Piece of My Heart (Fostering Love 4)

We worked in tandem for over an hour, getting all the food set out and the furniture reorganized to accommodate all the people who might attend. She’d told everyone that the party started at five o’clock, but when I glanced at my phone, I noticed it was five twenty and no one had shown up. Sean wasn’t even back with the keg.

“It’s five twenty,” I told her, dropping onto her couch. “When’s Sean supposed to be here?”

“Shit, already?” she asked, reaching up to smooth her hair.

“You look fine,” I told her. “Stop messing with it.”

She nodded and looked around the room. “It looks good in here,” she said. “Hopefully no one goes in our bedroom, though. I haven’t unpacked all of the boxes yet.”

I’d seen the boxes when she’d put my coat on her bed, but I hadn’t realized they were still full. The house looked finished already. It was so small, I wasn’t sure where she would have room to put anything else.

“No one cares about boxes,” I assured her. “You guys just moved in a week ago.”

“Crazy, right?” She laughed. “It happened so fast!”

“Honey, I’m home,” Sean called out as he pushed open the front door. “Hold the door for me, would you, babe?”

I stood up from the couch as Hailey hurried to hold the door, and watched as Sean carried in two kegs and set them in the middle of the floor.

“Hey, Sarai,” he said with a nod. He handed Hailey a plastic grocery bag. “Here’s the taps. I’m gonna hop in the shower, and then I’ll get them set up.”

He walked away without a word about the house or the food or any apology for being late.

Hailey set the taps on the kitchen table. “We’re all ready now!”

“Hey, babe, come wash my back,” Sean called, making my friend giggle.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, holding up one finger.

She was gone a lot longer than a minute. When someone knocked on the front door, I practically ran to it.

“I think I might have the wrong house,” Alex said, grinning at me from the porch.

“Funny,” I replied, waving him inside. “Please get in here.”

“Where are Sean and Hailey?” he asked as he set a bottle of wine down on the coffee table. Just as he finished his sentence, a loud thump came from the direction of the bathroom, mixing in with the sound of running water.

“Taking a shower,” I said, almost embarrassed that I was standing in their living room while they got busy.

“No way,” he looked toward the bathroom and then back at me. “Did you just get here?”

“No, I’ve been here for hours, helping Hailey get ready.”

“Oh, man.” He laughed a little. “That’s bad form.”

“I mean, am I supposed to just wait until they’re done?” I asked, smiling as he laughed again.

“I say we find some paper and make some scorecards,” Alex replied. “Rate them as they walk out.”

“Tempting,” I said. “But a little creepy.”

“Or we could go for a walk,” he said. “The rain stopped.”

“God, yes,” I agreed.

I hurriedly grabbed one of Hailey’s coats hanging by the door and followed Alex back outside.

“So, how’s school?” Alex asked as we made our way down the sidewalk. “Are you learning all sorts of super-important smart-people things?”

I fought a grin. “Super-important smart-people things?”

“Hell, I don’t even know what you’re studying. Business, right? That’s what an MBA is?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m hoping that I can get an upper-management position when I’m done. I could probably move up at the accounting firm where I work now, but I’m casting a wider net than that. I’m not sure that I want to stay in Missouri forever.”

“Accounting, huh? Sounds boring,” he teased. “Although, if it means you get to stay here…”

I laughed. “It is boring, but it’s also kind of nice. You can work numbers to get the outcome you want, but numbers never lie. There’s a beautiful symmetry to it all.”

“Why didn’t you become an accountant, then?” he asked.

“No way,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s too much pressure.”

“But upper management is less pressure?” he asked, chuckling.

“Different kind of pressure, at least.” I shrugged. “You want to know the truth?”

“Always,” he said seriously, shooting me a sweet smile.

“I started out as an accounting major, but the professor who taught almost all the classes I needed to graduate with that degree spent every lecture discussing college sports.” I rolled my eyes. “I knew I’d never be able to pass with him teaching me.”

“That sucks.”

“It all turned out okay,” I replied. “I like what I’m studying, and I’ll have far more opportunities to use it. I could work anywhere.”

We’d made it almost all the way around the block, and I could see Hailey’s house ahead of us as it started to sprinkle rain.

“Crap,” Alex said, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head.