I’m not the only one here from the Phillip Rowe Fan Club.
Mindy’s in my spot. I say “my spot” because she’s standing with her right foot directly next to the curb, in such a way that nobody can get next to her on that side and push her out. Phillip taught me to stand that way. Several people are lined up behind her, but nobody’s getting in front of that girl. She knows her place, and she’s not giving it up for anything.
I don’t want to make small talk with her, but she nods at me immediately.
“Hello, Mindy.” I nod back. “How are you?”
“Hello, Leleila.” She nods again, and a flush slowly fills her cheeks, almost like she’s guilty about something.
Probably the fact that she’s got an obvious massive crush on my fiancé.
I introduce her to Brayden just as Sophia screams out, “Hi,” while she and Slammer cross the street toward me.
“You skipped work for this?” I say to her when they reach me.
Sophia laughs. “Honey, I always find an excuse to skip work. You know that. Plus, my boss is away for the day. Nobody will even notice I’m gone. Slammer and I were going to get dessert tonight. You and Brayden should come with.”
Brayden’s blue eyes sparkle with mischief. “Where to, Sophia?”
She nods at him approvingly. “I have a surprise, something I know Lei will like.”
Somehow I doubt that. “We have dance class tonight,” I say with relief. “And I have Save the Soil after that.”
“So we’ll go hear you speak and then all go out. Right, Slam?”
The bulky guy with the blond crew cut and brown eyes nods amiably. “Sure thing.”
Sophia turns to Brayden. “Leleila’s speeches are pretty boring, but she looks hot giving them.”
“Thank you for the support, Soph,” I say sarcastically.
Sophia slings an arm around me. “You’re a hot nerd. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Where do you speak?” Brayden asks me, his gaze running over my face in a way that makes me sweat.
I tilt my head toward the building behind us. “In the suite right next to Big Sky Grocer. It’s got a small auditorium, and people pile in there.”
Sophia eyes Mindy. “Who’s that?” she whispers too loudly.
“This is Phillip’s colleague, Mindy Cox,” I say politely.
As Sophia chats up Mindy, I feel like I’m going to throw up. Brayden glances over at me as he stands next to the refreshments table.
“Uncomfortable?” The corner of his mouth quirks up. “You seem tenser than usual.”
I can’t help smiling. Brayden’s dirty blond hair is messily styled, and his dark shirt fits him perfectly. I’ve seen his jeans before, but even they look brand-new today, like they popped out of the washing machine full of answers, such as how to make all the uncertainty in my life fade away instantaneously.
Then my parents call out to me from the other corner. I wave at Mom and Dad as they hastily cross the street. Mom’s got her sun hat on, the same one she wore in the Amazon.
“It’s fall, Mom,” I tease as soon as she and Dad reach us.
“What do you mean?” she asks me as she gives me a long hug.
“Fall.” I touch her hat. “This is for hot jungles, not autumn days.”
“She wanted to keep the sun out of her eyes,” Dad explains. “Very practical.”
This smile I’ve perfected in the last five minutes is a lifesaver. I can be as uncomfortable as I want, and nobody’s actually certain what’s going on because I just keep smiling. Brayden seems pretty certain, however. He’s looking at me like I’ve gone a little loopy, and he seems like he wants to be anywhere but here right now. That would make two of us.
