Page 135 of Sit, Stay, Love
‘No worries.’ Tia looked down and patted the dog. ‘Have you spoken to him?’
Sera shook her head and fussed with some papers on her desk.
Toby had taken two days to text Sera to apologise for his outburst at the fundraiser. Sera had ignored his message, and the three the next day, and also the voicemails that followed. She couldn’t bring herself to listen to them, not wanting to hear his voice, worried that if she did, she wouldn’t go through with her plans. And she was locked in now. Ethan was expecting her. She had a plane ticket.
Besides, she was still so angry. And she was fairly certain it was at him.
Four days before Sera was due to leave for Los Angeles, she went out for lunch with her parents. Her mother told her Toby had rung to ask if Sera was doing okay.
‘Darling, call him. You’re being cruel. The man loves you.’
Sera couldn’t explain why she couldn’t speak to Toby without giving away what was truly in her heart. Which she wouldn’t do, because she didn’t want to admit that to anyone. She just said she’d call him, then prattled about her impending trip and how wonderful Ethan was, and all the exciting developments that had come about since the fundraiser. All while her parents side-eyed each other, having a silent conversation that their daughter completely understood.
Three days before Sera was due to leave for Los Angeles, she went shopping with Linda. She had very few professional clothes, and though Ethan had assured her on one of their late-night Facetime calls that movie sets were casual, she still wanted to make a good impression.
Linda helped her pick out two pairs of jeans, some cute fifties-style shorts, three tops, two dresses, some new Converse sneakers, a pair of kitten-heeled black pumps and a swimsuit.
Linda grabbed Sera and squeezed her. ‘I’m so excited for you.’
Sera managed an almost-believable smile.
Linda narrowed her eyes. ‘What’s happening?’
‘I’m just nervous. What if everything goes horribly wrong?’
‘With the job or Ethan?’
‘Both?’
Linda took Sera’s hand. ‘Then you get on a plane and come home. It’s not like you’re going to Mars. We’re only fifteen hours away.’
‘Of course,’ Sera said, smiling at the store assistant behind the counter.
‘You don’t want to go, do you?’ Linda had grabbed Sera by the wrist, and was staring at her, laser-focused. ‘I’ve known you most of your life, and you don’t want to go.’
Sera pulled her hand away, and gathered her shopping bags. ‘Of course I do. It’s going to be amazing.’
Linda frowned. ‘How’s Toby dealing with it?’
Sera fussed with her bags.
‘You still haven’t spoken to him?’
‘Didn’t you say something about buying me a farewell lunch?’ Sera smiled as she stepped onto the street.
Two days before Sera was due to leave for Los Angeles, she had a farewell dinner at her parents’ house.
She sat on the chair where Toby had kissed her and tried not to think about what would have happened if she’d kissed him back.
‘Has Ethan found you somewhere nice to live?’ her mother asked.
Sera looked up and smiled. ‘I’m staying in a hotel at first, then we’ll talk about something more permanent.’
‘More permanent?’ Her mother’s brows popped so high, they almost reached her hairline. ‘You’ll be staying with Ethan then?’
Sera sighed, her shoulders rising and falling. ‘I don’t know. We’ll work that out as we go.’
‘How’s Toby since his littleFight Clubmoment?’ her father asked.
