“Maybe we can go sometime.”
Sophia’s eyes light up. “Okay!”
Niko’s hand finds the top of Sophia’s head. “Sophia, can you go inside so I can talk to Sadie real quick? You can have a few minutes on your tablet if you’d like.”
Without a word, Sophia bounds into the house, clearly happy for the extra screen time her father is giving her. Me on the other hand, well, I’m nervous as hell. Yes, I did want to talk to Niko, but the fact that he wants to talk tomealone makes me feel uneasy.
“Is everything okay?”
Niko gestures to the lounge chair I was just resting in. I take a seat on the edge and he does the same on the chair next to mine. He stretches his legs out next to mine, his foot knocking against my leg in the process.
“Sophia told me what happened yesterday.”
Damn it. I wanted to be the one who told Niko what happened. I’m the adult. It’s my responsibility to keep him informed on what’s going on. But he got home late last night. And then there was the whole avoiding him thing today.
“I’m sorry. I messed up. I should’ve told you first thing this morning. It was wrong of me to?—”
Niko reaches out and places his hand on my leg. “Hey. Stop. You did nothing wrong. Honestly, I’m glad Sophia felt safe enough to tell me what happened. A month ago she would’ve hidden her feelings from me. I have you to thank for her being open these days.”
The last thing he says shocks me. “Me?”
He removes his hand from my leg and I die a little inside. He chuckles and shakes his head at me. “You have no idea how amazing you are, do you?”
I open my mouth to respond but no words come out. Honestly, I have a hard time believing him when he says it. When I finally find some words, they come out stuttered. “I—uh—I…I don’t know.”
Great. Real smooth, Sadie.
Embarrassed, I look down and focus on my hands in my lap. Niko reaches over again, this time lifting my chin with his forefinger.
“You are amazing, Sadie. We are so lucky to have you.”
His words hang between us, and I want to say something. Anything that won’t give away how much I’m trying not to feel more than I should. But my words fail me. Again.
Niko releases my chin and clasps his hands in front of him, his elbows resting on his thighs. “Speaking of having you…”
Thoughts of me straddling Niko flash through my mind.
“I was wondering what your plans were after the season.”
Oh. Having me as a nanny. Nothaving me.
I do my best to hide my disappointment but am grateful he brought this up. “Oh. Um, well, actually I was thinking about what comes next for me.”
Niko’s brow quirks up. “And?”
A ding chimes on my phone, stopping me before I can respond. I’m shocked to see a text from my youngest sister. We aren’t close but of all my siblings, she’s the only one who sometimes reaches out. The rest don’t care to check in at all. Getting a text from Willow is still unusual.
I hold a finger up to Niko. “One second. I need to check this.”
“Of course.” He leans back onto his hands and turns his attention to his property, giving me space to check my phone.
I swipe my phone open and am shocked when I see apicture of her holding up her hand to the camera, a giant diamond ring glittering in the sun.
Willow
Hey Sadie. I know it’s been a while but I’M ENGAGED! Our families are throwing us an engagement party this weekend. I know it’s last minute and you’re out in Denver, but we’d love to see you. I’ll send you the details below. Please think about it and let me know. Xoxo.
It’s just like her, and my family, to wait until the last minute to tell me something. There’s no way they just planned this party. I’m sure it’s been in the works for weeks. I guarantee they don’t think I’ll even show up but wanted to save face by throwing out an invite. Hell, they don’t even know I’ve moved to Green Bay because they don’t care to keep up with my life. I’ve long since stopped putting in the effort to keep them updated. Why would I when, every time I fill them in, they tell me I’m wasting my time being a yoga instructor? I’m not surprised by this text but it doesn’t mean it still doesn’t sting.
