Piece of My Heart (Fostering Love 4)

“Okay,” I said nonchalantly.

“Yeah?” he asked with a huge smile.

“Yeah,” I replied, smiling back. My stomach felt as if it were filled with a thousand butterflies.

* * *

I was still running on an Alex high a week later. Honestly, I hadn’t come down from it since he’d dropped me off at my car after breakfast.

I’d heard from him pretty regularly since then, quick texts to tell me he was thinking about me before going to bed at night and sometimes when he woke up in the morning. Pictures of things he was doing and memes he thought were funny. Thinking about them made me smile. He knew how busy I was, so he’d kept his distance but still made time to make sure I knew I was on his mind. In return, I sent him pictures throughout the day, silly ones like a leftover tomato sitting sadly on my plate, pictures of what I was doing, well-angled selfies, and an occasional sexy bare-skinned one. They were always PG-13, but Alex didn’t seem to mind. I never imagined that I’d feel giddy over a heart-eyed emoji, but I also never could have imagined Alex Evans. So far the whole thing was surprisingly simple and stress-free.

I looked at the texts again for the hundredth time, then put my phone back in the bottom of my purse, trying to control the giddiness I felt rising in my chest.

In less than six months I’d have my MBA. I’d worked so hard to get where I was, and I didn’t have the luxury of losing focus. Thankfully, Mondays were always busy at our accounting firm, and I fielded phone calls all morning, a task that held my attention and made the day go by quickly.

By the time I stopped for lunch, I was itching to check my phone again.

“I’m going to lunch,” I said to Elise, the other receptionist at our office.

“Sounds good,” she replied, waving me off as she answered another call.

I pulled my phone out again as I walked through the front door of our building. I had another text from Alex.

I’m at Mr. and Mrs. K’s restaurant for the next half an hour.

I checked the time stamp. Ten minutes ago. If I hurried, I might be able to get there before Alex left. I grinned as I speed walked to my car and climbed inside. My heart was racing. It had been too long since I’d looked into his gorgeous brown eyes.

Chapter 5

Alex

I smiled at the little old lady in front of me and raised my hands in the air. “No more, please,” I said with a groan. “I’m going to explode.”

Mrs. K made a scoffing noise, then put more of the food that I couldn’t pronounce onto my plate. It was some sort of pasta dish with bow tie noodles and little bits of onions in it. I’d had a lot of good food, but whatever she was giving me was far better than anything I’d ever had in my life.

I could see why Sarai loved this restaurant so much. When you sat down to eat, especially if you were alone, you were treated like family. They didn’t serve you and ignore you; they made conversation and made sure you were enjoying your meal. Mr. K had already come by the counter twice to pat me on the back and tell me I looked sharp in my uniform. Mrs. K had stood across the counter, talking to me about the weather and what had been in the news lately, and had informed me that I needed to put a little meat on my bones in case we had a hard winter. She’d said that last part ultraseriously, and I wondered just how hard a winter they’d lived through, but I didn’t ask.

I checked my watch again as I shoveled more food into my mouth. I had to leave in five minutes if I wanted to be back to work in time for a security briefing.

When I’d texted Sarai about meeting me for lunch, I’d known it was a long shot that she’d be able to come on such short notice, but I was still hoping. I’d been serious when I told her that we’d make our schedules work so that we could spend some time together. Yeah, it would be easier if we weren’t so busy, but that was life. Sometimes you just had to take what it gave you and make the best of it. It had been weeks since I’d seen her beautiful face in person, but I knew that she had a lot going on. She’d sent me selfies of her doing random things—standing in front of her door with a beanie on her head and a huge grin on her face, looking bored with her head resting on her hand in what looked like a classroom, making a silly face with ice cream all over her mouth. My favorite, though, was one she’d taken of her legs in the bath, her feet propped up at the end of the tub. She may not have enough time for me at the moment, but the woman knew how to make what few seconds she had memorable. I just wished I could actually see her in person once in a while.