Page 76 of In a Perfect World

Nonetheless, I had sold off or donated what I had no longer wanted or needed, then had packed up the rest.I had also put my house on the market, leaving the sale to the care of my father, positive that he’d take care of everything.Luckily for me, I’d had enough saved to be able to secure a hotel room until I found something more permanent, and because I’d been a lottery winner, all of my financial accounts and assets had been transferred to a Blooming Heights financial institute easily and without any of the usual required paperwork.So, all that was left was to get my house sold, buy one here, then find a job.

Of course, with my educational background and work experience, I didn’t imagine that it’d be too hard to find a decent job, but I also had the lottery working for me in that aspect of my life.To ensure the citizenship lottery endeavor was a successful one, once our names had been drawn, we’d been given a list of potential job opportunities to help us with our new lives, but I hadn’t immediately applied for any of them.I was here to follow Triana, not the other way around, so I’d chosen to wait until I knew where she was living and working before I made any permanent decisions about my life.Granted, I couldn’t live in a hotel room forever, but once I knew where she was going to be, I could find an apartment to rent while looking for a house.

I was also very aware of how stalkerish my actions were, but I didn’t care.I was okay with being labeled a stalker as long as Triana didn’t ditch me for someone who was probably more worthy of her.That being said, I knew that I had my work cut out for me, but I hadn’t made it this far to give up on us because of a few rejections that I deserved.Honestly, at this point, I could only hope that she didn’t take a restraining order out on me, sending me back to Sterling Acres.

All-in-all, the application had been thorough enough to cover all the bases, but I could also see a lot of the questions and requirements deterring quite a few people.So, the leaders of the RNA had done a great job of coming off like the good guys again, even though the system was still designed to keep things as they were.

When I finally exited the airport, it was to walk out into a sea of people, yellow cabs, and We-Ride drivers, waiting for their passengers, and I wondered how long it’d take before I got used to seeing the blend of skin tones and facial features.I wondered how long before I could look out my living room window and no longer feel in awe of the sight.

Ready to finally get settled, I began walking towards the nearest cab before my feet stopped dead in my tracks, my heart threatening to jump from my chest and just land at the feet of the beautiful brunette that was standing off to the side, just staring at me like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to approach me, and I never imagined that my heart could break more than it’d already had.

Ignoring everything and everyone else around me, I made my way to where Triana was standing, and I could feel everything that I felt for this woman get lodged in my throat.There was so much that I wanted to say to her, but the words were lost in the swirl of hope and dread that I was feeling.Triana could be here to tell me that she was giving me a second chance, or else she could be here to tell me that she wanted nothing to do with me.Right now, my odds were fifty/fifty, but deep down, I knew they were more like seventy/thirty, and not in my favor.

When I was finally standing in front of her, I said the only thing that I could think of.“Hey, baby.”

Luckily, she didn’t tell me not to call her that like she’d had before.“How was your flight?”

“Not bad,” I answered, my heart still pounding wildly in my chest.

“I was told that I have to meet with Caleb Majors in the morning,” she said conversationally.

I just nodded.“We’re all scheduled to meet him in the morning.”I took a step closer to her.“When did your flight get here?”

“Too early to be considered humane,” she joked.“Not sure why all of our flights were scattered.”

“I think so that we didn’t get bombarded by the press,” I guessed, though I couldn’t be sure.The flights had been scheduled by the administrating government, so their reasons were their own.

“Where are you staying?”she finally asked.

“I got a room at The Lemming,” I answered, praying that she was asking for a personal reason.

Then, looking up at me, those dark eyes of hers nearly my undoing, she said, “I’ve just been hanging around all day, seeing the sights.I haven’t decided where I’m staying yet.”

Thank you, Jesus.

“You’re staying with me, Triana,” I said.“That’s always been the plan, baby.”