on the parking lot as she talked to her sister. With her luck, Mr. Abbott would pull in and catch her taking a lunch break.
“Why not? It can’t hurt. With the schedule he keeps, he’s probably lost track of time. You could always make the excuse that you just wanted to let him know Sophie was doing much better or something.”
“Oh great,” Tessa said, taking a bite of her sandwich. For once, she remembered to pack real food and actually had time to sit back and eat it. “Now I’m using my daughter as a pawn to get men?”
“Only the hot ones,” Holly teased.
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right to me. I can’t explain it.”
“I can. It’s called fear, and it’s never going to go away if you don’t push through it. I thought we’d been over this. Anyway, I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got to go convince a bunch of fifth graders they will indeed use long division again at some point in their lives. I’ll talk to you later. Don’t work too hard, and call him. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Hol—” Tessa started to say, but her sister had already hung up. Fear … right. She shook her head, attempting to rid herself of the feeling. Why not? With the phone still in her hands, she dialed before she lost her nerve. It went straight to voicemail. “Hi … Brandon. This is Tessa. Tessa Haines. I was calling to say hi. Well, and to thank you again for coming over to check on Sophie. She’s made a full recovery and is back at daycare. Um, anyway, I, uh, wasn’t sure of your schedule, but I know you had mentioned getting together again. And, well, I’m back at work, but it’s only during the day, so I’m free in the evenings … or on the weekends. Whatever works for your schedule is fine. I’m flexible. Just let me know. Okay. So … I guess I’ll talk to you soon. Thanks. Bye.”
Shit. She threw her phone into her purse and shook it down to the bottom. Could she have possibly sounded anymore desperate? Putting her head down on her desk, she tried to will the powers that be to turn back time—just three minutes would do to erase that call. She could hear her phone buzzing from inside her bag. Ugh. Why did she bury it? What if it was Sophie’s daycare? She dug through and grabbed it in time to see she’d worried for nothing.
“Ava, hi.” Tessa felt flustered, yet relieved to hear her sister’s voice. After leaving that message, she was no longer in a hurry to talk to Brandon.
“Hey, are you busy?”
“No, I’m on my lunch break. How’s everything?”
“Everything is fine. Max is already off again on another flight. It’s international this time, so he’ll be gone until Sunday. ”
She could hear the sadness in her sister’s voice. It had to be so hard on her and the kids having him gone so much.
“Do you need some help?” It was time for her to return some of the favors she’d burdened Ava with lately. “I can take Logan and Jenna for a few hours this weekend if you need to get some things done. I’m sure Sophie would love the company.”
“Thanks,” Ava replied, “but what I really need is a date.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let me rephrase that,” she started to explain. “I received an invitation to a gallery exhibit for this Friday night. It’s been so long since I’ve been to an event like this. I’d really love to go, but I hate to go to these things solo.”
“So you want me to find you a date?” Tessa asked, confused. “I don’t know, Av. I can’t even find myself a date. Does Max know about this?”
Ava laughed. “No, silly. I want you to be my date. I’ve already arranged for a babysitter. You can bring Sophie to my house. She can even sleep over if she wants. You both can. What do you say? It’s a chance to get all fancied up for the night. It’ll be fun. Promise. They’ll have free food and drinks …”
“Well, when you put it like that. It sounds great. Thanks.”
Chapter 12
It was almost time to
“Why not? It can’t hurt. With the schedule he keeps, he’s probably lost track of time. You could always make the excuse that you just wanted to let him know Sophie was doing much better or something.”
“Oh great,” Tessa said, taking a bite of her sandwich. For once, she remembered to pack real food and actually had time to sit back and eat it. “Now I’m using my daughter as a pawn to get men?”
“Only the hot ones,” Holly teased.
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right to me. I can’t explain it.”
“I can. It’s called fear, and it’s never going to go away if you don’t push through it. I thought we’d been over this. Anyway, I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got to go convince a bunch of fifth graders they will indeed use long division again at some point in their lives. I’ll talk to you later. Don’t work too hard, and call him. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Hol—” Tessa started to say, but her sister had already hung up. Fear … right. She shook her head, attempting to rid herself of the feeling. Why not? With the phone still in her hands, she dialed before she lost her nerve. It went straight to voicemail. “Hi … Brandon. This is Tessa. Tessa Haines. I was calling to say hi. Well, and to thank you again for coming over to check on Sophie. She’s made a full recovery and is back at daycare. Um, anyway, I, uh, wasn’t sure of your schedule, but I know you had mentioned getting together again. And, well, I’m back at work, but it’s only during the day, so I’m free in the evenings … or on the weekends. Whatever works for your schedule is fine. I’m flexible. Just let me know. Okay. So … I guess I’ll talk to you soon. Thanks. Bye.”
Shit. She threw her phone into her purse and shook it down to the bottom. Could she have possibly sounded anymore desperate? Putting her head down on her desk, she tried to will the powers that be to turn back time—just three minutes would do to erase that call. She could hear her phone buzzing from inside her bag. Ugh. Why did she bury it? What if it was Sophie’s daycare? She dug through and grabbed it in time to see she’d worried for nothing.
“Ava, hi.” Tessa felt flustered, yet relieved to hear her sister’s voice. After leaving that message, she was no longer in a hurry to talk to Brandon.
“Hey, are you busy?”
“No, I’m on my lunch break. How’s everything?”
“Everything is fine. Max is already off again on another flight. It’s international this time, so he’ll be gone until Sunday. ”
She could hear the sadness in her sister’s voice. It had to be so hard on her and the kids having him gone so much.
“Do you need some help?” It was time for her to return some of the favors she’d burdened Ava with lately. “I can take Logan and Jenna for a few hours this weekend if you need to get some things done. I’m sure Sophie would love the company.”
“Thanks,” Ava replied, “but what I really need is a date.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let me rephrase that,” she started to explain. “I received an invitation to a gallery exhibit for this Friday night. It’s been so long since I’ve been to an event like this. I’d really love to go, but I hate to go to these things solo.”
“So you want me to find you a date?” Tessa asked, confused. “I don’t know, Av. I can’t even find myself a date. Does Max know about this?”
Ava laughed. “No, silly. I want you to be my date. I’ve already arranged for a babysitter. You can bring Sophie to my house. She can even sleep over if she wants. You both can. What do you say? It’s a chance to get all fancied up for the night. It’ll be fun. Promise. They’ll have free food and drinks …”
“Well, when you put it like that. It sounds great. Thanks.”
Chapter 12
It was almost time to
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