Page 137 of My Merry Mistake
“I did,” Landyn says. “If it’s not okay, I can take it down.”
“It’s really nice,” I say. “Thank you.”
“We also got donuts,” Jill says as Hoff steps forward with a box.
“We didn’t want to eat them till you were officially back,” Hoff says. “But?—”
I can see he’s been counting the seconds before he can break open the box. “Don’t hold out on my account.” I clear a spot on my desk and motion for him to set the box down.
He does, then flips it open. “You pick first, Miss Hart.”
Normally, my internal alarm clock would be signaling for them to get out of here because I have things to do, but as I look at the assortment of pastries, I realizethisis what I have to do right now, and it’s the most important thing.
I reach in, grab a long john, then sit, motioning for them to pull up chairs around my desk. “Tell me everything I’ve missed.”
After about a half an hour and a full debrief of all the important things that happened while I was away, the impromptu meeting breaks up, and they all stand to go. Hoff and Jill walk out as Landyn picks up the empty donut box, that timid look on her face.
“Has it gotten better for you this past month?” I ask.
She looks at me, wide-eyed, like she was just caught shoplifting. “Uh, yeah. I’m getting the hang of it, but it’s still a lot. I don’t want to let anyone down.”
I smile, trying to summon the warmth that doesn’t come easily to me. “I get that.”
She turns to go, but I stop her.
“Would you want to meet once a week, just to check in?” I ask. “See how we can take care of some of the overwhelm you’ve been feeling?”
“With you?” She stares at me, unblinking.
“Yes,” I say. “I’ve been at this a while, and I think I can help.”
“I’d love that,” she says. “I really want to do a good job.”
“I’ll ask Jill to set it up.”
“Thank you, Miss Hart.” She smiles, then walks out, leaving me sitting in the quiet, realizing that I can help her acclimate instead of dismissing her before I even give her a chance.
I think Finn would be proud.
I pull out my phone to text him when he shows up at my door. The second our eyes meet, I realize that space, distance, and time away from him did absolutely nothing to ease my crush.
I smile.
He smiles.
And two words pop into my head:Oh, crap.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Raya
Iwake up on Saturday and force myself to take the morning slow. For reasons I can’t explain, I snap a selfie with my coffee mug, the white lights of the tree twinkling in the background, and I send it to Finn. Like Iwanthim in on this ritual.
I instantly regret it. Becausewhat am I doing?
My feelings are overtaking my logic, and I don’t like it.
But he returns the text with a selfie of his own. He’s holding the video game controller and looking like he just got out of bed.
