How to Love Your Neighbour(89)

Noah’s name popped up on the screen, giving her blood an extra pump of oxygen.

Noah

Landed safe and sound. Thinking about you. Have fun today exploring the job fair.



He had a lot going on, and most of it was intricately tangled up personally and professionally. The fact that he remembered warmed her heart. She did miss him, but he was missing her back. It was okay to feel. She stared at the screen a minute, thinking about how much of herself to reveal.

That’s it. You’re done second-guessing this. Have some faith. In yourself and him. If she kept waiting for one of them to disappoint her, how could she ever be all in?

Grace

Thank you. Glad you’re there safe. Good luck with all the things you have to face today.

Noah

Thanks.



Three dots showed, disappeared, showed again. Grace’s fingers hovered, then typed, but he beat her to it.

Noah

I miss you.



A happy laugh left her mouth.

Grace

I was just typing the same thing.

xoxox

Noah

You’re cute.

xxx



She laughed out loud, marveling that he could make her do that from thousands of miles away. Hope glimmered inside of her. She wasn’t becoming Mrs. Kern, but she was becoming her own version of it, and that was even better.

“I feel like a kid at a free carnival,” Rosie said, her hip bumping Grace’s. Tables and booths were set up in long rows in the concourse of their school. Dozens of design firms displayed what they had to offer as potential employers. Grace and Rosie both had collected a handful of pamphlets and brochures. It was almost like the college fair she’d gone to in high school.

“There are so many,” Grace said.

“You won’t need any of them,” Rosie commented, stopping at a booth that read DESIGNED FOR YOU.

Grace smiled at the recruiter behind the table. They were located about thirty miles outside of Harlow. Most of the firms were at least that far away.

“You don’t know that. Things can change in an instant. Besides, starting from the ground up is daunting.”

“You’re not wrong,” the man behind the booth said. He wore a three-piece suit and his dark hair was slicked back. He reached out his hand and introduced himself. “A benefit of working for a firm is the losses aren’t all on you. You have capital and a team behind you.”

Grace thought about that as they wandered through the fair.

“Are you okay? You seem very . . . contemplative today,” Rosie said when they stopped to grab fountain sodas and share a plate of fries.

“Shouldn’t I be? I mean, we’re literally contemplating our next life steps.”

Rosie picked up a fry. “Or, in less dramatic terms, we’re checking out awesome opportunities we may or may not want to explore. Your worst-case scenario is you meet several of Noah’s richy rich pals who ask you to redo their mansions.”

Rosie smiled through the words, but Grace’s stomach dipped. “I don’t want anything handed to me. You know that.”

Rosie sighed, munching on her fry. She picked up a napkin, making the dip in Grace’s stomach deepen. “I do know that. Think about the flip side, though: just because someone builds off of the connections they have doesn’t mean they deserve it less. If I knew someone who could boost me up, help me start my own business? I’d be all over that. Would you think less of me?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Sometimes I think you’re so worried about proving you don’t need a hand that you hold yourself back.”

Sipping her soda as a distraction from the serious tone, Grace thought about what her friend said. “I’m determined. There’s nothing wrong with that. So are you.”

“I am. But when I was stressed out about the paper I was working on, Josh asked if there was anything he could do. I snapped at him that unless he wanted to make sure my mother got her birthday present in time, my emails were answered, and my bills were all caught up, then no.”

Grace cringed. “I’m sure he understands being stressed out.”

Rosie’s sigh was adorable. Grace was surprised cartoon hearts didn’t float over her friend’s head. “He does. He said to tell him what my mother liked, he’d grab it, he had no problem replying to emails, and if I gave him my bank number, he’d do the bills, too. He also said he’d pick up dinner. I burst into tears because I’d been so snappy and he was so sweet. But he said this is how we know what we have is real. We can see each other at our worst, build each other back up, and most important, rely on each other for anything. He said it’s when couples drown in their independent misery without reaching out, that you have to worry.”

Grace’s stomach tumbled. “This isn’t about me and Noah.”

Rosie shook her head. “No. But it applies to everything in your life, Grace. You’re not alone. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak. Picking up the pieces for someone you care about and letting them do the same for you is a sign of strength. What I’m saying is if Noah’s connections give you a leg up, own it, babe. Take it. Take it all. You’re no slouch. You work your ass off and no one is ever going to say life got handed to you.”

Grace clenched her teeth, then leaned forward. “But this job with Noah literally did get handed to me.”