I felt my face go hot when his eyes found mine and remained a beat longer than necessary.
“We’re taking Brooke out to dinner before we head home tonight,” my mom said. “Who’s in?”
“Oh, wish we could,” Meredith said. “Colton made dinner reservations for us at Bungalow to celebrate me signing the lease on my new space.”
“Lots to celebrate between these two,” Colton added.
“That’sright. Brooke’s been keeping us posted,” my dad said. “Good for you, Meredith.”
“Owen? You’ll join us for dinner?” my mom asked him in the tone that she used when she expected agreement.
I distracted myself with the T-shirt in my hands, so I wouldn’t have to watch his face as he told the most persuasive woman in the world no.
Owen cleared his throat and gave my mom his full attention. “I wish I could. Sorry to miss it.”
My chest hollowed out, but I shouldn’t have been surprised that he didn’t want to subject himself to parental inquisition.
“Welp.” My dad slapped his stomach and looked around at us. “I’m ready for a predinner snack. Let’s go get coffee or something. Then I’m guessing you’ll want to go home and change before dinner?”
I plucked at my damp shirt. “And a shower. Third place was still a battle.”
Everyone started exchanging hugs and handshakes for our slow farewells. I tried to focus on the pleasantries, watching Owen out of the corner of my eye. He edged away from the group, possibly working on an Irish goodbye.
We moved toward the exit as a unit, with everyone still talking and laughing while Owen and I trudged along behind them. The vibe in the air was celebratory, with everyone around us enjoying a day of good sport, but all I felt was worried.
I finally found the courage to steal the moment before it was gone.
“Thanks for being here,” I said quietly as we walked side by side. “I know it was a work thing, but still. It’s great seeing you.”
He stared straight ahead as we navigated the crowds. “It wasn’t a work thing.”
A shot of hope spiked through me. We both slowed in tandem while I waited for him to keep talking.
“I wanted to be here. Foryou.”
I let out a little undecipherable noise, half shock and half happiness, and Owen swiveled abruptly to look at me.
“It’s what we were working toward, right?” Owen explained. “Well, one of our goals...”
“Owen,don’t,” I cautioned, my voice thick. There was no way I wanted to dredge up the Kai stuff on what had been a pretty amazing day.
“About that,” he pressed on.
Silence stretched between us. I held my breath.
“I was hoping that we could talk.”
I sagged with relief. At the very least, we weren’t going to have an awkward “goodbye forever” on a busy sidewalk with my parents looking on.
“Okay.” My voice wobbled on the two syllables. “Do you want to call me later or...?”
“Can you come over? After your parents leave?”
Hope took flight inside of me.
“Yeah, of course,” I answered too quickly. “I’m not sure what time it’ll be, though. Is it okay if it’s late?”
The rest of my group was now absorbed into the crowd, so far ahead of us that I couldn’t even see them. Owen and I came to a stop, two rocks in a stream as people passed by us.
