24. Chapter 24
F umbling for my keys in my bag, I stopped just outside my apartment door the next morning.
It was still well before lunch, but I’d decided to work from home for the rest of today—a benefit I’d rarely taken advantage of since starting at the agency, in part because the job of an assistant was much more tied to being present in the office.
As a new agent, I had more freedom, in a sense, though I was still going to be juggling some assistant duties until they’d hired and trained my replacement.
The truth was, I didn’t want to risk seeing Kylan today.
I still felt very undecided about my future, and seeing him would only complicate things.
And if I happened to see him with Sofia, well—I didn’t know if I could handle that today, on a rainy Monday no less.
I was already on my way out when I noticed Sofia was out of the office.
Guilt swept through me, as I felt only relief at not having to say goodbye to my friend, who was really an awesome person but hard to see right now, given the situation.
The … situation.
Sighing, I turned the key in the lock and opened—
“Uh.”
“Girl!”
“What, Sof— ”
As I stepped into my own apartment and shut the door absently behind me, my coworker tightened the towel—the bath towel —around her bare limbs. “Yeah. Hi.” In both words, she drew out the vowels, her eyes flitting in every direction.
“You’re in—in my apartment, wearing a towel,” I sputtered, my eyes like saucers and my mouth gaping. I vaguely noticed some candles at the dining table and the faint smell of wax in the air. “What is happening? Am I …” I put my fingers on my temples. “Am I finally having an actual meltdown?”
Then a familiar male voice called out, “Sofia, are you having trouble finding the … oh …” Rainn trailed off as he entered the room, clad in a bathrobe, and saw me. He closed his mouth, reopened it, and then closed it again.
No one spoke for a moment. “Rainn?” I squeaked. “What’s going on?”
He flinched. “I was going to tell you, Annie. Sorry, I really was. It’s—this—” He pointed between himself and Sofia. “We’re—”
“This is new,” Sofia cut in, coming to stand by him. “We were going to tell you soon.”
I turned my widened eyes to Rainn. “Is she the one you were talking about all those months ago?” He winced and nodded, his cheeks turning red. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Aww, I didn’t know you’d been crushing on me that long,” Sofia said, smiling at him and nuzzling his shoulder. “Sorry, is that super weird? I’m really into your roommate, Annie.”
I looked back and forth between them and shook my head slowly. “Honestly, it’s not as weird as you being really into my ex.”
Sofia looked at me blankly for a moment before recognition dawned, and she laughed. “Oh, right. Kylan, yeah, that was never going to work out. He wasn’t really interested—”
“Wait,” I said, not really listening to Sofia’s words. “This means you and Kylan aren’t a thing.”
“It definitely means that.” Rainn grinned. “What are you gonna do about it, Annie? ”
I opened my mouth at the blunt question, but it was a moment before any words came out. “I—I don’t know what you mean.”
Rainn’s grin only widened. “OK, sure, but can you do me a favor and get out of here? You can come back tonight.” He pulled Sofia close to his side. She laughed, seeming not to notice me in the room anymore.
I backed out, mumbling something incoherent as I left the apartment. Once out in the hallway, I stopped and leaned against the opposite wall.
This means …
Kylan’s not with Sofia.
This …
I leaned heavily against the wall, breathing hard.
This is everything.
“Annie York! How dare you text me at a time like this?” Viviana demanded after I picked up the ringing phone.
I laughed, which helped only slightly in dispelling the tension in every single muscle in my body. “I thought you might be busy with Jane’s visit.”
“Oh, she went back home today. Her boss—wait, it doesn’t matter. So, wow, Sofia and Rainn? Didn’t see that coming. Meaning she and Kylan aren’t …” She paused, and her eyebrows shot up. “ Kylan is single! ”
“Well,” I said cautiously. “We don’t actually know that. I only know that he’s not with Sofia.”
“But you haven’t seen him with anyone else.”
“No.”
“And neither have I. I’ve actually seen him a lot while we’ve been working to get my novel ready to shop around to publishers. He’s never said a word about his love life. I think … well, we haven’t talked ab out you often, but when your name comes up, I sense there’s something there.”
“Something, like what? Bitterness? Resentment? Reluctant lovers-turned-coworkers feelings?” I asked, my voice full of anxiety but also a little hope.
“No, none of that. Well, maybe a little of the last thing. But it’s more of … I don’t know, a softness. I think—” She paused. “I think he may still have feelings for you. But I can’t be sure.”
I tried to tame the hope fluttering in my chest. “Yes, well, anything is possible, but we don’t really know—”
“ Annie .”
“Viv?”
“You can’t let him go again.”
“But I don’t even know if—”
“So what? This is Persuasion , Annie. By Jane Austen! Except you’re not quiet and modest like Anne Elliot. You’re Annie York, my fearless younger friend who is usually the most confident person I know. Give it a shot.”
I swallowed with some effort, and after a few shallow breaths, I replied, “You’re right. You—this isn’t like me. I go after what I want —always. And what I want is … love. And a career.”
Viviana cheered. “Yes! You and me both. By the way, I have some news myself.”
I gasped. “Did you—”
“Yes! He said yes !”
“As if there was ever any doubt that Jack would jump at the chance to marry you. He’s been yours forever, Viv.”
“Aww, Annie. Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m this happy—well, we’ll talk more about that later.
Anyway, just wanted to share the big news.
” She paused, sounding emotional for a moment.
“But back to Kylan , go get your man! It’s my turn to be the rom-com movie sidekick character right now, and I’m loving it. ”
I giggled. “I guess that makes me the heroine.” I sobered up quickly.
“I need some time to think about how to go about this. I haven’t …
well, I really haven’t allowed myself to think about ge tting back together, to have hope that he could return the feelings. I still don’t know if it’s possible …”
“Of course it’s possible. You could write a letter, like Wentworth does in Persuasion . It would be a cool gender reversal. Captain Quinn, you pierce my soul—”
“Is that from the book? I’ll have to reread that section.
It’s been years since I read Austen.” Ignoring Viviana’s tsk-tsk sound, I continued, “Thanks, Viv. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little terrified, but I’d also be extremely angry at myself and the world if I lost another opportunity with him. So …”
She inhaled audibly. “So?”
“So I’m going to make an idiot out of myself, probably, but oh well. Please tell me you’ll be around tonight in case I need to cry on your shoulder and forget he exists. Or help me pack and move to another continent.”
“Always,” Viviana said with a chuckle. “But something tells me you’ll be doing something very different tonight.”