Page 27 of You Met Me There

“Really? You could have fooled—you know what? Never mind.” She clears her throat.“I’ll text you their ETA. We can all meet at my house tonight.”

“That sounds perfect,” I say, a little on edge. Or maybe a lot on edge. “Thank you for calling them. What time should I come over?”

A child laughs and screams in the background while a dog barks. “Oh, I gotta go,” Juliet groans. “Probably around seven. We’ll have dinner. But I’ll text you first.”

My lips pull up slightly. “Alright. See you later.”

Juliet mumbles a goodbye, I hear a crash that sounds like a box of toys being dumped on the floor, and then she hangs up.

If we’d had more time to talk, I would have asked her about meeting the boys—if I’ll get to see my nephews tonight. Should I bring them gifts from their aunt? They don’t know me, but I want them to. Will Jules let them see me at dinner, or will she have Cam take them out of the house?

I understand why she’s being protective of them, but it bothers me that I’ve missed so much. It was my choice, though, and I’ve hurt myself along with everyone else. I text Emma for moral support.

Me: My parents are coming to town and Jules invited me for dinner. I’m nervous. Please send me some of your confidence.

Her reply is instant.

Emma: You’ve got this. It’ll be a shock for all of them to see you again, but this is what you wanted. They’ll be happy to see you. Don’t worry about a thing. It will all work out.

I smile at the screen.

Me: Any tips from Ceecee?

Emma sends a photo of Ceecee in her highchair, eating breakfast. Scrambled eggs hang from her fingers, and her dark braids are frizzy from sleep.

Emma: Ceecee says just be yourself.

Me: Thanks, Emma. Love you.

Chapter 15

Luke

My heart pounds as the plane hits the tarmac, landing gracefully and coming to a complete stop a few minutes later. I check my phone, turning off airplane mode as the stewardess announces we’re free to do so.

5:32 p.m. lights up across the screen as the cabin brightens throughout the plane. Evening sunlight streams in through open windows, and I itch to call Natalie back, knowing she called me three times while I traveled. But my first flight took off at five a.m., and I knew she’d be asleep.

When our call disconnected last night, I was sitting in a quiet corner of the terminal awaiting my red-eye flight. It was supposed to take off at midnight, but the plane was grounded due to mechanical failure—something to do with needing to fix a part that the airport didn’t have on hand. While they flew the part in from somewhere else, I had to wait around, with no other flights going where I needed to be.

Of course, with that, my other flights were rescheduled, making me wait for hours at the gates. And then, my last flight had a two-hour delay on the runway due to air traffic. Three flights, and a whole day of travel that should have taken just a few hours—it was all out of my hands. I watched the hours pass while my patience dissolved, my nerves making me restless. Two nights ago Emma helped me get my tickets to Pennsylvania, but I had to spend yesterday at the office to organize the chaos before I could step away. It’s all been a snowball of unfortunate events since then.

What has Natalie been thinking after last night? I wanted to call her back, to finish telling her what I started. But the noise of the airport would have given away the fact that I was going somewhere. I didn’t want her to know just yet that I was coming to be with her. I want it to be a surprise, to prove I’ll do anything to show up for her.

The flight crew opens the door, and people immediately grab for their overhead luggage, pressing toward the front of the plane.

Once I’m out of the aircraft, dragging my gray carry-on suitcase behind me, I text Emma.

Me: Just landed in PA.

She sends me a thumbs-up emoji, and I wait as bubbles blink at the bottom of the screen. My feet carry me toward the airport exit, but I’m not really sure where I’m going from there.

Another notification comes through, this time a location pin from Emma.

Emma: This is where her location is right now, but I think that’s the place she’s staying. She’s going to her sister’s house for dinner, so I’ll text you her location when she gets there.

Me: Can you just ask her for the address?

As much as I want Natalie to be surprised, I’m tired of the travel and the waiting. I just want to be with her.