“I was trying to wing it, and you know I’m not good at that. I had gone out with Ryder for one last schmoozing dinner. Anyway, I wore this really cute, but maybe too come-hither dress for Grady’s taste? I don’t know. I may have been a little too direct, hoping a big gesture would show him how I felt. But, I got carried away and threw myself at him.”
“Your grandmother would have something to say about you being too forward, that men want to be the aggressor. But that’s a bunch of baloney. If he doesn’t appreciate your moves, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
“In that moment, it was so perfect. Honestly, we seemed to connect.” She spared her mother the details, but hadn’t been able to spare herself as she remembered too well the sensation of him seeming to sense exactly what she needed. “But then I... I don’t know. I think I got too carried away.”
“Not possible. Have you talked to him?”
“No. I plan to hide from him for the rest of the trip.”
“Honey, I’m going to be stern. I’ll be waiting at the airport when you get home, and if you haven’t straightened things out with Grady, one way or another, then I’m turning you right back around to catch the next flight back.”
“So he can reject me again?”
“So you canknow, that the man that upended your world in a matter of hours truly isn’t the one. A lifetime of regret? I don’t think you want that. If I had stayed broken up with your father, imagine where I would be? You were right to break things off with Ryder. He wasn’t the one for you, and I’m glad you figured it out on your own. But don’t leave things unsettled with the other one.”
“Okay.” She nodded weakly. Her teeth were chattering, her hand numb as she grasped the phone.
“How’d the job interview go?”
A few flakes fluttered around her like butterflies, and a miraculous giddiness bubbled in her tummy. “I got the job.”
“I’m so proud of you. You must be thrilled.”
“I am. You need to come see this place. Dad will have the house on the market before you can say yes.”
“Until he hears I’ll take advantage and cut back on my hours. Although, if you move up there, you’ll be seeing more of Grady, anyway.”
“Spoilsport.”
“Talk to the man.”
“I will.”
“Before you leave.”
“I will. I’m going to have breakfast with some of his friends tomorrow, and I’ll pick their brains.”
She shoved her phone in her pocket, slipped on her gloves, and started the hike back. As the flakes began to stick to the trail, she did a victory dance. As more and more flakes accumulated, she picked up the pace.
