Chapter 1
January
Jason
‘Singles table?’ a guy says as he sits across from me at the round table near the back of a large ballroom where the reception is being held.
‘Looks like it,’ I say, noticing the different last names listed on the place cards around where I’m seated.
‘Trust me,’ the guy says with a laugh. ‘It’s the singles table. I’ve been to enough of these things to know. They always throw us single people together and put us in the back of the room. So are you friends with Noah?’
‘Yeah, we went to college together.’
‘Were you on the team with him?’
‘I was supposed to be, but I messed up my shoulder the summer before college and couldn’t play.’
The guy nods. ‘That sucks.’
It more than sucked. It was devastating. Growing up, I dreamed of being a professional baseball player. I knew it was a long shot, but that didn’t stop me from trying. I’d be out everyday, practicing my swing, trying to get better. By high school I was the best player the school ever had, good enough to get a college scholarship.
When I heard my shoulder snap during a workout, I knew it was over. Just one wrong move, a simple overextension with just the right amount of force behind it, was all it took to tear my rotator cuff and end my dream of playing baseball.
‘It turned out okay,’ I tell the guy. ‘I coach now. High school baseball, and I run a baseball camp in the summer.’
‘Got any kids of your own?’ he asks.
‘No. Never been married.’
‘I haven’t either, but I’ve got two.’ He picks up his phone and shows me a picture of two young kids, a boy and girl. ‘Kenny and Sierra. They’re five and three.’
The guy’s probably around my age and already has two kids. I don’t think I’m ready for that. I definitely want kids, but not until I’ve had time to save up some money and maybe get a house. And I need to find the right girl, which is a challenge in a small town.
‘Looks like this is my seat,’ someone says from beside me. I look over and see a gorgeous girl with long dark hair, fair skin, and the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.
My breath catches in my throat as I try to respond. The guy across from me beats me to it.
‘Chuck Sanderson,’ he says, standing up and reaching across the table to shake her hand.
‘Mia Daniels,’ she says, her smile fading slightly as Chuck keeps hold of her hand. He’s being too aggressive, making her uncomfortable. I don’t even know her, but I can see the tension on her face.
‘I’m Jason.’ I hurry to get up and offer Mia my hand so Chuck will let her go.
She frees herself from Chuck and shakes my hand, her smile back, sending my heart soaring, beating faster by the second. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Jason.’
‘Nice to meet you too.’ I move her chair out for her, wait for her to sit down, then gently push the chair in before sitting beside her.
‘You friends with the bride?’ Chuck asks Mia before chugging down his drink.
‘Yes, we were sorority sisters back in college.’ She laughs. ‘That seems so long ago now.’
‘It’s only been what .?.?. four years?’ I ask, knowing Lacey, the bride, is 26. I’m guessing Mia’s the same age, or close to that.
‘It feels longer than four years,’ she says. ‘When I work with students that age, they all look so young.’
‘You work at a college?’
‘I’m in grad school,’ she says, turning to me. ‘But I counsel students as part of my studies.’
