Meet Me Halfway(80)

That’s all it took for my mother to melt. “Really? That makes me so happy.”

My father took his proffered hand, giving it a solid shake before lowering himself back to the couch. “So, Garrett, you’re in this same duplex, correct?”

“Yes, sir. In Madison terminology, we’re wall neighbors.”

My father chuckled, “Madison terminology. I like that.”

Garrett turned away so only I could see his face and winked at me before striding off. I was still staring after him, blinking like an idiot, when my mother stepped next to me.

Together, we watched Jamie skip over to the kitchen to talk Garrett’s head off while he started grabbing dishes from the cabinets to set the table.

“Wow.”

“Yep,” I agreed.

“You know, one might think he’s been over for dinner a few times with how well he knows his way around your kitchen.”

I flushed crimson. “The duplex is symmetrical. His kitchen is exactly the same, Mom.”

“You know that from experience, do you?”

I twisted around, my mouth dropping open, but she’d already sauntered off, dragging my dad off the couch to head to the kitchen and help.

Lunch wasn’t anything fancy, just simple sliders with salad, but as long as Garrett didn’t go all caveman on it, there’d be plenty. I was a chair short, so Jamie and I shared one, each balancing on an edge as our elbows sparred for space.

“I talked to Brenden this morning. He called while we were at the fundraiser.”

“Oh?” I asked, talking around a mouthful of lettuce. My brother wasn’t a fan of talking on the phone, so I knew my mother had a point she was working up to.

She took another bite of her slider before she answered, putting her fingers to her mouth and giving me the universal sign for chef’s kiss.

“He’s going to visit for Christmas.”

My fork froze halfway to my mouth, “Really? How’d you convince him to do that?” My brother didn’t avoid us or anything, but his schedule was fluid and usually increased around the holidays, so he rarely made it.

She waved her hand. “He had some project get canceled so he decided it was a sign for him to finally make a trip out here.”

I turned to Garrett, who was shoveling food in his mouth, listening intently. “Brenden is my older brother. He works in the film industry, so his schedule changes month to month. Makes it hard to plan trips.”

My mother cringed. “Speaking of schedule changes, honey, do you think Layla could hang out with Jamie tomorrow? We’ll still have him over tonight, of course, but we got asked at the fundraiser to attend another event tomorrow, and it’d be hard to take him with us.”

My stomach dropped. “She can’t, she’s performing at the farmer’s market again.” Shit. I couldn’t take the day off, there was literally no one to cover for me for that shift, and it was payroll. It couldn’t not be done.

“I’m sorry,” she said at whatever expression was on my face before looking over to my dad, “Maybe we can—”

“I got him.”

I turned to the man beside me, my mouth parted. “What?” I asked, even though he’d spoken clearly, and I’d felt every letter of the sentence echo inside my ribcage.

“I got him.”

I shook my head, resting a hand on the muscles of his bicep and feeling the way they tensed underneath my fingers. “No, it’s okay. I’ll figure it out.”

“I’m sure you could, just like you always do, but I want to. He and I can chill and battle it out on some games until Layla gets home.”

“Oh my gosh, can I, Mom? Please?” Jamie begged, hopping up and down in his seat.

“You don’t need to do that, Garrett,” I said, unsure how to process his open willingness to help. He didn’t even care that my parents were here and listening with rapt attention and bated breath to see if I’d relent.

“I want to, Maddie. Jamie’s the coolest person I know, we’ll have a great time.”

I looked from his calm face to Jamie’s puppy dog eyes and broke. Rubbing a hand down my face, I muttered, “I’m sure I’ll regret this.”

Garrett leaned over, patting me on the knee. “Only in the best way.”





“All right, bud, you heard Grandma, take a quick shower and pack a bag. I’ll drop you off on my way to work.”

He groaned, falling backward onto the couch. “I don’t get why I couldn’t just leave with them now.”

“Two reasons. One, because you need to shower your soccer filth off, and two, so you could hang out with me longer. It used to be you wanted to hang out with me.”

He scrunched his nose like he found the idea utterly repulsive. “I think I’d rather take the shower.”

I threw a pillow at his face, causing him to giggle and leap up, running for the bathroom.

“I’ll get you back later, you little twerp.”

Turning, my eyes met Garrett’s. He was leaning against the bar, watching me with a loaded look on his face. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what it meant, but something about it had me swallowing, an equal mix of nerves and warmth building in my chest.

We stood there, staring at each other from across the room, the silence broken only by the sound of the shower clicking on and Rugsy re-adjusting the blanket she was curled under.