“Drew?” I ask.
He walks over and hugs me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask as I pull back to look at him.
“Visiting,” he replies as he looks me over. “What are you doing back so soon?”
I swallow hard and take a deep breath. “I fucked up. I pushed Hutch away when we needed each other the most. I’m the world’s worst girlfriend. I don’t deserve that cinnamon roll man, but damn it, I want him. I need help. I need a grand gesture or something. I need to show him I won’t leave him, that he can trust me.”
The three of them look at each other.
“What?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing. We’re…just glad to hear it,” Roxy says. “We were all rooting for you two.”
“Oh,” I reply as I give her a suspicious look. “Any ideas?” I add.
“Girl, you just walked into the mecca of romance stories. Of course, we all have ideas. You should have some, too,” Drew says with a pointed look.
I lick my lips and look around at the books on the shelf. He’s right. This store is brimming with grand gesture ideas. “I’m going to need all the books where the female lead character makes the grand gesture,” I direct. The three of them scatter around the store. I head straight to the football romance section. I need inspiration, and I need it right the fuck now.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Hutch
“We need a plan. Roxy told me she would be back in two days,” Gray says as we sit in Kasen’s den while he plays a video game.
“I know. I just spent all day brainstorming,” I huff as I flip through another romance novel. I’ve watched three movies today instead of going to work, and now I’m leafing through every book that Drew left at Cam’s place, plus three that I bought last month.
“What is important to her?” Bray asks as he stands to leave. He has to work the overnight shift.
“Family. Friends. Books,” I state.
“What is it that she wants to do again? I mean, for a living,” Kasen asks as he pulls his headphones down.
“She was talking about either teaching or something with a library or even a publisher. She’s not sure,” I say. “I think she’s been too focused on getting this paper done.”
They all nod because every one of us has heard her talk about that damn paper. She seemed to be settling on something when we last talked about it. It makes me wonder if she’s done yet. It hasn’t even been a full week since I saw her, and I feel like I’ve lost a limb. I can’t sleep. I can’t concentrate. All I think about is Jocelyn, the way she feels, the way she smells, the way she always has a sassy comeback, and the way she listens to me, really listens. I miss every little thing about her.
Gray pulls out his phone. “Has she ever thought about screenwriting?” he asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. Not that I know of, although she was super stoked when all the actors were at the bookstore opening,” I say as I try to remember if she’s ever mentioned screenwriting.
“I could call some of my friends in Hollywood,” he offers.
“Thanks, but how is that a grand gesture?” I ask.
He groans. “It’s not. I’m just offering.”
“What did she break up with you about?” Kasen asks.
“We didn’t break up, we’re just taking some time,” I growl.
He glares at me, and I glare back. “Fine,” he says with a clenched jaw. “What was the taking a break about?”
“She wanted us to work on our issues,” I say.
“Oh, like your issue with your family that you just fixed,” he says.
