Page 18 of Moonstruck at Midnight
Caleb:Are you in the apartment, Miss Murphy?
They must’ve been wondering why I hadn’t notified them about starting my day, but I hadjustwoken up, which, as they also knew, was unusual for me.
Me:Good morning! I just woke up. I was thinking of going out to the park in about 20 min. Caleb, are you ok for a run?
I walked to my messily opened suitcases in the foyer. Ugh. I needed to unpack. But that could wait. I changed into my running clothes, poured myself a big glass of water, and embarked on a hopeful coffee quest.
Bingo.
Hmm, instant coffee, though. I needed to attend to this matter as soon as possible. I’d grown accustomed to the taste of the delightful French coffee that was offered to me every morning in Paris. I wanted to fend on my own, didn’t I?
Another text came in:
Unknown:Hi, Billie! I’m Christopher Jewell. I don’t know if you remember me. Our mothers used to be good friends. We had a bunch of playdates when we were kids before you guys left for Rome.
Unknown:Anyway, your father gave my mother your number. Would you like to hang out and meet up later today? I go by CJ, by the way. Let me know!
I honestly couldn’t remember him, and I felt a little embarrassed because of it. But also, we were tiny. I supposed that he didn’t remember me either and felt obligated by his mother to send me a text. And since I didn’t know anyone here, I agreed to meet for dinner at eight. I needed to expand my social circle.
A knock on my door.
I gave my coffee one last sip and rushed to see who it was.
“Hey, Caleb,” I said with a hint of a smile.
“Good morning.” He echoed my gesture with a tad of concern in his eyes. He was in his sportswear, ready for our run. “Are you okay?”
“Um, yeah.” I tried smiling more to make my words sound convincing.
“You’re a morning person. I found it odd for you to sleep in, and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I know living on your own now and moving back here might be a lot to take in.”
At that moment, I knew I couldn’t lie to him because he knew me too well.
“It was just one of those nights.” I didn’t bother smiling after saying that. Plus, he knew exactly whatthose nightsmeant. After more than four years of seeing ours faces every day … he knew.
“I see. Are you feeling better?”
“I am.”
“I gotcha, okay?” He took another step forward that lingered somewhere between my personal and intimate space range. “You know that, right?”
I looked down because I’m wasn’t going to start crying again, and I knew I had him, and he knewIknew. So I did the best I could to compress and ignore whatever was going on inside me. Finally, I looked up to him and said, “I know,” followed by a more genuine smile this time. Which I guess he noticed too and made him relax.
“Let’s go run this off. Are you ready?” I nodded. “There’s someone downstairs waiting to meet you.”
We made our way to the lobby and saw a cheerful brown skinned agent, which I guessed was David. The unmistakable curly earpiece gave him away. He was also in his sportswear.
“Good morning, Miss Murphy, pleased to meet you. Name’s David, David Scott. I will be joining your security detail team starting today.” He introduced himself and offered his hand to me.
David wasn’t as tall as the Israeli duo. Still, he handled himself with a much more welcoming demeanor, which shouldn’t be taken literally. There would be nothingfriendlyabout the former Marine if the situation justified it.
“Pleasure to meet you too, David. I’m sure both Aaron and Caleb here will be glad to have you on their team.” I nodded once in Caleb’s direction. “Ready for a run?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m a runner myself. I just ran the Austin Marathon less than a month ago. I’ll be surely enjoying the morning runs,” he added.
After finishing up with the pleasantries, Caleb and David broke down the running plan for me.
We ran for about an hour and stopped at a juice and smoothie place a block away from the apartment on our way back, where I bought a green juice.
