I have about ten minutes before I need to leave to ensure I get back in time for Mom’s deadline. I should have written him a letter earlier or something, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I’m still not sure what all to say, so I was sort of relying on winging it once we were face-to-face. Sawyer is hard to read most of the time, but he’s impossible to read when I can’t see his expression.
A familiar blue truck pulls into the driveway before I’ve made a decision.
I stand immediately, wiping my damp palms on the skirt of my sundress.
“Wren!” Addison exclaims, climbing out of the cab. “This is a nice surprise. Sawyer didn’t mention you were stopping by.”
Her warm greeting is wonderful and awful. Obviously, Sawyer didn’t share any details about us with her.
“Hi, Addison,” I reply. “He didn’t know. I just stopped by for a minute.”
“Did he tell you about Lancaster?” The pride is overflowing in Addison’s voice as she glances at her son.
“He did,” I lie rather than admit I heard the college news from Cammie as part of her attempt to prevent me from inflicting more damage. “It’s very exciting.”
“Where did you end up for school?”
“Uh, Cambridge.”
“England?”
I nod.
“That’s exciting. One thing I never got to do at the academy was study abroad. What are you studying?”
“Classics. It’s not the most practical degree, but … it’s more getting the degree that matters to my family.” I hide a wince, hearing how privileged and out of touch that sounds. I think Addison likes me. I want her to respect me, too, to see me as someone worthy of her son. “I’ll put it to some use,” I add.
Addison’s smile is kind. “I’m sure you will. You’re young. Plenty of time to figure it out.”
“Notthatyoung,” I counter.
She laughs. “I suppose not.” She glances at Sawyer again. “Well, I could use some freshening up. It was a long trip. Good to see you, Wren.”
“You too, Addison. Welcome home.”
“Thank you.” She passes me and heads inside.
I shift my weight between my feet, listening to the door open and close behind me.
Sawyer leans back against the hood of his truck, one foot propped on the front fender, staring at me.
I speak first, not that it’s anything impressive. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he echoes.
“I, uh, I can’t stay for long. My parents aren’t exactly thrilled about my decisions last night, so it took some convincing for my mom to let me come here at all. But I was—I’m flying to California tomorrow to visit my grandparents, and then I’m doing this charity tennis thing in Newport, and Lili found a French designer for the bridesmaids dresses, and once I’m in Paris, it makes sense to stay in Europe until?—”
“You’re leaving, Wren. I got it. I don’t need afull itinerary.”
“Right.” I swallow. “So, Lancaster, huh?”
Cammie didn’t mention which school he was going to. Lancaster is in Connecticut, about three hours from here. A large, sports-centric university.
He nods.
“You playing baseball there?”
“No. Not for the school team at least. I might join intramural or something, if my arm cooperates.”
