Then why did Miriam feel like she might be sick? She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart, but it was no use. Her mind kept going to the what-ifs.
What if McKensie is more than a fangirl?
What if Silas changed his mind?
The timeline certainly made sense. If McKensie was to be believed, they’d started hanging out the same time Silas started ignoring Miriam.
Fears of something like this happening had dominated too much of her time with Silas, and it was causing problems even now—when they weren’t actually dating.
She stepped off the elliptical and went to the bathroom. Once inside, she splashed cool water on her face until the urge to throw up passed. She dried her face with a paper towel and looked at herself in the mirror. The reflection that met her was not that of a crazy woman who jumped to conclusions. It was a rational adult who had the means to find out what was going on.
She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Silas.
Miriam: Can we talk?
His reply was fast.
Silas: I’m so glad you texted me. I have something to tell you.
Miriam tried to ignore the feeling of dread that pooled in her belly. She knew thatsomethingwasn’t necessarily McKensie.
Miriam: Okay. Should I call?
Silas: It’s more like something to SHOW you. Can you meet me tomorrow instead?
She thought it was weird that he didn’t want to talk now, but she’d had almost a week of radio silence. One more day wouldn’t kill her. Plus tomorrow was a rare Saturday where the Storm didn’t have a game. She’d have the entire day off. Without a legit reason to say no, she typed her response.
Miriam: Okay.
Silas texted her an address.
Silas: Meet me here at nine.
Miriam clicked on the address. When her map app opened, it pulled up a house in Waterford. She zoomed in. There was nothing extraordinary about it. It looked like a regular house.
Her mind raced at the different reasons Silas would ask her to meet him at a house. They ranged from a surprise proposal—which was insane—to an intervention of some sort. Miriam cleaned up and grabbed her gym bag.
With no clue of what her show and tell with Silas meant for their future, Miriam was thankful it was only a day away.
Silas
Convincing Bernard tocome back out to the house was no easy feat. But when Silas said he was ready to make an offer on it, the real estate agent reluctantly agreed to come at nine.
Silas wiped his palms over the thighs of his pants as he waited for Miriam to show up. With every passing minute, Silas got more anxious about what she would think about his surprise. It might have been a little impulsive to buy a house without letting Miriam see it first, but Silas wanted to prove how serious he was about settling down in Waterfront.
“Mr. Jenkins, if you’ll just sign right here”—Bernard pointed at the bottom of the page—“we’ll send this right over to the selling agent. Usually, we get an answer within twenty-four hours depending on the terms of the offer.”
Considering Silas was offering the asking price, he expected it to be an easy decision for the owners. He grabbed Bernard’s pen and signed his name.
This was it. Silas was going to be a homeowner. But where was Miriam?
Bernard lifted his phone. “Do you mind if I call their agent real quick? I’ll still have to fax this over, but I can at least let them know that the offer is good to go for their clients.”
“Yeah, of course.” Silas nodded. “Is it okay if I walk around the backyard while I wait for my...friend?”
The word didn’t feel right on his tongue. He hoped that by the end of the day, he’d be able to confidently call her something more than that.
Bernard was already lifting the phone to his ear. He nodded excitedly and pointed to the back door.
