“It’s a great offer, in my opinion. They love that you’ve been so recently in the mix, and you have an insider’s perspective on the current landscape.”
Sydney stood up and walked over to the window, staring out at the city and bay below. “When do you need an answer?”
“By the end of the week. I wanted to discuss the offer in person, but they need to get you prepped if you want to move forward. D.C. is coming up in less than three weeks.” She noted the surprise in Sara’s voice, that she wasn’t jumping all over the offer.
And, really, it was strange that she wasn’t. This was a dream job, dropped directly onto Sydney’s lap. A true silver lining,happening because of her injury and at the hands of a predator being exposed in the industry.
But she’d never done a great job, she was realizing, at balancing her professional and personal lives. She thought she’d have more time to ease into something that felt right. That she’d have more time with Reese, to see what was blossoming between them, and she wanted to be there for Hallie, as she navigated this transitional period in her life. Let alone whatever was going on with her mom, which she still hadn’t pinned down.
She took one little year off from being an active participant in her own life, and now, it had come calling, rife with people and decisions and, for the first time in a long time, the need to chart her own path forward.
Her life was back in full swing, whether she felt ready for it or not. She unzipped her jacket, ready to do battle with the Miami heat. “I’ll let you know by Sunday.”
Fourteen
Reese feltlike she had walked into the lion’s den. If the lion was an almost six-foot-tall blonde who looked perfectly sun-kissed as she stepped into the inn lobby, wearing a bright purple romper that draped expertly across her body.
Awareness thrummed through Reese’s veins at the sight of her, and she tamped down her visceral reaction as best she could. Reese wasn’t usually someone who let her emotions, especially ones like these, get the best of her.
But Sydney looked beautiful. And when she leveled a smile in Reese’s direction, Reese truly,finally, understood what it meant when someone’s knees went weak.
“I’m sorry I’m running a few minutes late.” Sydney smiled apologetically, running a hand through her hair.
“Ah yes, the couple’s brunch,” Hallie said knowingly, though what she knew wasn’t clear to Reese.
Sydney shot her a look, though what it conveyed, Reese couldn’t be sure. “Yes, bestie. The brunch you said you’d make sure I was up for when I texted you last night.”
“Actually, you texted methis morning. And Itriedto wake you up. Three times,” Hallie emphasized before turning her attention to Reese, who’d been standing next to the check-in deskwatching their back-and-forth. “Apparently, our girl had a hellish time getting back from Florida last night.”
Reese leaned closer, looking for any sign of weariness on Sydney’s face, but she looked flawless as ever. Still, Reese allowed herself a few indulgent seconds of justlookingat Sydney before she asked,“What happened?”
“Well, first I tried?—”
Sydney held her hand up. “Hallie, I’m pretty sure she was talking to me.”
“Regardless, I thought my rendition of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was pretty good.” Hallie paused, sighing dramatically. “I guess it wasn’t enough to get you to rise, though,” she said as a broad smirk covered her face.
Sydney’s own smile broadened. “There was something wrong with our plane. We boarded and then deplaned and then had to wait hours to find another one to fly out. My seven o’clock flight finally left around two a.m.”
Her voice was casual and light as she described her travel woes. If the shoe was on the other foot, Reese would have still been a puddle of anxiety, recovering in bed.
Hallie nodded solemnly. “I think I heard her pour herself into bed around six a.m.”
“At least there wasn’t traffic getting out of the city,” Sydney said earnestly.
Reese glanced at her watch, which showed it was about thirty minutes before eleven. She’d survived on as much sleep as Sydney had gotten last night, but she didn’t wish it on anyone. She turned her attention to Sydney, who, when she’d thought that Reese wasn’t looking, was shooting daggers at her best friend.
“Sydney, I could have gone without you. Seriously, it’s not that big of a deal,” Reese said, knowing that she could have survived without her for the day, though she’d absolutely have missed having Sydney at her side.
“I want to go.” It was the softness of Sydney’s words, alongwith the faint blush on her cheeks, that made Reese light up from the inside out.
It meant something—that Sydney had shown up, even when it wasn’t easy. Reese didn’t feel like a lot of people in her life did that for her, especially not if it was an inconvenience to them.
Reese looked down at her watch again. “All right. The sooner we arrive, the sooner we can leave.” She shot Sydney a joking smile, hoping to convey that she didn’t expect the day to be that awful. Who could be sure, though, when her family was around?
Hallie walked them to the door and waved them off, as she liked to do, before they slipped into Reese’s car and started the short journey to Reese’s parents’ house.
Since their kiss and Reese’s confession of how her last relationship had ended, they hadn’t done a whole lot of talking about where they stood, even though things between them were getting more complicated. She’d missed Sydney while she’d been away in Florida, but their texting had been restrained to little updates and check-ins and, on Reese’s side, a few anecdotes about Grant’s idiocy.
