I turned on my computer. Nope . . . No thoughts of dating, Scott or otherwise. I blamed Rose. She was pushing me to date him. If she liked him, why didn’t she just date him? My stomach tightened. Weird, not sure I liked that idea either.
I needed to keep my thoughts pointed to London and only London.
I needed a distraction.
Plane ticket. I should start looking. Like right now, but I needed a departure date.
I heard some rustling within Scott’s office and decided to see if he needed two weeks notice before I chickened out.
I stood up, went to his door, and threw it open. It slammed into the wall. “I’m leaving for London!”
Scott jumped in his chair, hit his knee on the desk in front of him, and cursed. He must have been asleep based on the red handprint on his face and rapidly blinking eyes.
Whoops.
His hair was sticking up on one side, his shirt sleeves rolled up, and his top three buttons were undone. He looked very un-put together, and I wanted a closer look.
“Wait, you’re what?” He shook his head. Still in a daze, he reached down and rubbed his knee, his forearm flexing.
Right.
Leaving.
“I’m headed to London. Thought you should know, since you’ll need a new office manager. I was wondering, do you think you need two weeks, or can we expedite this? I’m hoping to leave ASAP. Maybe this weekend? Maybe tomorrow?” I couldn’t stop moving my hands. I clapped them in front of me. “There’s this thing with Nan and Bert and I was thinking about buying a ticket,like now.” I smiled as he stared at me, trying to put together the dots I threw at him.
I took a deep breath to stop my rambling. Maybe he needed a minute. Nan always said I needed to give people a minute to process in the morning before I started rattling things off. “Anyway, I’m going to go look at plane tickets since I don’t start work for another thirty minutes. I’ll let you wake up. Then we can chat.”
“Wait, trust me,” he stood, holding up his hand to stop me from leaving. “I’m plenty awake now.” He frowned and rubbed his left eye. “You’re going to London? Like Europe, London? This weekend? How long are you staying? Who’s Nan?” He ran a hand through his unkempt hair, the soft blond curls falling over his forehead. He always had his hair gelled and stiff. I liked this version better. I wondered if his hair felt soft.
Leaving.
Leaving this office right now and leaving for London.
“Yep. Isn’t it exciting? Nan is my grandmother. I live with her. She has a boyfriend now.” I gave him a cheerful grin and looked away from his hair as I rocked back on my heels. “I've always wanted to go to London. Why not now?”
Scott stood. “Okaayyy.” He drew the word out, unsure of what to say next. “What are you planning on doing there? Is it just travel? How long are you staying?”
My lips pulled down in a frown. “I've a few thousand saved up. I kinda want to go for it and see where it leads. Not sure when I will come back. I don’t have a plan.”
Scott’s eyes widened in shock, no longer sleepy. “You want to go to London without a plan and see where it leads? Please tell me I'm still dreaming . . .”
“It’s been a dream of mine for a bit, just not a detailed dream. I’m sure it’ll work out. Sorry, I can be a lot in the mornings.” I looked around the office. “Are yousleeping here?”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
I shrugged. “I just decided for sure this morning, and I kinda told you in the corn maze. I told you I was thinking of leaving the country.”
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. “I thought you made that up, so you didn’t have to go on a date with me.”
“No. I mean, a little maybe.” I winced. I needed to stop rambling. “But my friend Faith asked Fate and London, and long story short, I need to go now.”
Scott’s eyes widened further. Yep. I was, for sure, coming off as a crazy. I wondered if he was glad that I said no to that date now. “The timing is right. So, I’m going.” I rubbed the ends of my sleeves in my palms. “ASAP, do you need two weeks notice, you think?”
Scott stared at me, clearly in shock.
“You want to go to London . . . next week . . . because of Fate?” His eyebrows scrunched down, forming a deep crease between his eyes. “With no plan. Do you know where you are staying? What areas are safe?” Scott turned a little pale. “You cannot go to another country and wing it! What if you run out of money? Can’t get home? Get mugged?”
“Ugh. Plans aren’t my thing, remember?” I would not let him ruin my mood. “I’ll get a job.”
