Maybe This Time(50)

“I’ve always been kind of difficult, haven’t I?”

“Yes.” Micah leaned forward and looked up at the high-rise in front of us. “I think it’s this building. Do you see the parking garage entrance?”

“To the right,” I said.

She drove up the ramp and into the garage. We followed the directions her dad had given us and saw the catering van, its back doors open and Lance unloading.

Micah powered down her window. “Where do I park?” she called out.

Lance pointed to an open spot down the aisle.

We got out of the car and headed to the catering van. Lance was still there, holding a large plastic bin.

“We get the flower girl today?” he asked, handing me the bin. “Do we have a bet going yet on how many broken dishes there will be?”

Micah scrunched her nose at him. “Stop. She’s already nervous.”

“This is quite the event to learn at,” he said.

I swallowed.

“Lance,” Micah said.

Lance pushed a box into Micah’s hands and grinned at me. “You’ll do fine, newb. Top floor, ladies.” He gestured toward the door.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” I said as we headed inside. “Your dad actually wants a referral from this event. I can just go wander in the park or check out the food trucks.”

Micah used her elbow to hit the button for the elevator. “Trying to get out of it already? My dad wouldn’t have let you do this if he didn’t know you were fully capable.” She gave me a steady look. “We went over this. Just follow my lead all night. You’ll be fine. You act like you haven’t carried huge boxes full of centerpieces. You have muscles, girl.”

“I’ll be fine,” I repeated.

The elevator arrived. The doors opened and there was Andrew. He took a step forward before he saw us.

“Andrew!” Micah said. “Lookin’ good.”

He wore another one of his dark suits with a small-print floral tie. He stepped to the side and used one hand to make sure the elevator doors didn’t shut on us. Micah and I tried to step into the elevator together, which resulted in me knocking into Andrew.

“Sorry,” I said at the same time he said, “Excuse me.”

We both laughed a little, and he said, “I’m completely in your way.”

I turned sideways and so did he and we shuffled past each other. Once Micah and I were inside, Andrew let go of the elevator door and it slid shut. I shifted the bin onto my hip and pushed the button for the top floor.

The elevator whirred into motion, letting off a ding as it passed each floor. One ding, two, three.

“What was that?” Micah asked.

“That was floor number four,” I said, watching the red digital numbers over the door change.

“You know very well what I’m talking about. The politeness. The blushing.”

“What? I didn’t blush.”

“You blushed. It’s like you two finally released some tension or something.”

My eyes went to the bin in my arms and before I could defend myself Micah gasped.

“You did? When?” she asked.

“It was nothing.”

“Define nothing.”

“We kissed. Once. It was a mistake.”

“You kissed!” Micah’s mouth dropped open. “Sophie! When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was after John’s funeral.” I bit my lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Micah shook her head. “The fact that you didn’t say anything makes me think it was more than you’re letting on.”

“It wasn’t,” I said quickly. Too quickly.

“What were you thinking?” Micah asked. The elevator reached the top floor and the doors slid open.

I swallowed hard and stepped out into the hall. “I wasn’t.”

“Sophie, he’s leaving in four months. You remember that, right?” she said, following me.

“I know! I told you, it was nothing. We both acknowledged that.”

“Good,” she said. But she sighed, as if she wasn’t willing to drop it quite yet. “I thought you didn’t even like him.”

To our left was a set of white swinging doors that led to the kitchen. I could hear the clinking of dishes inside. I stopped and took a deep breath. “I don’t like him. He’s infuriating and arrogant and entitled and opinionated.”

“And yet?”

“Nothing. That was the end of my speech. He has zero redeeming qualities.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Crap. You’re lying. If not to me, then definitely to yourself. If you can’t think of one good thing about Andrew Hart, then you’re trying awfully hard not to.”

I shook my head firmly. “It doesn’t matter. That’s what I’m trying to say. Like you said, he’s leaving in four months and that’s how I feel about him. Plus, I know the feeling is mutual.”

Micah raised her eyebrows. “How do you know that?”

“I have instincts.”

“Your instincts—”

“Are spot-on. Remember Kyle? Remember how I sensed there was something off there and I forced myself to push it? Well I was right. He let me know exactly how right I was.”