Sidecar Crush

“I feel all right,” he said. “And it’s a beautiful day for porch-sittin’.”

“That it is,” I said and joined him, taking a seat on the bench next to his rocking chair.

He leaned a little so he could eye my left hand. “No ring back on that finger?”

“You can stop checking,” I said. “It’s been almost a month. There’s no risk of me getting back together with Kelvin. Trust me.”

He chuckled. “I know, I just like teasing you. Did you ever get him to ship your things to you?”

I sighed. I’d been trying to get Kelvin to send me my stuff—not that I owned a lot. I’d always traveled so much, I’d never accumulated many things of my own. Most of the things in our apartment had been Kelvin’s. But I still wanted my belongings back.

“I resorted to going around him and talking to his assistant,” I said. “I think she’ll get it done even if he wants to keep dragging his feet.”

“Mark my words, sweetheart, he’s trying to get you to come back to him,” he said. “Holding your stuff hostage.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But it won’t work.”

“That’s my girl,” he said with a smile. “So tell me, what’s going on between you and Jameson Bodine?”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “We’re just friends.”

“Is that so?” he asked.

I glanced down at my hands in my lap. Nothing had really changed between me and Jameson since I’d broken up with Kelvin. We both knew I was single. We still spent time together, just like we had before. But if anything, Jameson seemed less interested in me, not more. He certainly never acted like he wanted more than friendship.

It was better than nothing—I loved having Jameson in my life—but also hard. Spending time with him was great, but this unrequited crush I had made my heart ache.

“Yeah, Dad, that’s so,” I said.

I’d spent the last few weeks working on projects around my dad’s house with Betsy. We’d gotten the yard into better shape and fixed a few things inside. Scarlett had come over and replaced the sagging boards on the porch and the steps. Then I’d repainted the whole thing. It looked great.

When I wasn’t with my dad—either keeping him company or helping him around the house—I was with Jameson, or the girls. Scarlett, Cassidy, and even June had welcomed me into their circle. We’d been out for drinks or coffee a bunch of times. Scarlett seemed to be trying to take me under her wing and ease me back into single life—and life in Bootleg.

My phone rang, and I checked to see who was calling. “I’m sorry, I need to take this. It’s Evelyn Peters, my lawyer.”

“That sounds ominous,” he said.

“I hope not. I’ll be right back.”

I’d called Evelyn after breaking up with Kelvin to get her assistance in dealing with my contract. She’d offered to reach out to her contacts in the industry to help me find new representation, so I hoped she’d have good news. I got up and walked out to my car to take the call.

“Hi, Evelyn,” I said when I answered.

“Leah,” she said. “How’s America’s least favorite reality TV star?”

I groaned. “I was fine until you reminded me.”

She laughed. “I guess if you believe that any press is good press, you’re in great shape.”

“Do you believe that?” I asked.

“No.”

I always appreciated Evelyn’s blunt honesty. “Me neither.”

“I have good news and bad news,” she said. “The good news is, Crown Talent Agency is interested in representing you.”

“Wow, that is good news,” I said. “What’s the bad news?”

“You need to come out here,” she said. “Tomorrow, so you can meet with them Friday morning.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack,” she said. “Crown Talent is big league, Leah. You won’t get another shot with them.”

“Yeah, I know. I just wasn’t expecting to have to come out there on such short notice.”

“You busy out there in Radiator Springs?” she asked.