“I’m so embarrassed,” I mutter as I lift my head and try to calm my laughter.
His bright eyes snag mine, and my smile slowly fades. As we watch each other over his desk, the heat in my cheeks spreads to my neck. The air settles heavy through the office.
He adjusts his glasses and sparks crackle in the space between our gazes. My heart thumps suddenly with a whisper that says this could bemore.
More than coworkers. More than I had planned.
The sensation is so foreign and unexpected that I shove it away like it’s about to sting me.
I’ve been fighting to be taken seriously as a scientist since day one, and I can’t hinder my chance at my dream job to become more than coworkers with Finn. He could literally be the swing vote that I need for my promotion. And I can’t have everyone thinking I got it because of a relationship with him.
My brain draws a nice, long coworkers-stop-here line in the sand.
I clear my throat and stand, smoothing my palms down my jeans. “I’ll definitely take those names off the aunt list and come up with some better options.” I twist my hands, anxious for a way to escape this conversation without my heart tugging me any closer to Finn.
But he completely ruins those plans when he says, “Thanks for the chuckle. I’ve lived a lonely life the last few months, and laughing with a friend is nice.”
Finn brushes his hand through the line I just drew, leaving no trace of its existence.
A friend.We can be friends. I’m friends with Micah and still work alongside him every day.
I draw a new line in the sand and label it Friendship—Do Not Go Past This Line.
Seriously, Millie.That’s the boundary.
***
My phone dings with a picture from my dad while I’m reading in bed that night. I click to open the image, revealing the pumpkin patch on the farm, which is currently a giant field of dirt with little sprouts sticking up.
Oaks Folks
Dad:Baby pumpkin plants. They’ll be ready for our family pumpkin-carving contest in a few months.
Fabes:You guys can try to beat my octopus carving from three years ago, but you will fail.
Tess:I’m still saying I slayed with my Zendaya carving last year.
Millie:That Zendaya one was pretty badass. Zendaya octopus this year?
Mom: Doesn’t my farmer look sexy on his tractor?
Fabes:Ew. Mom, I live with you guys.
Dad:Maybe we’re trying to motivate you to flee the nest, Little Bird.
Fabes:You sure didn’t want me gone when I was helping you plant that pumpkin field.
Millie:Come live with me and Lena. There are no tractors here.
Fabes:I’m going out, anyway. I have a date tonight.
A flurry of texts pours in after that, asking for more information, but Fable never responds to any of it, so I give up and put my phone back on my nightstand.
I get through a few pages of my book before my phone chimes again, and I snatch it up.
But my smile falters when I see the name. My hands shake as I swipe to open the message.
Kyle:Just thinking about you. Staying out of trouble?
