“Great. It’s a lot of fun working with the kids.”
She nods. “Yeah, Imighthave spied on you a little bit. Seems like you’re really good with them.”
A burst of warmth spreads through my chest at her words. I shouldn’t like the idea of her watching me quite as much as I do.
“Did your spying happen to catch the time I accidentally whacked a mom on the head with a hockey stick? If it did, could I convince you that was actually Theo?”
She presses her lips together like she’s fighting a smile. “I must have missed that part. Shame on Theo.”
“How wasyourday? Looks like you guys stayed busy.”
“Yeah. It was amazing,” she says. “I had no idea this was such a huge event. I’m really glad I got to be here for it.”
Her eyes drop to the ground, and I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing I am. That she’s here now, but she won’t be for long.
She clears her throat. “Anyway, I picked this up for you earlier today, and I just wanted to drop it off.” She holds out the box. “It’s an apology cupcake.”
“An apology cupcake? What are you apologizing for?”
She bites her lip, her cheeks flushing with color, then she takes a deep breath. “My brother told me what he asked you to do.”
It’s the stupidest thought. But as soon as her words land, the first thing my mind does is wonder if I’m the only one she’s apologizing to or if she has half a dozen cupcakes she’s giving out to my teammates.
It shouldn’t matter either way, but I find myself hoping I’m the only one.
I open the box and look at the cupcake. It’s topped with pink frosting with a single fresh raspberry right in the center.
A raspberry cupcake.
“It’s the same one you said you should…”
Her words trail off, but I remember the moment all too well. When I tasted the raspberry frosting that I wiped off the tip of her nose. I lift my eyes to her face. There are freckles on her nose that I didn’t notice in the dim light of the pantry. Maybe they’re more visible when she’s out in the sun.
Sarah pulls her hair over one shoulder, snapping me back to the present. “Anyway,” she says, “I was totally mortified when he told me and so, so embarrassed. I just wanted to make sure you knew it wasn’t my doing. He concocted the whole wild idea on his own, and I’m so sorry he talked to you about it. He never should have put you in that position.”
I close the lid of the cupcake box. “You don’t have to apologize. I know how important you are to his family. I understand why he asked.”
“But to expect you to give up a year of your life,” Sarah says. “Not to mention the legal implications.” She shakes her head. “It’s ridiculous.Completelyridiculous.”
“He said he was going to ask someone else. Were you…did he find someone?”
Her eyes widen. “Are you kidding? Absolutely not. As soon as he told me what he was doing, I told him hecouldn’task anyone else. I would never expect anyone to do such a thing. Not for me.”
Something about the way she says this doesn’t sit right.Why not for her? Ifanyoneis deserving of a little good fortune, she is.
Across the parking lot, a cheer erupts, and I look over to see a kid high-fiving the Jaguars mascot. When I turn my gaze back to Sarah, she’s still looking that way. The wind has picked up, and a strand of her dark blond hair is blowing across her cheek. She lifts her hand and brushes it away as she looks back at me.
“Can I ask you something?” I say.
She nods. “Okay.”
“Miles mentioned that staying for one more year would give you time to get your teaching credential. Then you would qualify for a different kind of visa.”
Her face shifts as I speak, her jaw tightening as she looks away. She looks smaller somehow, like she’s folding in on herself.
“But that’s not what we talked about, is it? Do you want to be a teacher?”
It takes her a long moment to meet my gaze. I wait, because I sense this is a point of particular tension for her. “Miles and I have very different opinions about that,” she finally says. “He thinks teaching would be safer. And he’s probably right. It’s just not what I want.”
