“What does a catering internship interview look like?” Dad asks, fully invested in the conversation.
I feel Kayla tense next to me. “Maybe we could take a break with all the questions…” I say.
She smiles, putting her hand over the one I have on her knee. “It’s okay. My interview will be the EdTechU event coming up in San Francisco, actually. I have to submit plans for place setting ideas, color schemes, the menu, and staff uniforms.”
“What a small world,” Kendall says. “But I think Chase was right about the questions. Do you have anything you want to know about us?”
“Everything really. I just don’t know where to start.”
“That’s alright.” Kendall flashes a bright smile. “There’s no rush. We’re just glad you’re here.”
After going back for seconds and dessert, everyone has migrated to the living room. Funny stories about the Jackson family get passed around, while Kayla laughs easily as she learns about them. Artemis hasn’t left her side all night. It sounds like they’re becoming fast friends.
“Can I show you some pictures?” Artie asks Kayla during a lull in the conversation.
“Yeah, I would really like that.”
She bounds up the stairs to her bedroom, coming back downshortly with a large burgundy photo album. “This is our family,” she says, opening to a picture I’ve seen a thousand times. It used to hang in the Jackson’s foyer. A young Hunter and baby Artemis sit in front of their parents, everyone smiling in the posed shot. “That’s my mom, before the divorce.” She turns pages and points out young Kendall, his parents—Wilson and Audra, and finally stops on a face that looks eerily similar to Kayla’s.
“Wow,” I say, looking between the picture and my girlfriend. “You look just like her.”
“That’s our great-grandmother, Betsie. I noticed you looked like her on the first day you came over, but everyone tells me to mind my business. So I did,” Artie says with a satisfied edge to her voice.
“Hey, kid. Let me steal you for a minute.” Dad claps me on the shoulder and motions for me to follow him outside. I squeeze Kayla’s hand before walking out behind him. The cool evening breezes around us as the sun falls below the skyline. “How do you think it’s going in there?” He juts his thumb toward the house.
“Pretty good, I think. The funny stories definitely helped.”
“Good, good. I had to discourage Kendall from a few grand gestures, so I’m glad they kept this casual.” Dad taps his fingers on the banister, and I can almost feel the nervous energy radiating from him. “…How has your summer been? You been able to relax at all?”
He’s stalling and not doing a very good job at it. “What’s up, Dad?”
With a long sigh, he explains, “Well, we met with William earlier today, and the board has decided they want the sales team up and running in San Francisco before the shareholders’ event in August. Since you’ll be one of the managers on the new team, you’ll need to get there about a week beforehand for training and gathering the projected sales numbers for the region.”
I prop my arms against the banister, scrubbing my face in my hands. “And why am I just hearing about this now?”
“Sorry, kid. With everyone on vacation, it’s been a task trying to get the board together for a meeting.”
Dread steamrolls through me as I mentally calculate what that means and how many days I have left with Kayla in Fort Bender. I’m supposed to have another four weeks. Now I only have one?I already wasn’t looking forward to the one-hour distance we’ll have after summer, but now I have to tell her I’m leaving next week. And it’s three hours away? I need more time to prepare for this.Weneed more time.
“The good news is that after the event, you’ll have another two weeks before your contract begins. Should be enough time for you to wrap up any loose ends.” He pats me on the shoulder and heads back into the jovial noises coming from the beach house, leaving me alone to stew over the newest hitch in my schedule.
I should go in, too, but my frustration needs a little time to simmer. My need to figure out a sensible plan reverberates, and I don’t know if a week is enough time to do that. I need time to figure out how to break the news to Kayla, to assure her we can make this shortened timeline work. Time to tell her I love her. I just need more time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHASE
“Hey,” Kayla says, taking careful steps toward me.I turn, leaning back against the railing as a smile creeps across my lips. I’ll tell her about leaving when I take her home tonight. Right now, I just want to enjoy the time I have.“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, just…work. How are things in there?” I ask. She comes close enough to slide her arms around me and then tips up on her toes to reach my lips, kissing me far too briefly. “What was that for?” I grin, pulling her closer.
“Just a thank you for being you. Kendall told me this was all your idea.”
I hang my head, trying to hide the flushing on my face. “He wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”
“He told me that too…” She kisses me again, wrapping her arms around my neck—and maybe it’s the urgency I feel from the news my dad shared—but those same words from earlier try to slip through my teeth. “Kayla, I?—”
“Chase, nice to see you. Glad I could run into you while I’m here.” William St. Clair walks across the conjoined deck from his rental. Kayla sidles away, and I pull her back to my side, holdingher in place with my arm. I don’t want her to leave yet. She can hear whatever he has to say.
