It was there right on the screen when Jack came out of the shower after his morning run with Lizzy. He’d been checking his email obsessively, refreshing it every couple of minutes, every chance he got. So he’d glanced at the screen out of habit without really expecting it to be there, but there it was.
He threw the towel he’d been using to dry his hair on the bed and sat down at his desk. Water dripped down his shoulders and back from his soaking hair, but he hardly noticed. It was a simple email. The HR director wanted to schedule a call at his earliest convenience. He shot back an email with his availability and sat staring at his computer as though a reply would come through immediately. He huffed out a laugh. People didn’t even respond to text messages that quickly. He should dry off and get dressed.
Just as he was pushing himself off the chair, his computer dinged, announcing the arrival of a new email. He plopped back down on the seat with his heart pounding. She’d responded to his email. She would call him at two o’clock this afternoon. Of course, he knew what this meant. He’d gotten the job. They never delivered bad news over the phone. That was what emails were for in addition to doing mundane things like scheduling phone calls. But he scaled back his excitement just in case. He would know for sure at two o’clock.
Then guilt and anxiety rammed into him. Those weren’t something he could hold back or temper. If he got the job, he had to tell his family. He had to tell Alex.Shit.He had given them absolutely no warning. He barely let on that he wasn’t thoroughly happy with his life in Weldon. He realized how selfish he’d been in keeping it from them. They would’ve understood and supported him if he’d given them a chance.
Now he would be dropping a bombshell on themandleaving them in a lurch. Of course, he had planned everything so they would have a replacement bookkeeper when he left. And he would happily stay on as a business consultant if they would let him. But they had no time to prepare themselves—to adjust to the idea of him leaving.
His only excuse was that he’d been afraid. Not afraid that his family wouldn’t support him—they would never do that—but afraid of failing. If he didn’t tell anyone, the failure wouldn’t feel as real. He’d made a mess of things, but he would set them right. He believed in his family, and they would accept his decision and support him no matter how badly he’d screwed up in not telling them.
Then a spark of joy and hope lit up in him. The conflicting emotions bombarding him were giving him whiplash, but he couldn’t fight the smile that overtook his face. He was going to be with Lizzy. They didn’t have to worry about a complicated long-distance relationship when her vacation was over.
A long-distance relationship would’ve meant that she would return to her successful life surrounded by other successful people while he was hours away in small-town Weldon. He was busy on the weekends with the brewery and busier when he had to attend beer festivals and competitions. And she worked more weekends than not herself. They would hardly get to see each other. It would’ve only been a matter of time before she realized how different their lives were—how he couldn’t fit into her life.
But if the call this afternoon went the way he hoped, he would move to Los Angeles. Their relationship didn’t have to end with the trial period. He would be by her side to show her how well they fit—to remind her that nothing else mattered butthe way they made each other feel when they were together. He would be by her side until she was ready to accept his love—ready to give him a chance to win her love.
He had been planning to spend his off day with Lizzy anyway, but if he got the job, then he wanted to do something special with her. Neither of them had broached the topic of what would happen when she returned to Los Angeles. He couldn’t talk to her while his job situation was in limbo.
And if he was honest with himself, a part of him had been afraid that she might say something to the effect of,What happens in Weldon stays in Weldon.But she wouldn’t say that. Lizzy cared about him. She showed him every day just how much with her smile and her touch.
Tonight, he would tell her he didn’t want what they had to end. He couldn’t tell her he loved her yet, but he would tell her how much the last couple of weeks had meant to him. Then he would tell her that he was moving to Los Angeles and they could be together. His stomach clenched nervously. He had to believe she would be happy for him—and for them.
He would have to set the scene just right. A romantic dinner. He would make—gulp—dinner for her. He punched inhow to boil waterin Google as a droll joke about his cooking prowess, but he found perfectly serious YouTube videos on exactly how to boil water. He didn’t feel so alone anymore.
When he leaned back in his chair laughing, he realized he was mostly naked and decided that if he wanted to take this cooking thing seriously, he should at least put some pants on. Then he would figure out how to make the perfect romantic dinner for two.
“Good morning.” Jack rushed into the bookstore at close to eleven. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Where were you?” Lizzy said, standing up on her tippy toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. “I was starting to get worried.”
As always, a little bit of Lizzy made him want a lot more of her. He wanted to pull her back into his arms to give her a proper kiss, but there were customers in the store. In fact, there always seemed to be customers in the store now—which was great for Sparrow—but it meant he had to behave.
“I had some errands to run,” he said vaguely.
“Hmm.” Lizzy seemed a little distracted.
“Is everything all right?”
“I’m just tired.” She smiled wanly. “You did keep me up last night.”
“Try to be a little less irresistible tonight so I can let you sleep.”
“Har.” She rolled her eyes. “You think you’re so charming, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry if it’s overwhelming, but it’s not something I can turn off.”
She elbowed him in his side and went back to arranging some new releases on one of the larger tables. Her long hair fell like a curtain to hide her face from him, and he frowned. Something seemed off last night, but he’d chalked it up to her being tired from waiting up for him. He would ask more when they were alone tonight.
Tonight. Right. He needed Shannon’s help. He waited until she finished ringing up a customer, then approached her casually—he only needed to whistle to appear any more suspicious.
“Can I ask you for a favor?” he asked in a low whisper. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Lizzy was still busy at the table. She was staring off into space, worrying her poor bottom lip. Something wasn’t right.
“Sure. You can ask for a hundred,” Shannon said without hesitation. “Well… maybe we can start with ten.”
He turned his attention back to her and smiled. “Just one will do. Can you try to keep Lizzy down here until seven tonight?”
“Not a problem. She’s here until then most nights anyway.” Shannon’s eyes twinkled. “And why might you need such a favor?”
