Page 88 of Dream a Little Dream

The room was silent. I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t trust myself in that moment not to tell her every last thing I felt for her, because my heart, boarded up or not, had things to impart that maybe my head did not. Instead, I walked to Kyle, held the lapels of her jacket and rested my forehead against her chest. When she placed her arms around me a moment later, tears sprang into my eyes, which meant I had to stay there a few beats longer than was probably wise. The problem was that being held by Kyle in that way was entirely familiar and wonderful. “I’m a mess,” I murmured without lifting my face.

“Me, too,” she said. “I think everyone is. We just each have our own brand.”

I laughed, feeling a tad lighter. “I’m sorry I called you an intersection.”

A beat. “I’ve been called worse.”

More laughter. “I’ve gotta go to bed, and I can’t take you with me.”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” She gave my chin the tiniest shake, in a move that felt so natural and loving that I wanted to live in that space, which meant she had to go.

I took a big step back and—oh, look at that. The room lurched,a reminder that the alcohol hadn’t fled the scene just yet. I steadied myself, slid my hands into my back pockets, and nodded once, which seemed official enough. “Thank you for seeing me home.”

“Oh, that’s a dismissal if I’ve ever heard one.”

I winced. “I didn’t mean it to come off that way.”

“But us alone, together is—”

“Daunting. And I’m drunk.”

We stared at each other. There was a lot I wanted to say, and I could see on her face that she, too, was holding in her thoughts. A standoff in my living room. I flashed on the first time we’d met in the hallway of that hotel, my shirt stuck in a door. My heart blossomed with all the excitement, infatuation, and hope meeting Kyle had ushered into my life. I cared more for her now than I ever thought possible. So…how had we landed here? Miles apart from where we should be.

“Well, I’m glad you’re home safe.” She tossed her head in the direction of the door. “I’ll see myself out.” With a final smile, she turned.

“Will I see you soon?” I asked, hanging tight to the hope I’d just recounted.

Kyle didn’t hesitate, which was everything. “Definitely.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

Room 201

Baby showers were like weddings but with less pressure and more onesies. Thereby, I was a fan. Who doesn’t like oohing and ahhing over tiny socks? Maya, our mother to-be, wasn’t interested in learning the potential gender of her baby, which in my opinion was the most exciting way to go. It also offered those of us who organized the event lots of freedom to decorate as we chose. I looked around the break room on the afternoon of her baby shower, for which we’d closed the store for one full hour at Peter’s go-ahead. Instead of any kind of boring pink or blue theming, we’d exploded the room in a circus of every color and palette imaginable. Jewel tones, pastels, neons, and in between shades. Balloons, swans, teddy bears, and a catered spread from BeLeaf Corporate made me feel like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole to newborn central. The gathering, attended by our employees and Maya and Jason’s family, was a damn delight. It honestly had turned out more beautiful than I’d hoped. Even Buster smiled sweetly in the corner, consuming his square of cake in a blissful display while Maya opened the last of her presents: the bassinette I’d selected from her registry.

“Savanna, no. This is too generous.” I watched as Maya and Jason exchanged an excited look. I knew she’d had her eye on the model. Knowing it was out of their price range, I’d encouraged her to add it to her list just on the off chance that someone decided to nab it. All part of my plan. “It is not. I need this baby sleeping in style when they’re not sleeping on me, that is.” And why did I have baby fever all of a sudden? That was new.

My phone buzzed, which was annoying because this was theseventh or eighth call from that number in the past hour. “You know what? I might need to take this,” I said quietly to Henrietta as I snuck out of the room, sad to leave the fun.

“This is Savanna,” I said once I slid onto the call.

“Ms. Potter, thank you for taking my call. This is Bobby Lehman, from Lehman and Saunders.” He paused as if I should know the name. I didn’t.

“What can I do for you?” I asked, worried this was some sort of marketing call. “I’m actually right in the middle of a gathering for my coworker.”

“And I hate to bother you, but I’m only in town for a short time and have an important matter I need to discuss with you before I go.”

I paused, mystified as to what this could be about. “Is this something we can do over the phone? Or can you at least tell me what this pertains to?”

“I think it’d be better if we met in person. I’m camping out in an office at the courthouse. Can you meet me in room 201 upstairs as soon as possible? There’s an important matter to discuss.”

This was cryptic, and I wondered if it was some sort of prank. Maybe Jonathan was in town and planning to pop out from behind the door when I arrived. Now, that was a surprise I could get behind. I peered through the rectangular window in the door to the break room. People were hugging Maya. The baby shower was winding down. “I suppose if you can give me two hours. I have a store to turn around.”

“That sounds great. See you then. Room 201.”

It turned out room 201, on the second floor of the courthouse, was sparsely decorated, except for a shelf full of law books and a conference table made of dark brown glossy wood. Two men, one older, one younger, stood as I entered. They were wearing suits and definitely weren’t from around here. Interesting.

“Ms. Potter?” the older one said.

---