Page 2 of Better Watch Out
For tonight, she’d chosen a black faux-leather skirt with black tights and black boots that were hiding the pink wool socks she’d slipped on her feet. Her sweater was a cashmere blend, a splurge on her after-school teaching salary, but it was the same color blue as her eyes and kept her warm. Or at least that’s how she’d justified the purchase.
Checking her reflection in the mirror, she tousled her blonde waves with her fingers before raising the thermostat for her room again. Grabbing her purse and coat, she made her way down to the lobby, her cheeks aching for a break from all the smiling she was doing.
This is it.
The 1911 lobby was a quaint boutique hotel that had at one time probably appeared sleek and modern with its dark wood, marble, and brass. However, anyone looking close enough would notice the chips, frays, and cracks that indicated a need for long overdue renovations. Frannie wasn’t concerned with those things. She chose to admire the age of the hotel and be grateful it was at least clean. And it came with views of bustling Times Square. She would need to thank the mother of one of her students who recommended a discount travel website because there was no way she’d have been able to afford this place otherwise.
Frannie chose an empty seat near the bar where she could see the entrance and ran her tongue over her teeth to make sure there was no lipstick on them. Her fingers trembled with anxious anticipation. She had tried and was failing to keep her expectations in check. Tonight might not bethe nightbut her bucket list for the week gave Calvin plenty of opportunities to surprise her.
Patience was a virtue and she’d already made it a year after he left for London to work at his uncle’s publishing house. What were a few more hours or days?
When she had transferred from USF to Anderson College in Savannah, Frannie felt like a failure. She barely lasted a year away from home before she returned to the familiarity of Walton. Of course, she heard the small-town whispers about her not making it, but she did her best to ignore them and focus on finishing her creative writing degree, if for no other reason than to prove the gossipers partly wrong.
She met Calvin her junior year when he was working as an intern for theSavannah Dailyand doing a story on the after-school tutoring program she was starting in Walton. He was funny and kind and exactly the opposite of who everyone thought she’d end up with. Unfortunately, she still had another year until graduation and Calvin had the opportunity to work in London and he had assured her it was the perfect time for them to focus on their futures.
Calvin had been so busy and the time difference had made it difficult to find a free moment that worked for both of them to talk. Their weekly conversations drifted into spare seconds that sometimes stretched several weeks apart before a quick text or email allowed them to catch up.
Brushing a piece of lint off her skirt, Frannie shook the melancholy feeling away. All of that was going to change this week. She just knew it. And in true serendipitous fashion, the hotel doorman opened the door and Calvin strode in, looking like he fit right in with fancy New Yorkers in his tailored suit and dark wool coat.
Frannie stood and the second their eyes met, she felt a zip of something shoot through her, but it wasn’t the electrical charge she’d expected. Had to be nerves. She smiled.It’s just nerves.
She hurried to meet him and wrapped her arms around him, breathing in the familiar scent of his musky cologne. Oh, she’d missed it. The sweatshirt she’dborrowedfrom him and brought to sleep in no longer held the scent but they would fix that this week.
“Francis.” She’d missed that too. Hearing him call her by her full name always made her feel more sophisticated than her small-town upbringing warranted. He gave her a quick hug before walking them out of the way of guests entering the hotel. “How was your flight?”
“Good.”
“Good.” His gaze moved behind him and then back to her. “Um, I’m glad you’re here.”
“You are?” Frannie started to reach around him for another hug but stopped short when he took a step backward. She met his eyes and realized they weren’t as warm as she remembered. His lips flattened, removing any hint of the smile … wait, had there even been a smile when he saw her? Her aching cheeks told her she’d been smiling but she couldn’t remember if he had been and why right now that was suddenly important. “Calvin?”
“We should talk.”
The fluttering in Frannie’s middle died with a thud that made her knees feel wobbly. “What’s wrong?”
Calvin rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at her.
Frannie took his gloved hand in her bare one and the barrier between their skin was as telling as the look in his eyes when he finally met her gaze.
“I was going to call you when I got back to the States but then you said you were coming to New York, and I thought it would be better to do this in person.”
This did not sound like the beginning of a proposal, but her stupid heart was hanging on to the shred of dying hope.
“I found someone in London. She works for CK Publishing and we’ve been seeing each other for a while. It wasn’t serious at first but then I was getting ready to fly back home and I just knew.”
No.This isn’t happening. Frannie swallowed, forcing the emotion building at the back of her throat to stay put.
“I’m asking her to marry me. Christmas Eve.”
Frannie dropped his hand. Why had she still been holding it? Maybe her heart wasn’t the only thing desperately clinging to the stupid hope she hadn’t been a fool for an entire year.
“I’m sorry. Before I left we talked about the break and I thought you understood what I meant, that we weren’t dating.” He spoke slowly, as if he was making sure that she understood clearly now. “But I got your text that you were coming to New York and I—”
“Decided to ruin the one place I’ve wanted to go my whole life and break my heart.” She managed to squeak the words over the lump in her throat, but it brought her dangerously close to crying—one thing she didn’t want to do in front of a crowd. Why wasn’t everyone in a rush to get around her now?
“I didn’t want to be a jerk, Francis. I thought it would be better to do this in person.”
“Right.” She let out a sarcastic snort and shook her head. “Definitely not a jerk move. At. All.”
