Page 79 of Sort of Seeing Someone

“I guess I canalsobe a stubborn little shit.”

“No, I meant, with the whole…winning the heart thing.”

Who would have thought the buzzed prick watching soccer by himself at Tin Lizzie would grow to be concerned with winningmyheart.

“Getting there,” I say with a smile. From a man who loves precision, I’m fine keeping the secret: he’s about there already.

A few seconds later, a loud boom cracks across the sky and suddenly the house goes from warm and cozy to dark and silent.

“Umm, what just happened?” I ask with a hint of fear in my voice as I put my hand to my chest to slow my startled breath.

“Looks like we just lost power,” Ollie says calmly as he turns on his phone’s flashlight. I follow suit to brighten up the pitch-black living room. “Does your sister have a back-up generator?”

“I don’t know,” I respond. “I can text her and find out?”

“Nah, that’s okay. It would have kicked on by now if she did. Do you know where the circuit breaker box is?”

“Downstairs. It’s in the laundry room on the left.” I’ve washed enough loads of the boys’ dirty clothes to confidently know the answer to that one.

“Okay, I’m going to go tinker with that. Maybe you can check on the boys and then try to round up someflashlights?It’s best to preserve the batteries on our phones in case this isn’t a quick fix. Meet back here in five?”

I nod my head yes in response to the marching orders. His abilitiesto problem solve and instill calm are incredibly sexy. I know a power outage is nothing crazy, but for some reason I feel so safe with Ollie right now as the wind whips branches against the window and raindrops pound the roof.

A few minutes later, Ollie surfaces from the basement and rejoins me on the couch.

“We’re at the mercy of the power company. But, never fear. I called and reported the outage.”

Of course he did.

“Did the boys wake up?”

“Negative,” I say.

“Good. And how about the flashlights? Find any?”

“Also negative.”

“Well, at least you’re consistent.”

“But,” I say, with noticeable of optimism. “I have a box of Moon Batch candles and a lighter.”

I lean over the table and begin to light a variety of different sized and shaped candles.

“Oh god,” he grumbles. “It’s justsucha fire hazard.”

“Plenty of people have lit a candle in a storm and lived to tell about it,” I remind him. “Just relax, it’s okay. I promise.”

Now, it’s my turn to instill calm.

Just then, my phone buzzes. It’s a text from Nora.

“My sister just told me to check the sump pump, whatever that is.”

“Done and done. Tell her all dry.”

Again, I’m not at all shocked as I type my response to Nora.

“Oh, great. And now she just told me that they’re going to the bar for a nightcap until the storm lets up,” I say, recapping the latest incoming text. “Esteban doesn’t want to drive in the rain.”

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