Will she hate me for having feelings for him?
I go to grab my phone out of my purse when I hear someone say my name. I look up and see Grace walking toward me with a smile on her face. “No glasses today?” I tease as I stand.
She rolls her eyes before pulling me into a hug. “You know I don’t have to wear them all the time. How are you?”
“I’m good.” We pull apart and sit down.
“Thank you for ordering this.” She takes a sip of her coffee.
“Of course.” I pick up my cup and blow on it before taking a small sip.
The taste of butterscotch and caramel makes me relax just a little. Even if this goes to hell, at least I got a coffee out of it.
“You know, I was so excited for you to come here. I had all these ideas, and now that they can happen, they haven’t.” She looks so dejected.
My stomach bottoms out. Oh god, does she know about Kellan?
“What do you mean?” I tread lightly.
“I thought we would hang out all the time, basically be inseparable, but we’ve both been so busy, I feel like I’ve barely seen you! I feel awful about it,” she says, making me relax.
Way to overthink it, Cora.
I laugh softly. “It’s okay, Grace. I knew this would happen.”
Her nose crinkles. “Did you?”
“I mean, yeah. It’s only normal, right? Our schedules are way different, we don’t share any classes, and we’re both busy with other stuff.”
“True. How is your volunteering going?”
I can’t help but smile as I think about it. “I love it.”
“Really?”
“Really. The staff there is fantastic. I haven’t had an issue with any of the families, and the kids are all amazing. It’s such rewarding work.”
“Good, I’m glad. I was kind of worried when you started,” she confesses.
“Really? Why?”
“Well, you never know what kind of clientele comes to those places.” She winces. “I know that makes me sound bad, but you always hear horror stories about people hurting people who are in social work. They don’t care that you are there to mediate, they blame you for keeping them from their family.”
“Mom had the same concerns. Don’t worry, we are carefully selected for each case. The more violent offenders are placed with actual employees and not volunteers. They also bring in extra security for those cases. Since I’m a volunteer, I only get the low-risk cases. Most of the families I see are close to being reunited.”
“That makes me feel a little bit better. What else is new? How are classes going?”
“Classes are all right. Boring, but all right.” I take a deep breath. “And I’m seeing someone.”
She leans forward and rests her elbow on the table and puts her chin in her palm. “Wait, really?”
“Yeah.”
“Why haven’t you said anything until now? Who is he? Do I know him?” she asks, making me laugh.
“Calm down, and I don’t know if you know him.” The lie falls off my lips easily.
Internally, I cringe. Why do I dig the hole deeper when I know I will have to fess up one day? I swear sometimes I make poor decisions for no good reason.
