25. EMMA
I’m so embarrassed. I ran out of Sterling’s clinic like a schoolgirl who caught her elementary school crush on the playground playing freeze tag with someone else.
It was ridiculous.
I knew there wasn’t anything going on with Sarah. Number one, Sterling would never be that unprofessional. And number two, Sterling would never be that unprofessional.
I’m not blind anyway. I noticed the way she batted her eyelashes at him the first time I was there. It just caught me so off guard. I reacted before I even had a chance to think about what I was doing.
And what I was doing, as I mentioned, was acting like a child.
This whole misunderstanding thing is completely my fault anyway. I’m the one who keeps holding Sterling at arm’s length. And for what? Just to please my brother?
Sterling’s been so patient and honest with me, telling me everything about his past. And what have I done? Continued to push him away, while flirting with him at the same time. It’s not fair. I see that now.
Then, according to my friends, he spent hours searching for me after work. He texted them all day to see if I had gotten in touch because he was worried about me.
He really is a very sweet guy.
That’s the type of thing you see in movies. I can picture it now, him driving all over town while a cheesy love song plays in the background. And he did it for me.
After he left last night, the girls and I talked for hours. Well, I talked mostly. They are the world’s best listeners.
Today, I”m making a running list titled ”Pros and Cons of Getting into a Relationship with Sterling,” and here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
Pros: He makes me laugh. He makes me smile. He is thoughtful and caring. He loves animals. He’s gorgeous, with his wavy brown hair, mahogany eyes, and dimples that appear every time he smiles.
I was trying not to be superficial, so I didn’t even mention his muscles, but take my word for it, they are there, and they are quite lovely.
More pros: He works hard. He’s a great friend. He appreciates the little things.
The pro I’ve been putting off but it must be listed: His kisses are magical.
I think that when someone’s kisses literally make you weak in the knees, you’ve got something.
Cons: Um, hmmm. Let’s try this again. Thinking, thinking.
Cons: I guess maybe because his kisses make me weak in the knees combined with my tripping history, I could get injured somehow. It’s possible I could maybe fall over on a hard surface or something.
To turn that back into a pro, we could just head right to a couch. I might have to look into that, but that would involve kissing him more. So now we’ve circled right back around to a pro again.
Oh well. Moving on.
Cons, Cons: Oh, I got one. He lives here and I live in Memphis. That’s definitely a con. That and Peter, but honestly, I don’t think Peter’s a big problem anymore. I think I’m just using him as an excuse to take things slow.
Deep down, Peter knows that Sterling and I are good for each other, always have been. Plus, we’re adults. There’s not much he can do about it anyway. He’s just trying to be a good big brother, and I appreciate that.
Clearly, it’s a lopsided list. So here I am, sitting in my hotel room trying to figure out what to do next.
It needs to be something big, a grand gesture. Well, no, it doesn’t have to be, but I want it to be. He deserves it. For now, I’ll just do my best not to flirt with him when we’re together until I figure out what to do.
We don’t have plans to see each other over the next few days because everything is all set for the final two events. They are back-to-back, with the silent auction taking place on Friday and the concert on Saturday.
Until then, I’ll just keep brainstorming.
***
It’s Friday. The week’s going by surprisingly fast. I spent most of the days just double checking on the details for today and tomorrow, making sure we didn’t miss anything so that everything is as successful as it can be.
We switched girls’ night to last night because of the auction tonight. Mia and Zoe helped me come up with a plan for Sterling.
It’s going to be hard because it takes place at the concert on Saturday, so I’m going to have to play it cool tonight at the auction. Hopefully he won’t look too handsome when I see him.
Linda, Mia and Zoe all show up ahead of time to help the designer get things in place. Peter and Sterling got here early this morning to set up the tables and bring it all the donations.
Now we just have to put on the finishing touches to make things look polished. Zoe volunteered to manage the registration table. She has the perfect personality for it. The rest of us are going to monitor the other tables and be available for questions from the bidders.
I work on getting the registration table set up first. It’s the first stop for all attendees. They’ll sign in and get their bidder numbers and instructions on how to participate. I’ve never been to a silent auction myself, so I’m excited to see one in person.
We’re giving everyone two hours to browse the items and place their bids. The country club has a great sound system, so they”ll have some music playing in the background. They also offered to make appetizers and have stationed platters and trays all around the room.
I’m helping set up some drink tables when Sterling taps me gently on the shoulder. “Hi. Haven’t seen you all week.”
Oh man, no luck. He looks soooo handsome. Wavy brown hair styled perfectly. Check. Beautiful eyes. Check. Suit jacket that compliments the muscles we’ve discussed. Check.
Dimples do not appear in the first fifteen seconds, thank goodness. I need to make sure I don’t say anything that makes him smile.
“Hey, I know. It’s crazy not to run into each other in our small town.”
I turn back to my drink station. I arrange and rearrange the glasses continuously, which I’m sure looks strange. There’s only so many way to stack and unstack them.
“You, okay?” he asks.
“Me? Great? Are you all right?” I make sure to emphasize the ‘you.’
“Yes, I’m fine.” He chuckles. Ugh, that almost activated the dimples. Abort.
“I’m gonna go check on Zoe at the front, make sure everything is all set up for registration. If you want to stand by one of the tables to answer questions, things will get started in about fifteen minutes.”
I’m already heading away as I say, “I’m sure I’ll see you throughout the night.”
When I get to Zoe, I take a quick glance back in Sterling’s direction. He hasn’t moved from his spot and he looks puzzled.
Clearly, that wasn’t a very smooth exit. He finally heads toward a table next to Mia. She immediately starts chatting away when he gets there. Her arms and hands are flailing, so she’s clearly in the midst of a passionate story about something. That should keep him busy for a while. That girl can talk.
Zoe starts grilling me. “Okay, I saw that whole awkward interaction. What in the world? What did you say to that poor guy? You’re supposed to be acting cool. That, my friend, was not cool. He looks traumatized.”
I bring my hands to face and start massaging my temples, hoping to release some tension.
“I had to get away from the dimples.”
“What?” Zoe asks.
“His dimples, okay. I can’t play it cool when I see his dimples, and they were just about to make an appearance, so I made a break for it.”
Zoe doesn’t even try to stifle a laugh. She cackles so loudly that people look in our direction, including Mia and Sterling.
“Zoe, stop, please.” I desperately tug on her shirt and grit my teeth while I wait for her to calm down. It’s a painful and painstakingly slow process. But eventually she stops and everyone goes back to what they were doing before the Zoe hyena made an appearance.
Zoe takes a big breath to get rid of any giggles still trying to bubble to the surface. Then she puts her hands on my shoulders. “You have a little over two hours to get through. You can do this. Why don’t you just stay up here with me if you’re so scared of his dimples.”
Oh my goodness, it sounds even more ridiculous when I hear her say it out loud. “I can’t. I need to help out at the tables in case people have questions. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?” she asks. “You don’t look fine.”
I rub my hands together. “Yes, all good. I can make it through tonight. I’ll just keep my distance and not talk with Sterling unless I have to.”
“Great plan. That’s not going to seem weird at all.” Zoe hugs me and gives me an encouraging pat on the back. ”You got this!”
I hope she”s right.
***
It’s been exactly two hours and forty-seven minutes since my conversation with Zoe. Everyone is helping to clean up for the night, a night that was successful beyond my wildest dreams.
We announced the highest bidder for each item and finished collecting payments about twenty minutes ago. Peter was right, of course. The signed jersey he donated got the highest bid by far.
Peter and Sterling help people take the items to their cars. We promise to deliver the bigger items as soon as we wrap up.
Mia and I count up the total. Combined with our take from the raffle, we’re already eighty percent of the way to our goal. The money from concert is going to put us over the top. It’s completely sold out.
This is really happening. I’ve got to tell Sterling.
He’s folding up a table when I approach him. “It was a great night. We’re almost at our goal.”
“Yes, it seemed very successful.” His response is barely above a whisper. He looks a little sad.
I get it. We’ve hardly talked all night and that’s my fault. I’m sure my behavior is constantly confusing him. I should wrap him up in a hug right now to celebrate how well this auction went, but I don’t want to make it any worse than it already is tonight.
Plus, it will make tomorrow night even sweeter.
I hope I’m making the right decision.
“We’re a great team, you know?”
He nods. “Yep, we sure are.” He forces a smile, then looks back at the table he’s working on.
When he’s got it folded up he says, “Well, I’ve gotta help Peter deliver those last few items. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He starts to walk away, then looks back once last time.
I give him a dorky double thumbs up before I can stop myself. “Yes, definitely.”
Wow, very cool Emma.
With that, I help the girls finish up before heading for my car.
I feel terrible that I didn’t spend much time with Sterling tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be worth the wait for him.