I sit back in my seat, trying to digest what he’s saying to me. I think back to my script, trying to see what he sees, and it only takes a moment to recognize how on point he is. I had tunnel vision before; I couldn’t see outside writers’ rooms. But now? It’s like the entire world is opening up before me.
I can write a film script from anywhere in the world.
Italy. France. Ohio.
“By the way,” he adds, as if he hasn’t blown my mind enough already. “The main characters? Talk about chemistry. I couldn’t get enough. And the hero who loves khakis? Brilliant.”
Oh.
He has no idea.
I don’t even wait until we leave the table to email Peter my resignation . . . or book my red-eye flight back home. Where my life is waiting for me.
Chapter 30
As soon as the wheels touch down at John Glenn Columbus Airport, I feel like I can breathe again . . . and not just because my mom’s phobia of flying has rubbed off on me over the years. Yes, I know it’s the safest mode of transportation, blah blah blah, but a metal tube hurtling through the sky will never not terrify me.
The moment I step into baggage claim, I’m immediately swarmed by my people. Ruby and Ashleigh bull-rush me like freaking linebackers. We jump up and down like three elementary school girls, but I don’t care how ridiculous we look. If the last month taught me anything, it’s to live in the moment and follow my heart. And right now, my heart has never been happier to see these two women.
Ruby’s devoid of the normal designer gear and perfect makeup she’s always wearing. She’s in jean shorts and a T-shirt, her hair is in a bun on top of her head, and she’s never looked more stunning.
“You’re glowing.” I take a step back and check my friend out. Happy looks good on her.
“Thank you.” She curtsies. “It’s what happens when you stop working eighty-hour weeks, start sleeping eight hours a night, and swap wine and caffeine for water.”
“Who would’ve thought?” Heavy sarcasm falls from my tone. “Certainly not your best friend, therapist, or any person with basic health knowledge.”
“Smartass.”
“Oh!” Ashleigh pipes in. She’s wearing her trademark wedge sandals and makeup that must’ve taken at least thirty minutes even though it’s not even five in the morning. “And she’s been going on walks with me. You should start coming too!”
A few months ago I would’ve played it cool with a swift and firm “hell no,” but now I’m singing a different tune. I was so lonely in Los Angeles. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure my friendship with these women never fades. Plus, a little cardio never hurt anyone.
“Tell me when and where and I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Damn,” Ruby says to Ashleigh. “She must have missed us more than we thought if she’s agreeing to exercise without a fight.”
Considering how much I complained about having to canvass the neighborhood, it’s a fair observation.
We stand arm in arm in front of the conveyer belt waiting for my suitcase to come through. Not surprisingly, the airport isn’t packed at this time of day. But of course, my suitcase is taking forever to come through.
“Nobody told Kimberly I’m back, right?” I ask the two women sandwiching me between them.
“Not even a clue.” Ruby could not be more pleased with herself and I can’t blame her. Pulling the wool over my mom’s eyes is a feat to be admired. “And your dad asked her to go with him to the garden center, so I think that should buy us a few hours.”
After all it took for me and Nate to come together in the first place, it didn’t feel right to barge back into his life by knocking on his door. He’s done so much for me, it’s my turn to do something for him.
I just really hope that he likes it . . . and that he hasn’t moved on yet.
* * *
? ? ?
I might’ve gone a little overboard.
“This. Is. Amazing!” Ashleigh can’t contain her excitement as she takes in the makeshift carnival once we’re all finished setting up.
Carnival games intermix with the giant inflatable slide and bounce house behind the clubhouse. I wanted to get a Ferris wheel to really re-create our date, but it was like five thousand dollars, so inflatables are going to have to cut it. The sun is beginning to set and the fairy lights we spent much too long hanging up sparkle overhead. I connected my playlist to the built-in speakers and the random playlist of all Nate’s favorite songs from when we were kids is playing in the background.
When I first came up with the idea, it seemed perfect. At the clubhouse where I first challenged him for HOA president, but with elements from our date to the fair. But as I look at it sprawled out in front of me, I worry I’ve done just a tad bit too much.
“You don’t think it’s too much?” I gnaw on my bottom lip. “I think maybe I took this rom-com-movie-writer thing too far.”
Maybe I only need two games instead of all six. People don’t do things like this in real life. He’s going to think I’m proposing and run for the hills.
“It’s a lot,” Ruby says and I feel my blood pressure spike. “But it’s not too much.”
“Are you sure?”
Ruby is my honest friend, so I know she’s not lying. But my nerves are beginning to ramp up and I don’t know how to calm myself down. Because even though Nate and I ended things on really good terms, there’s still the fact that I haven’t talked to him in a month.
Soon after I left, we sent each other a few text messages, but that was it.
He went back to his life. My mom always filled me in on who he went on his morning walks with, while Ashleigh kept me up-to-date on what he was planning as the HOA’s newly instated president. Ruby, despite her feelings for men in general, reached out to him to help her look for a condo. It was like he didn’t miss a beat settling back into his old life.
I, on the other hand, was a complete mess and I’m freaking out that instead of reading this grand gesture as romantic, it’s going to come off more as a crazy stalker he needs to escape from. Who’s to say he hasn’t met someone else and realized, just like he did with Elizabeth, that I wasn’t the person for him?
If I thought having my writing rejected hurt, I could be in for a world of pain.
“Stop it right now.” Ashleigh, not Ruby, grabs me by the shoulders. “You’re getting in your head and I don’t know what you’re telling yourself in order to get out of this, but you need to stop. Nate was head over heels for you and trust me when I say that doesn’t just go away in a month. Go pour yourself a glass of champagne and relax. Ruby and I will take care of the rest.”
I’m not used to Ashleigh being the truth teller, but I appreciate it.
I give them both a quick hug, then I do as they say.
I pour a glass of champagne for me and Nate, only taking small sips of mine because bubbly tends to go straight to my head, and just like the last time we were together, I want to remember every moment.
I’m fighting the urge to pull out my phone and check the time when I see Ruby and Ashleigh escorting a blindfolded Nate down the staircase leading to our carnival.