I TOSSED MY keys and phone on the counter and filled a glass with water. Saturday morning basketball was unexpectedly busy, since Aaron had had to bring his kids and I’d spent the morning teaching nine-year-old Emily to dribble circles around her dad and to score on Jake. I smiled to myself. I hadn’t enjoyed the game as much as I had this morning in a long time. My phone buzzed on the counter.
Britta: Want to see a movie later?
Wes: Aren’t you going home this weekend?
Britta: Something came up with Del’s research, and I don’t have a car. Looks like I’m staying in town.
She’d talked about it all week and told me all about her nieces and nephews and how much she couldn’t wait to see her family. She hadn’t told me much about Del other than that she’d known him a long time. I hadn’t been able to suss out whether he was the guy she kind of worked with who she liked, or if he was something else. Without any other information, I didn’t like the guy.
Wes: That’s too bad. Are you ok?
Britta: Sure. Bummer, but I’ll see them all in a couple months. Movie, though?
I glanced at my keys and the clock on the microwave before tapping out a message.
Wes: I don’t have anything going on today. I can drive you.
* * *
“ARE YOU SURE you won’t let me pay for gas? I can’t thank you enough for doing this.” Britta faced me and offered for the fifth time. The farmland and open sky stretched for miles, a blur of green and blue as we cruised down I-80. “I owe you big-time. Seriously, Wes. Anything you need and I’m yours.”
I waved her off, because “I’m yours” meant a whole lot, and I hadn’t put my plan to tell her how I felt into action. That was back on hold until I knew what was up with her and the guy she worked with. My plan was to tell her when she got back from visiting her family. Mom was doing better and almost finished with her house arrest, and I was enjoying work instead of looking for distractions. I glanced at Britta, and that feeling I was getting used to, that it’s-going-to-be-fine feeling, washed over me. “I don’t mind. I like driving, and I don’t get to do it that often. You sure your family can give you a ride back?” My hand itched to reach across the center console for Britta’s. Since I’d decided to do something, to ask her to the wedding, I’d been impatient to spend more time with her. “Will it be okay without your buffer?”
She nodded and laughed. “Yes. And, they’re not that bad.” She glanced out the window.
I nodded.
“And I’ll hop out of the car before they can pounce on you, I promise. My mom is like a dog with a bone when there are new people to feed. You’d be stuck there for hours.”
“Ah, but what if Calvin is there?”
“Just shield me. I haven’t seen him since high school, and he’s a nice guy, but . . . no. His family usually comes to these things, so hopefully he’s not in town.” Her laugh filled the space, and I relaxed in my seat, contented. I liked hearing her laugh in my car. I liked hearing her laugh anywhere.
“What if he turns out to be wealthy?”
She rolled her eyes, which buoyed me. “I’m sure my mom would have mentioned it, but I don’t care.”
At this point, I didn’t think it would make a difference to her that I owned FitMi. We were only ten minutes from our destination, so it definitely wasn’t the time for confessions, but I would tell her about my role in the company when she got home. That way the air would be clear. In the moment, though, I returned to Calvin. “What if he’s really good-looking, too, though?”
“Really good-looking and wealthy?” She paused. “Well, then you probably need to get back to the city immediately. Relieved of duty, sir.”
“I see how it is.” I loved when she returned my teasing. Kelsey would get annoyed with playful banter and refuse to respond until I was serious again. The more time I spent with Britta, the harder it was to remember why I’d stayed with Kelsey for so long.
“You know you’re my favorite.” Her fingertips brushed my knee, and it sent a jolt straight to my groin. Her hand fell away, and I shifted in my seat. If she kept her hand there, I might be sporting a semi when I pulled up to her parents’ house.
Britta touched me like she’d been touching people her whole life, like she didn’t know how important it made me feel.
I let my thoughts fall away from her hand, and Britta directed me off the interstate and through the small town. She pointed out the intersection that used to hold the town’s only stoplight before the second was installed, as well as the library where she’d first checked out Stephen King novels she had to hide from her parents. It was fun seeing this side of her, learning her history. She motioned for me to turn down a gravel road. “The house is up ahead.”