Page 37 of Lessons in Forgiving
Henry blinked slowly, then brought the glass of orange juice to his lips. He took a sip without breaking our eye contact.
“You’re right,” he said grandly, playing it back on the table. “I’m the one being ridiculous.”
“Are you saying it’sme?”
“Oh God, Paula. What would give you that idea?”
I huffed at his words, head shaking when I relaxed back into my chair. Just… pretend that never happened.
“What’s next on your agenda?” I asked in an attempt, watching him get up to take our plates into the kitchen. I followed him with the maple syrup and empty blueberry bowl.
“Shower.” He quickly checked the time around his wrist. “Right about now. We’ll get to the field by 11:30 and I’ll just be kicking around until three.”
By kicking around, he probably meant going about carefully crafted routines he didn’t want to bother explaining to me.
“Practice is until five, and…” This was where he hesitated. “The boys are going out to celebrate… something. Honestly, I’m not even sure myself.” His head shook in amusement. “Obviously you’re free to go home. Partying isn’t really part of my usual routine. So.” He shrugged, trailed off.
So.
“Oh.” I really did need to get down some notes on today’s stuff, maybe start transcribing some of the audio, too. But only an hour ago, I’d claimed to be all in. And where would I be able to get better material than with Henry and his team on a night out?
I said what any sensible journalist would. “All in, remember?”
CHAPTER 16
NOW
“All in?” Maeve repeated, basically screeching the word. “What does that even mean? All in onwhat?”
“The article!” I shot her a glare through the mirror, scrunching the rest of the mousse into my curls. “Obviously.”
“Is it?” She threw her red corset top at my head and missed only by a few inches. “And does Henry know that?All incould mean any number of things. It could meaneverything, actually.”
“Of course he does.” I checked the time on my phone absentmindedly. With another fifteen minutes until he’d pick me up, I noticed the text notification below the time and groaned. Then turned the unlocked screen to Maeve so she could read it.
Her brown eyes flickered across the message before she faked a pout. “You need to put that boy out of his misery, babe.” Glancing back at Jack’s text, I felt a twinge of guilt.
> JACK:
Already got plans later?
“I’m bad at that,” I confessed to her. “And he’s nice. I like him. Just not… like that.”
“Well.” She snorted in amusement, red hair bouncing when she shook her head. “It just so happens that you’re a gorgeous angel and hedoeslike you like that. Let him down gently so he can move on!”
I stared at my phone, not even bothering to lift my gaze. “Now?”
“Obviously not,” she deadpanned.
Sometimes I wondered how she dealt with me. Other times I wondered how I’d dealwithouther, once we’d all graduate and go our separate ways. “Tell him you’re busy, which you are, and then get dressed. You have about ten minutes before the love of your life is standing on our doorstep.”
“He’s not the—” My head snapped in her direction, and I cut myself off when I caught her teasing expression. “You’re a child, Maeve Peterson.”
But I changed anyway.
When the doorbell rang through the house ten minutes later, I certainly wasn’t surprised by Henry’s punctuality anymore. I flew down the stairs to avoid another Maeve-Henry incident, and waved goodbye to Laila and Riley on the couch. Pip was sleeping slap bang in the middle of them, enjoying Laila’s belly scratches.
“Don’t do anything I would do!” Riley called after me, but I’d already slipped into my sneakers and was halfway out the door by then.
