Page 13 of Made for You
“No, stay and chat a minute. I’ll see you soon.” Rosie flipped her hand without a backward glance and was halfway down the hall despite her heels.
Nikki gave me a sheepish look. “Okay, then.”
I wasn’t about to complain. “Actually, this is perfect. I wanted to ask you about your work.”
Her brow pinched down. “Work? Did Rosie say something?”
I didn’t want to throw her under the bus, but honesty seemed paramount about now. “She did. But it wasn’t bad, or purposeful. She just mentioned it off-hand, and I was wondering if you’d had any luck.”
It’d been a whopping twenty-four hours—less—since Rosie had dropped the knowledge.
“Uh, no. Actually, it’s looking a little bleak. At least for now. Keller Accountancy can hire me when tax season starts, but I’m in a hiring dead zone right now, I guess.”
I nodded at her phrasing because it was exactly right. Summer tourist season had closed out with the end of August, and fall was a slow shoulder season here, at least relatively. Ski season would bring in crowds, and then obviously the new year would bring in a lot of business for the accountancy, but she wouldn’t have any luck with retail, waiting tables, or anything else for at least eight weeks.
Which was why I’d brought it up. “I’m sure it’s well below your capabilities and not in your interest based on what Rosie has told me about you, but we do have a position open at Saint Security. It’s temporary, but it could be interesting. If you’re at all inclined, I’d love to have you come in on Monday and see if it feels like a fit.”
Her brows rose as I spoke, and her pretty lips parted before a smile pulled them into a quick flash of teeth and happiness. Just as quickly, she sobered and nodded. “Thanks. I guess I shouldn’t automatically say no, even though I have no idea what happens at a security company like yours. Other than hanging out with A-listers, right?”
I grinned. “Exactly. It has its charms.”
Another buzz at my wrist prompted me back to work. “I’ve got to run and get him inside, but I’ll hope to catch you after. Enjoy the movie.”
I gave her one last smile, let my gaze linger on Nikki’s, then turned back toward the green room. Time to do the job.
* * *
Exhaustion pawed at me, but I stayed focused on the ten-minute drive home. One blessed bonus to the event being here in town was the minimal commute. Jack was a good guy, and fortunately, no one had gotten too wild or grabby with him. Any locals wouldn’t dream of behaving that way, and the hundreds of visitors here for the festival seemed to understand that even celebrities had a right to personal space.
I turned off the SUV and sat for a minute, staring blankly at the garage wall through the windshield before summoning the motivation to exit. This week shouldn’t have dragged at me so much, but it had. In the past, I might’ve shoved that to the corner of my mind and tried to pretend it didn’t matter, but I was at least attempting to acknowledge my humanity these days.
Not that I’d ever seen myself as superhuman. I wasn’t that arrogant or misguided. It was more that I’d worked in an organization that put me and my peers in situations where we were both trained and enabled to do things that created a sense of invincibility and confidence.
It’d been an interesting shift these last few years—moving from active deployment cycles and executing missions to leadership and planning roles back home to stay closer to Kiley and then, last year, getting out of the Army entirely. I was still figuring it all out—wewere.
Speaking of, I should see what Kiley thought of the movie. The afterparty had just ended not long ago. I’d seen her and her friend slip out with a wave, so they shouldn’t be asleep yet.
“What’d you think?” I asked, wandering into the kitchen to toss my keys onto the counter, only to shift into high alert.
The house had that feeling—empty. I had no idea if it was training or if everyone felt this sensation, but I knew she wasn’t home. After hollering up to her with no answer, I confirmed it, then shot her a text on my phone.
Her response came quickly.“I’m at Tara’s. I told you I was staying here.”
I exhaled slowly, scrambling for control and willing my pulse to slow. I had no patience for texts, not when I wanted to throw my phone across the room, so I called.
“What’s up?” Her greeting was all nonchalance.
“Ki, you were supposed to come straight home. I get home and you’re not here and I’m a little… concerned.” Not a terrible job of keeping my crap together, I had to say.
“I told you I was coming to Tara’s. We have a group project to work on this weekend, so we’re doing it tomorrow.” Her tone said something like,this is so obvious and I don’t get why you’re even calling me.
“We talked this morning, and you said you were going there to get ready, driving with Tara and her mom to the screening, and then her mom was bringing you back here for a sleepover. At what point did we discuss you staying there?”
I tried not to let my frustration seep through the phone, but I’d nearly met my max, and it was hard. The end of a long day at the end of a long week and now I got to face down my need to keep her safe and her need for space as though that wasn’t the very tension keeping me up so often at night.
“Bruce, I’m fine. I’ll text when we’re up in the morning and let you know when I’m home. I’ll send you a proof of life photo in two.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face, breathing through the frustration—with myself? With her? With this house for feeling suffocating after looking forward to getting home all day?
