Page 45 of More Than Pen Pals

“I guess not.”

“And I wouldn’t say he was kind to you on the street yesterday.”

“He apologized for that.”

“Anybody can apologize. Now, I’m not saying he’s not a kind man. You threw him for a loop, and he probably responded as well as most people could’ve. But you haven’t spent enough time with him to truly know what he’s like. Speaking of which, have you seen or talked to him again?”

“Yes.”

“You want to tell me about it?”

I describe our interactions.

“Well,” she says when I’ve told her everything, “you may be right about him being kind. Either that or he’s a great liar and really wants to get into your pants.”

“Aunt Star!”

“What? He’s a man, and you’re ridiculously beautiful. It’s not too far of a leap.”

“He’s not like that!”

“How do you know?”

“Because I do, okay?” If there’s one thing I knew about Ash when we were kids and I’m certain is still accurate, it’s that he’s a conscientious man. And he doesn’t play games. “And because he didn’t try anything, either yesterday or today.”

“All right,” she concedes. “Forget I said it. Ashley Hamilton is a kind man.”

“Thank you.” I don’t know why I’m so adamant she believes it, but I’m one hundred percent sure it’s true.

“You think this pen pal thing is the best idea?” she asks.

I’m not nearly as sure about the wisdom of the plan as I was when I proposed it. “Maybe not, but we have little choice. We can’t completely ignore or avoid each other because of work, and I don’t want to do that. I want to get to know him again, whether we ever end up as more than friends or not. And it’s already obvious we can’t spend time together outside work without getting too close too fast. So writing letters seems like a good way for us to get reacquainted without muddying the waters too much while I deal with the Glenn situation.” I groan. “Again, what am I going to do about Glenn?”

“I don’t think you can ignore or avoid him, either. You’re going to have to talk to him, if only for your own sake. Hear him out, see how you feel, and go from there. You don’t have to make an immediate decision about him. And try to keep your feelings for Ash out of it. Don’t let this instant crush on him cloud your thinking.”

I bristle at the “instant crush” comment, but she’s not wrong.

“Will you be able to sleep tonight?” she asks.

“Probably not.”

“I hope you can. Talk to Glenn soon, okay? The longer you put it off, the more you’re going to worry about it.”

“I know. I’ll call him tomorrow night if I don’t go out after work.” I want to tell her about Diego Sanchez, but I’m not sure what I can say without breaking the NDA. I need to ask Wendy for details.

“All right. Let me know how it goes.”

“I will. Love you.”

“You, too. Night.”

As soon as I hang up, I dial Wendy’s number. I don’t want to go over it all again, but I need to find out what I’m supposed to wear to the ballgame.

“You better be alone,” Wendy says as a greeting.

“Hello to you, too.”

“Yes, hi.” Then she loudly says, “Hi, Ash!”

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