Page 8 of Novel Problems

GEORGE

I locked the door behind Hannah and walked to the kitchen. At the back of the kitchen, behind a nondescript door, were the stairs to my apartment. Maximus thundered down the hallway to greet me, jumping on me with gusto as I reached the top of the staircase.

“Hello, gorgeous.” I rubbed his warm, golden head. “Let’s get your leash and stretch our legs.” After a long day of standing, all I wanted to do was collapse on the couch. But Max needed a walk, and Blake, my closest friend, was coming over in an hour with takeout, so we had to get going. I put on my headphones and called Mom back while I was getting Max ready.

“Hello?” Mom asked, her familiar voice sending a burst of warmth through me.

“Hey, it’s me. Sorry I missed your call earlier. Work was hectic. What’s up?” I clipped Max’s leash on and started heading toward the door to my apartment.

“Sorry, I should have known better than to call you during the day. I just wanted to let you know that Ibooked my flights!” Mom’s excitement was clear from her voice.

“Oh great! Do you mind emailing me the details? Max and I are heading out for a walk.” Max was so eager for his walk he was practically dragging me down the stairs and toward the front door of Novel Gossip.

“Yes, of course.”

I opened the front door and we stepped onto the sidewalk. I inhaled a lungful of fresh, late-afternoon air. It was another gorgeous, sunny day. It was only the first day of June, but summer had come early to Sapphire Springs this year.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to say. Did you hear Alexis is dating Sophia Landers?” Mom asked.

“Good for her.” I hadn’t heard that, but it wasn’t terribly surprising that my attractive, famous, politician ex had found a movie star girlfriend who was also attractive and famous.

“It’ll be very interesting to see if they last. I don’t see how they are going to make it work with the amount of travelling Alexis does and Sophia away filming all the time.”

I rolled my eyes, smiling. Alexis and I had broken up more than three years ago now, and I was well and truly over her. While I wished my ex all the best, I wasn’t really interested in speculating with Mom over whether her latest relationship would last. But Mom loved a good gossip.

“Maybe they’ll find a way to make it work,” I said diplomatically.

“Hmmm. Maybe.” Mom sounded unconvinced. “While I’ll continue to vote for her, I still haven’t forgiven her for the way she treated you.”

I sighed. “Mom, we’ve been through this before. We just weren’t compatible.”

I was thrilled when Alexis Merritts ran for the House of Reps for Tampa Bay. She was young, queer, and passionate‚ which isn’t common in Florida politics. I volunteered on her campaign, putting my tech skills to good use, and we ended up getting together.

But once she won, I’d quickly discovered I wasn’t cut out to be a politician’s plus one. I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my career to follow my partner around the country, or alternatively stay in Tampa and hardly ever see her. Not that I’d seen her much when we lived in D.C. anyway.

Mom harrumphed. “You moved for her, quit your job for her, and she didn’t compromise anything.” I gritted my teeth. While I’d moved on from Alexis, it was clear Mom hadn’t.

“Well, it’s thanks to her that your mortgage is paid off and I was able to set up Novel Gossip.” I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. Trying to defend Alexis was only likely to infuriate Mom.

Mom spluttered. “You were the one who developed the app, not her. You did all the hard work, it’s only fair you got paid for it.”

“I know. But Alexis didn’t need to sign the paperwork so I could sell it. And she did, even after I broke up with her.”

I rubbed my forehead. After a long day of work, this was the last thing I felt like talking about. While I was over the break-up, I didn’t want to dwell on one of the most stressful times of my life.

Mom muttered something under her breath.

Thankfully, a dog walking by began to bark loudly at Max.

“Sorry Mom, I’ve got to go. Love you!”

“Okay. Bye, sweetheart.”

I hung up the phone and dragged Max away from the barking dog.

We walked down Main Street, Max stopping to sniff at every cast iron lamp post and tree trunk while I smiled and nodded at locals on autopilot. Without Mom on the phone, talking about Alexis, my mind turned to Hannah.Thank god for Hannah.Today would’ve been an absolute disaster if she hadn’t walked through the door, ready to start immediately.

I’d observed her all day, trying not to be too obvious. She seemed shy but attentive and on the ball, noticing customers needed a refilled water jug, running with paper towels when a customer dropped an iced latte down their t-shirt, proactively clearing tables and taking out food without me needing to ask. She was a quick learner. And judging by the way she’d emphatically said that she loved reading, she was passionate about books. I grinned. She was everything I could want.

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