Right. He might not want to send mixed signals, but he was definitely doing just that. I didn’t mind, though. He was human, after all.
“Have a great day, Piper.”
“You too.”
After hanging up, I decided to push the disappointment away.
I tried to put myself in his shoes. It wasn’t even that difficult. If I had a little bundle of joy to call mine, I’d want to focus solely on her. Dating wouldn’t even cross my mind.
But dating Beckett specifically might, a tiny devil on my shoulder said, which I chose to ignore.
For the rest of the day, I kept in touch with Beckett’s team. They were fast, and I appreciated the responsiveness. But every time I replied to one of their emails, my stomach somersaulted when I saw his name copied. I had no idea how to snap out of it. I could find myself a date on one of those apps, but my heart wasn’t in it. Not at all.
At around three o’clock in the afternoon, I had an unread email.
Sender: Beckett LeBlanc
Subject: Pralines
Did he send it to the whole team, and I was copied? I opened it quickly. No, it was specifically for me.
Still have enough pralines?
I smiled.
Piper: Yep, but only for now. I’m taking the box to my parents’ place this evening. Between me and Mom, we’ll probably eat them all.
Beckett: I’ll keep you supplied, don’t you worry about that.
Piper: Beckett, remember our phone call this morning?
Beckett: Hell yes. And will you look at that? It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, and I’m already sending you an email outside our work chain. This is the last one.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask for how long, but I didn’t. Clearly he was struggling and yet failing. He did say yesterday that he didn’t want to make me any promises.
Then I noticed another email from him.
Beckett: Event tonight?
Oh, this man. It was only addressed to me as well.
Beckett: I’m going to be at the marketing event tonight. Sounds like something your agency would participate in. Will I see you there?
I frowned, glancing at the attachment he’d sent. Oh shit. My agencywasgoing, and I’d totally forgotten.
I looked at my calendar. It was definitely there. How did I miss it?
Piper: Yes. How should we… handle things?
Beckett: We’re both adults. We can keep our distance.
Oh yes, we could.
I immediately texted Mom to let her know I wasn’t going to be able to make it tonight.
Piper: Hey, Mom. Sorry, I have a work event tonight I completely forgot about. I can’t join you guys for dinner.
Mom: Don’t worry, but do save me some of those pralines for later this week.
