Page 48 of Help Wanted

Chapter 9

He caught her looking at her necklace with a slight smile on her lips as he walked back to their table.

“So you like it,” he asked, happy to see her smiling again. He wasn’t sure what had been wrong earlier, but he was glad to see her back to her normal pleasant self.

“I do. It’s so nice to be appreciated. I’m not used to it. My old boss just piled on more work.”

“And then accused you of sleeping with her husband,” he reminded her.

“Yeah.” She laughed. “I’m kind of glad though.”

“Really?”

“I probably would have stayed there my whole life.”

“Because of the loyalitis,” he teased, and she laughed.

“I wouldn’t have known what it was like to have a job I actually loved.”

Hearing her say the word loved made his heart do that twitching thing again. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t pine for her from the sidelines. He wouldn’t allow it. He was a man.

Before he had a chance to act, the lights in the room dimmed and the DJ in the corner announced that the dancing would be beginning with a classic. “Twist and Shout” filled the room.

“It’s just like prom, huh?” He laughed.

“I wouldn’t know. I didn’t go.”

“You didn’t?” He couldn’t hide his surprise.

“No. I was invited to my junior prom, but my mom was so sick. She was gone by my senior prom, but the people at school didn’t seem important to me anymore.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine. It’s not something I talk about.” She sniffed. “As one of my classmates pointed out, I shouldn’t have been too upset since she was only my adopted mom. But she was the only mom I’d ever known.”

He swallowed. “You were adopted?”

“Yeah. Didn’t Sidney tell you?”

“No. She didn’t mention it.” It would have been nice to have a heads up so he didn’t walk into an awkward conversation.

He could almost envision what it must have been like for her through her mother’s illness. Struggling through school while hiding the pain. No doubt she would have been allowed to take a leave, but she hadn’t. She was strong. Stronger than he ever was.

He always assumed the beautiful people lived perfect lives, but that wasn’t always true. Kenley had faced a lot of heartache and still came to work every day with a smile on her face.

“I’m sorry for what you went through. And sorry someone was so insensitive. Of course she was your mother.”

“Thanks. It’s easier to know that now. It’s harder in high school. I always feel like those four years were just practice for what happens in real life. Out here it’s different. Back then, we were all so stupid. We didn’t know what mattered.”

She was right. And he knew what mattered now. Her. “I was kind of a geek in high school.”

“No way.”

“Yep. I was tall, but built like a stick until my junior year. I had trouble talking to girls and I spent most of my time drawing.”

“Ooh. Artsy hipster.”

“It’s too bad that term didn’t exist back then. Maybe I would have been cool in some way.”