I had seen Milo give Madeline, and Ophelia give to Clay. Love and longing—pure happiness.
Even though I knew it was far from happening, I wanted that look too.
I looked away, making sure Holly was next to us as we made our way back into the hustle and bustle that was Portland. The air was cold, and clouds began to cover the blue sky—another storm was coming.
“When are you meeting with Elliot?” Madeline asked, bringing me back to reality.
“I’m not sure, I need to text him,” I responded. “We just said ‘soon.’”
“You leave in a few weeks right? No time like right now to start dating your fake boyfriend.”
I furrowed my brow and grimaced at her. She reached out for Holly’s hand as we made our way to her car. We went to Olive Garden for lunch and then back home to text Elliot . . . I rolled my eyes. Madeline caught my eye roll and chuckled.
“I don’t get what you have against him,” Madeline said through her small laugh. “He’s a great guy.”
“I get that,” I responded, “I just . . .” I sighed. “I don’t know.”
Chapter Nine
-Elliot-
Me:We should get together sooner rather than later - this requires you texting me back.
It had been five days since seeing Jamie at the Piano Bar. Which means it had been five days since agreeing to be her fake boyfriend, and I was being ghosted . . . again.
I looked at the texts I had sent her since we met that night, all gone unanswered. At one point she had begun to respond, I watched as those little dots jumped up and down on my screen, but then they stopped and no text came through. I had even tried to call her, but only reached her voicemail.
I scrolled back down to the bottom of the thread before closing my phone, shoving it into my coat pocket and turning off my Jeep. I left the office early, still dressed in my slacks and tie. The only indication I was off work was my rolled-up sleeves. My mom wasexpecting me, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised when I saw Jacob’s car in the driveway next to hers. When I called and told her I needed to talk to her—about something important—I knew she would call Jacob. He was the eldest in the family, the most wise, and the one who would have way more to say about dad’s business than Mom did. I had a feeling Mom would give me her blessing in selling, but I didn’t think Jacob would react the same.
I could only hope.
I opened the door, closing it loudly behind me, taking in the instant smell of home. Mom was baking something, and my stomach instantly reacted with a growl. I could hear Jacob's voice, talking to her about his latest visit with Dad. He had made it a point to visit him at least once a week, both for family purposes and research. I knew that, while he sat there with Dad, he talked to other doctors, and even nurses, who attended to Alzheimer's patients on a daily basis. From the sounds of it, Jacob was able to talk to Dad about things Dad remembered, like his wife and young kids and his favorite thing: work.
I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst. If Dad was recently talking about his business, it was going to be harder to want to sell it. I glanced at my phone one last time before walking in the kitchen.
Still nothing from Jamie.
Elliot . . .That's the least of your worries right now.
“He was drawing,” Jacob said as I entered the room. His back was to me, as he leaned against the counter, facing Mom, but when her face lit up, he stood up and turned. “Dad was drawing, Ell.”
I smiled. “I heard, that’s great news. You went and saw him?” I pulled out the chair next to Jacob and sat down, folding my arms in front of me. “How’s he doing?”
“Fine, I guess. He thought I was one of his doctors so we talked about things. It was just good to sit with him. You should go.” Jacob nodded at me.
I inhaled. “Yea, I need to. I haven't been in awhile.”
“He’ll want to know how business is going.” Mom smiled.
“It’s going great.” I returned her smile. “Probably better than before. I know our profit has gone up, and I have a few meetings this week with a few other clients, but then I need to hand things over to Kevin for a few weeks while I go remote.”
“You’re going to be working from home?” Jacob turned to look at me. He knew I worked at the office, andonlythe office.
“Just for a getaway with a friend, I mean, once I get details about the trip. I can work from anywhere as long as I have good WiFi—easy breezy. Technically they don't even need me there.” I wiggled my eyebrows at mom, hoping she would understand that the company didn’t needmeto run. Unfortunately her answer was the exact opposite of what I hoped for.
“Oh yes they do.” Mom turned her back and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. She filled it full of water and then placed it in front of me. “You have run that business so well, your dad knew what he was doing when he left it to you.”
