Maybe This Time(51)

“How?” she asked.

“I caught him kissing Jodi.”

“Sophie! When? Why didn’t you tell me this? Am I not your best friend anymore?” The hurt in her eyes let me know I’d made a mistake in not talking to her, in not telling her all of this when it had happened.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to forget about it. I still do. But I promise I’ll fill you in on everything later, okay?” I held her gaze but she glanced away. “Thinking about it now is only going to stress me out more.” I held up the box I was holding. “Plus, this is heavy.”

“Fine … Yes, let’s talk about this later.” She pushed through the doors to the kitchen. “Or not at all if that’s how you want it to be.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Micah was mad, and she had every right to be. But for now, I needed to think about work.





I stepped out onto the roof of the building. It was amazing. The large expanse of space overlooking the city was lush with greenery: like a yard sitting on top of the world. There was a lawn, potted plants, trees, and flowers. I’d never seen anything like it.

Draped tables and chairs sat in the center, and all around the perimeter were drink stations. There weren’t any guests yet but it was a bustle of worker activity.

Micah was talking about which tables I’d be serving and busing, but my gaze had stopped on the centerpieces. Huge pink peonies the size of my open hand were packed into golden vases. White hydrangeas and pale green succulents were in the mix as well. I’d never tried that combination before but it was stunning. I instantly imagined girls in flowy pale-pink skirts and draped white tops walking barefoot through a garden of green.

“Hello?” Micah said. “Do I need to leave you alone with the flowers?”

“They’re so pretty. Can you imagine anyone in our town requesting a centerpiece like this?”

“Take a picture and maybe you can suggest them to Caroline for a future event.”

“My phone is in my bag in the locker inside.”

“Ask Andrew to take a picture,” she said.

I looked over my shoulder, thinking she meant he was out here somewhere. He wasn’t. “I’ll just draw it later. I left my journal at home.” I wished I hadn’t, because I really wanted to sketch.

I was still struggling with what was unique and different about me as a designer. But thankfully, I had managed to eke out a couple of sketches in the last several weeks that didn’t completely suck. Maybe I’d make my December deadline after all.

“You’d rather draw this than ask Andrew for a favor?” Micah was saying. She clucked her tongue. “Wow. This is worse than I thought.”

“It is not.” I pointed to the group of tables around me. “So these are my tables?”

“Yep. Just five. Easy peasy.”

“How many do you have?”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s not my first night.”

“Okay, I just don’t want you taking on more because you think I can’t pull my weight.”

“It’s good, Soph. We’ll be fine.” Something caught her eye behind me. “Oh, look, there’s Andrew. He can take a picture for you. Andrew!”

I knew she was trying to get me to admit that there was something more going on with us, but I wasn’t going to do it. I put on my indifferent face. Because that’s what I was. Very indifferent.

Andrew came over, his phone in hand. “These centerpieces are amazing,” he said.

“That’s what Sophie was just saying. Will you take a picture of one and send it to her?” Micah asked cheerfully.

Andrew held up his phone and snapped a few pictures. “You going to try to copy them?” he asked in that condescending way of his.

“What? No. I don’t copy things.”

“There’s no shame in that. Don’t they say imitation is the best form of flattery?”

“There’s a difference between imitation and inspiration,” I said.

“What is the difference?” he asked. “The level of guilt you feel?”

Good. He was proving to me that our kiss was a total fluke. “Don’t be a tool,” I said.

“But I’m so good at it.”

I raised my eyebrows at Micah as if to say, See, nothing going on here.

She just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Nice pants, by the way, Sophie,” Andrew added, tucking his phone back into the inside pocket of his jacket. “Good choice for your first pair ever.”

“Nice suit,” I said. “How does it feel to spend so much money on a dozen that look exactly the same?”

He gave a faux gasp. “I have at least two dozen.”

I smirked. “I don’t doubt it.”

I wasn’t sure if Micah and I had more to do on the roof, but I walked back toward the door like suddenly I was the one in charge. I was grateful when Micah followed me.

“You know,” she said, once she’d fallen into step beside me, “you didn’t have to act that way for my benefit.”

“I didn’t. That’s who we are.”

“Perpetual flirts?”

My mouth fell open. “That was not flirting!”

“You two are impossible. Let’s just talk about anything else.”