Chapter 16
sixteen
The next week flew by in a blur of content editing, number crunching, and second, third, and fourth dates for Ava, leaving me plenty of alone time. I spent most of it trying to avoid the comment section on the hot air balloon video. Liam and Tripp both agreed to edit out the mid-air panic attack, which meant we were short on footage. Even with the edit, it was clear I hadn’t taken to the adventure convincingly enough. The comments were brutal. I was stiff and off-putting while Tripp was still the fan favorite. Everyone loved him. Well, everyone except the die hard Take the Leap fans. They hated the new content almost as much as they hated seeing a woman as the face of the campaign.
At least the female audience was happy to see this new side of Tripp. I couldn’t blame them. I’d watch him watch paint dry.
The app downloads picked up some, but we were still well below the KPIs we’d set. Seth and his team were pulling all-nighters to update the quiz, and Liam’s team were dipping into their ad budget to promote it more.
For the most part, we’d managed to pretend nothing weird or awkward had happened between us. We went on working together as if nothing had changed between us, and, really, it hadn’t. He just knew more about me than I ever wanted anyone to know. I still haven’t shared all of the details with Ava. She just knew that we’d had dinner and the conversation went in a direction I wasn’t prepared for. Though, she knew me well enough to know what direction that was.
Today, I’d planned for a nice and quiet Saturday. Ava was out for the afternoon with Heath, so I had the house to myself. I had a Grey’s Anatomy and Big Bang Theory marathon planned. I was carrying my collection of snacks up the stairs when a knock at the door startled me. I paused on the stairs so I didn’t make any noise, assuming it was someone selling lawn care or Jesus. I wasn’t up for small talk with strangers today. I waited a solid minute before continuing my trek up the stairs.
Another knock caused me to sigh in frustration. What part about a nice and quiet day did the universe not understand? My annoyance melted away when I heard the voice on the other side of the door say my name.
“Coming!” I set the bowl of snacks on the stairs and smoothed my hands over my hair. I’d thrown it into a ponytail rather than washing it this morning, but I was suddenly regretting that choice—along with the old leggings and radio station T-shirt I was wearing. But there wasn’t time to change. I pulled the door open, and even though I knew who was on the other side, seeing him standing there in his stupid backward cap and sunglasses caught my breath.
“Hi, Tripp.”
“Hi.”
“I wasn’t expecting anyone today,” I said and gestured toward my attire. “Did you need something for work?” It was the only plausible explanation I could think of.
He smiled his adorable half-grin and shook his head. “Sorry to drop in unannounced. I found myself bored and alone. So, I got in the car and started driving. Somehow, I ended up here.”
Oh. The new familiar feeling of warmth spread from my core through my body. “Do you want to come in? I was planning a lazy day with snacks and TV binging.”
He glanced around me and into the house but didn’t move to come in. “Actually, I was wondering if maybe you’d be up for taking me on one of your adventures.”
“Yeah, I don’t really have those.”
“Come on now, I’ve seen the way your face lights up when you talk about going to the bookstore or the library. It’s a gorgeous spring day. If you could do anything outside of the house today, what would you do?”
I considered his question. “Staying inside and avoiding allergies sounds like a good plan. But I’m guessing you had something else in mind.”
“I didn’t, really. I’m still not entirely sure how I ended up here.” The other half of lips joined in the smile. He slipped off his sunglasses and took a step forward. “You can send me on my way, if you want to. I won’t be offended.”
I didn’t even hesitate. I stepped aside and let him in. “We don’t usually use the bottom floor on the weekend,” I said and reached to flip on the light at the same time he did. Our fingers brushed. I couldn’t ignore the warmth that spread from that tiny touch.
“Are you sure you don’t mind if I crash your Saturday?”
“No,” I answered quickly. Sure, I’d planned to spend the day alone and doing all my favorite things, but the instant his face graced my doorway, I knew I didn’t want to spend it alone. “I had snacks and a few beverages ready to head up.”
He slipped off his shoes, placed them by the door, and removed his hat and sunglasses. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and glanced around the room. He looked nervous almost. I hadn’t ever seen him look anything other than calm, cool, and collected. I kind of liked this new, shy version of him.
I led the way to the stairs and retrieved the bowl of snacks. Tripp took it from me and climbed the stairs behind me. When we reached the top, I gestured around the open living area. He’d seen the office space last time he was here, but he’d yet to see our living area. “This is our space. Ava’s room is over to the right, and mine is on the left.”
“Is it weird living where you work?”
“Sometimes, but the commute is great,” I said. “So, I’d planned to watch Grey’s or Big Bang ; do you have a preference? My backup plan was reading, but that might be boring.”
“Let’s go with Big Bang , I love the opposites attract dynamic. What season are you on?”
“Oh, I’ve seen the whole show, but this rewatch, I’m on season three.”
“How many times have you watched this?” I hesitated before admitting that I’d watched the entire show three times. At least. “That’s only one more than me.”
“You have time to watch entire seasons of shows?”
“What do you think I do after work every night?”
“Well, as Nashville’s most eligible bachelor under 40, I imagine you have a line of screaming girls waiting for a ride in your Jeep. When you’re not wooing the town’s single women, you’re jumping out of planes and traveling the world in a hot air balloon.” I sat on the couch and scooted closer to the armrest to make room for him, but he didn’t sit down. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arm over his chest. He locked his gaze on me. I tried not to squirm on the couch but failed.
“You have quite the imagination, Sadie.”
“Overactive, according to most of my former teachers.”
“Just right,” he argued. “But in this case, you’re wrong. I go home and feed my cats, read, watch TV, or, depending on the day, crash early.”
I bit my lip and debated my next question. “So, you don’t spend your weekends wining and dining the bachelorettes?”
Tripp shook his head and laughed. “Not as often as my reputation would lead you to believe. I’ve spent the past ten years dedicated to Take the Leap and haven’t had much time or energy for anything else. I’d hoped once things picked up a few years ago, I’d have time, but the demands kept coming.”
It made sense. His business had exploded in the beginning, then when it started to dip recently, he’d put all of his efforts and energy into keeping it going. “You’re married to the job, I get that. I’ve often referred to Savie as our child, it takes more time than most people realize.”
“It’s a good thing we love what we do, though.”
“It makes it all worth it,” I said. “Wait, did you say cats? As in more than one?”
“Three.”
“You have three cats?” I didn’t believe him. At all.
“Elliot, Derek, and Taylor.” An adorable hint of red crept up his cheeks. Those names sounded oddly familiar.
“Hold up. As in Stabler, Shepherd, and Swift?” He nodded, confirming my guess. “No. Seriously?”
“Would you believe me if I said my sisters were Swifties and named them for me?”
“Based on how red your face is right now, no. Not at all. Mr. James, you continue to surprise me.” He pushed off the wall and strode toward the couch. Rather than sitting next to me, he sat on the edge of the coffee table.
“Busted. My sisters are all big fans, but so am I. We went to all three of her shows in Nashville last year. We always listen to Fearless before a jump.”
“Do you jump head-first, fearless?”
“Every time.” He leaned forward. “Are you sure this is okay?”
“What?”
“Me being here. I know we haven’t really talked much since the hot air balloon. I don’t want to push you. You can tell me to bugger off.” He said it in a horrible British accent. Laughing, I shook my head.
I could. But I didn’t want to. “As long as you don’t bring up my family or tell me you were rooting against Penny and Leonard, you can stay. I’ll even let you sit on the couch.”
I patted the cushion on the other side. He cocked his head to the side and studied me for a moment. Then, got up and moved to the couch. He sat on the cushion beside me. I could still feel the heat radiating off of him.
“I mean, Priya’s cute, but she’s no Penny.”
I scoffed. “You’re lucky I’ve already watched the breakup seasons and you aren’t spoiling anything. But how dare you.” I tossed one of the decorative pillows at him. He caught it with ease and tucked it behind his head.
“Well, let’s get this binge-watch going. We’ve got all day.”
I settled into my spot on the couch and turned the TV on. I’d queued up Grey’s but switched over to Big Bang and started the episode. When the intro began to play, I raised the remote to skip it, but Tripp started to sing along under his breath. I let it play through and was tempted to restart the episode so I could hear him sing again. But it would play again in twenty-three minutes. I could wait.
I snuck another peek at him while the episode played. I couldn’t believe he was sitting on my couch in my house. He seemed like he fit right in. If I let myself daydream, I could see him here every Saturday and Sunday. Except, there wouldn’t be a couch cushion between us. I shut that daydream down before my overactive imagination ran completely wild.
“Are you bored yet?” I asked after a few episodes.
He stretched his arms over his head and arched his back. “Not at all.”
I shifted closer to him so that his arm fell around my shoulders when he dropped them back down. I nestled into the crook of his arm and inhaled deeply. He smelled like a warm summer day, and I didn’t hate it. He wrapped his hand around my arm and inched me closer to him. We both shifted until we found a comfortable position.
If you’d have told me two months ago that I’d spend my Saturday afternoon curled up on the couch with Tripp James, I’d have laughed. I’d never have guessed that there was a soft, kind man beneath the rough and tumble exterior he exuded. He was nothing at all like I’d expected. He had cats named after my favorite musician, he adored his family, he knew all the words to TV show theme songs, and he was patient and gentle. It was as if every day I spent with him uncovered a new side of him. If I’d seen this version of him in our early brand research, I wouldn’t have hesitated to pitch them for even a second.
I sat up and jumped off the couch. “I have an idea.”
Tripp startled and stared up at me, confused.
“You know how we’re getting all these comments from your core audience about how different the content is and that they don’t recognize you?”
“Yeah?” He leaned forward and focused his attention on me.
“That’s because no one knows your story. They don’t know about Noah or your family or how these adventures are healing and cathartic. They only know the story they’ve been told through branding.” He was nodding along now. “I think we need to tell that story. We need to show the heart behind TTL and your mission. That’s the piece that’s missing from the campaign.”
I bit my lip and watched his face as he reacted to what I’d said. It was a risk to even suggest he bring his family into the marketing. I didn’t know if he’d be open to talking about Noah or using his story in the branding. We’d have to be careful in how we approach it.
“Your annual fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is coming up soon, right?” He nodded. “We tie it together. Maybe do a contest for a family going through what you all went through. Let them pick their own family bonding adventure.”
His face lifted at that. There was a hint of a twinkle in his eyes as he said, “Sadie, that’s brilliant.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, it’s perfect. I've always wanted to share Noah’s story, but I’ll need to run it by my family.”
“That’s a good idea. When do you do your annual sky dive?”
“It’s next month, why?” he asked.
“Do you think they’d be open to having it filmed?”
He shrugged. “We can ask. Let’s add this to our weekly touch base agenda.”
I bobbed my head in approval. I settled back onto the couch beside him and snuggled against him. “Okay, back to not talking about work.”