Page 29 of Chasing Me

I grinned widely.“I have news.Can we get Mac on?”

“Hell, yes.She knows to pick up from us unless she’s onstage.”

I laughed, dialed her in, and sure enough, my second best friend was reflected on the screen.“Hey, girls.What’s shakin?”Her country twang and gorgeous face made me miss her even more.

“Two things.One, we want to be sure you’re okay.The last time we spoke, you broke up with Austin.”

The sadness in her eyes tore my heart apart.Answer given.I guessed she and Austin weren’t doing too well.“I’m hanging in.Throwing myself into work, you know?Maybe I’ll get another top country hit due to my broken heart.”

I jumped in.“I’m sorry, sweetie.We’ll be there soon.Can you hang in?”

Mac smiled.“Absolutely!I’m keeping busy trying to clear my schedule so we can spend some quality time together.What’s the second thing you called for?”

I knew she meant it, so I accepted her answer.Cassie’s small nod said she did, too.“I have good news.”

Mac grinned.“Good, we need it.Tell all.”

“I got the full-time position at New Beginnings!”

They both squealed and clapped and made a big deal out of it.Mac thought I needed more fun in my life, and Cassie was always telling me to try to have balance, but they knew how hard I’d worked for this.

“I can’t wait to celebrate!”Mac announced.“Congratulations, darlin’.You so deserve it.”

“I never doubted you,” Cassie swore.“Do you start after graduation?”

“Yes, I already put in for vacation for Spring Break, so that’s still clear.”

“I bet James is just as excited,” Cassie mentioned.

“I’m waiting to tell him.Figured I’d call my girls first.”

“You better!”Mac warned.“Forget that ‘bros before hoes’ crap.It’s BFFs before boyfriends!”

We all laughed, chattered a bit, then finally ended the call.

I dropped onto the couch, checking to see if he’d texted back yet, and tried to enjoy the few moments of happiness and satisfaction.I was hard on myself, so I figured after a few days, I’d be on to the next goal to conquer.

But for now, in this moment, life was just about perfect.

Chapter Fourteen

JAMES

I SWITCHED MY CELLto silent to ward off a call from my dad, and asked the receptionist if Quinn was still around.“Oh, she was just in Brian’s office.Let me ring and see if she’s still there.”

I stiffened at the sound of Brian’s name, but swore I’d be an adult.There was no reason to believe anything else was going on, even if Brian was interested.Quinn just wasn’t that type of woman.

The receptionist—her name tag said Sharon—clicked off the phone and motioned upstairs.“Take the elevator to the second floor.First door on the left.”

“Great, thanks.”I headed up, then knocked.Brian opened the door.“Hey, Brian.Don’t mean to interrupt.I was looking for Quinn.”

Oh, yeah.This guy was not a fan of mine.A grim smile touched his lips, but he seemed to try to be friendly.“No problem.She left.”

“Oh, sorry.Thanks.”I turned, but he called out my name.“Yeah?”

“I’d like to talk to you for a second.Do you have time?”

This time, our gazes met and clashed.“Sure.”I walked in, assessing his neat and orderly office, complete with a row of impressive degrees, all framed and hung on the wall behind his desk.Trophies from sports lined his bookcases.Yep, an overachiever.Even his office smelled faintly of lemon polish, as if he dusted it every day.

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