A Cross-Country Christmas(31)

“It’s from my boss,” Lauren said. “She wants to use my artwork.”

“Lauren, that’s awesome!” His tone burst with pride and she could see he meant it. “Really, really exciting! Are you excited?”

She couldn’t keep from smiling. She’d done it! This could be her big break. Her first step toward removing the “Assistant” before her title. “I really am. If she likes the designs I put together, I’m one step closer to become a set decorator on my own.” She couldn’t have torn the smile from her face if she tried.

She tapped a reply—

Lisa, I won’t have to overnight the artwork.

I left it on my desk in an envelope marked “dorm room’”





You were pretty confident in this one, huh?

<winking emoji>





I was hopeful <fingers crossed emoji>





I want to keep the artist’s information on file—

I have a feeling we can use this style in a few other projects.

Send over whatever else you have from him/her!





<thumbs-up emoji>

I’ll do it tonight!





Lauren knew she was beaming. For the first time in a while, she actually felt. . .good. Will flicked on his blinker and turned toward the Pope house, where they were headed for the evening. She glanced over at him.

Could this day get any better?





Chapter 14





When Will had agreed to give Spencer’s sister a ride across the country, he’d done it as a favor to one of his oldest friends. But the air between he and Lauren had changed, and one thing was certain—he did not think of her as his little sister anymore.

Replacing the girl reading the book on the porch was this beautiful, closed-off, honest, waiting-to-be-cracked open woman who challenged his contentment simply by living her life.

He didn’t want to be challenged. He was just fine with the status quo. Why did she have to go around inspiring him? It was not what he’d signed up for.

Worse, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wanted to be around her. To make her smile. Heck, he’d make a whole career of that if she’d let him—and he knew it wouldn’t be easy, which, honestly, made the idea even more alluring. She’d make him work for every single smirk.

He felt attracted to her that first day in the diner in Santa Monica, but that had been purely physical. And it had caught him off-guard. But what he was feeling now was more than that—and that scared him a little more than it should.

Watching her light up about this professional win had intrigued him. She put herself out there so easily. Much more at ease than she was with him, for sure. She saw something she wanted, and she had gone after it, regardless of how big or risky. He didn’t do that. With women, of course, making people laugh was like breathing to him.

But career-wise? It just wasn’t the case. It was too risky. What if he found out he wasn’t any good? What if he lost baseball again?

There wasn’t a day that went by where he didn’t feel lucky to be where he was.

“You okay?”

It was the first time she’d initiated a conversation, and her question snapped him from his thought spiral. “Yeah, great!” He hoped the lie sounded convincing.

These weren’t the kinds of things he dwelled on. Ever. He didn’t have a five-year plan. He didn’t even have a plan past driving down this particular road. But seeing how bold Lauren was with her career got him thinking.

Maybe. . .maybe I should.

The head coach position was opening at the end of this season. What if he threw his hat in the ring? What if he went for it? The worst that could happen was they’d turn him down, right?

He didn’t deserve the job. Sure, he hoped he’d made an impact on his players and the team as a whole, but he’d taken baseball for granted, and part of him knew he needed to prove he was willing to work to keep it.

A voice nagged at the back of his mind. Who’s going to listen to you—the guy who threw away his chances at the Majors? It was a familiar voice, one that sometimes rung a little too loudly in his mind.

But what if that voice was wrong? What if he took a shot?

“Worried about Jackson?”

Shamefully, he hadn’t been thinking of Jackson at all.

Lauren’s gaze was trained on him, and it unnerved him. She’d spent most of the trip so far avoiding his eyes.

“Yeah, I am. He’s not on the greatest path.” It was a path that Will had walked before.

He looked away. He wasn’t the type to overanalyze his life.

Without even trying, she’d made him want more for himself. She was challenging him to quit settling. The sour taste of failure was still too bitter in his mouth to want to try again.

But maybe. . . maybe I should.

“Does Rosa remember we’re coming? I need to prepare to be hugged again.” Lauren gazed out her window at the small ranch home as Will parked the Jeep.

He turned off the engine. “She demanded it, remember? She made us dinner.”

Lauren mused. “She really loves you.”

She did. He only hoped he could have the kind of impact on Jackson that Rosa believed he could.