“So tell me this,” I say. “If you had another year in the States, do you think you’d be able to qualify for the other kind? The visa you told me about?” I have no idea why I’m asking. But somehow, it feels incredibly important to know.
She looks up at me with those enormous brown eyes, questions flitting behind them I can’t even begin to interpret. But then she nods, a fire sparking behind her expression that makes my chesttighten.
“Yes,” she finally says, her voice steady, confident. “I really think I could.”
“Hey, Sarah!” Anna calls from the neighboring tent. “You ready?”
She nods, then looks back at me. “I should go. And you really should eat the cupcake. It’s delicious.”
I hold her gaze. “I remember.”
This pulls a small smile out of her, and I wonder if she’s remembering the moment like I am. If she’s been replaying our conversations the same way I’ve been.
“Bye, Carter,” she says, then she turns and hurries back to Anna.
I stand and watch her for a long moment, trying to sort out what’s happening in my brain. Miles reaches Anna at the same time Sarah does, and he has their girls with him. Olive reaches for her aunt, and Sarah takes her, then extends her hand to Poppy. I catch her profile as she does. She’s clearly smiling, looking at her nieces with obvious affection.
I reallydowish I could help her. But could I actually marry her?
I shake my head as I head back into the tent, not sure what to do with the fact that the longer I think about it, the less ridiculous the idea sounds.
By the time I make it back to Theo and Holly, they’ve finished with the last kid to come through and are picking up the remaining hockey sticks, slotting them into storage barrels that will be carted back to the Jaguars practice arena where the local youth hockey league skates.
“Have you set a date yet?” Theo asks as I crouch down and pick up a stick.
“Shut up.”
“What did she want?” Theo asks.
“To apologize,” I say. “Miles told her.”
“Oh, man,” Holly says. “I’m guessing she was mad.”
“More just embarrassed,” I say. “She wanted to make sure I knew it wasn’t her idea.”
“Well that’s good of her, I guess,” Theo says, then he narrows his eyes. “Wait. What’s happening on your face right now?”
I lift a hand and wipe it across my mouth. “Nothing is happening on my face.” I shove a handful of hockey sticks into his arms. “Put these away.”
He takes the sticks, but he’s shaking his head as he does. “Something is definitely happening. You’re thinking about doing it.”
“I’m not,” I say, but there’s no fire behind my response.
I can’t explain why. Something about the way she sounded. Or how seamlessly she fits with her family.
I also don’t love that her brother is pushing her to teach when she clearly wants something else. I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who always believed in me. Not in a way that felt like pressure, like I had to live up totheirexpectations. Just in that quiet, steady way that said they knew I could do it. And they were ready to cheer me on the whole way.
Everyone deserves that kind of cheerleader. I’m sure Miles thinks he’s supporting Sarah by encouraging her to make the most practical choice. But I’m Team Sarah on this one.
Not that it matters. Neither option solves her problem fast enough to let her stay.
“So, wait,” Holly says. “Do you actually like her? Like,likeher, like her?”
I sigh and prop my hands on my hips. “I mean, I don’t know her that well. But we definitely…”
“Have a vibe,” Theo says. “They do. I saw it.”
“She is really easy to talk to,” I say.
