Page 66 of Surprised By Her

I let out a breath. My parents knew about Ryan, but it was different talking to a friend your age about something like this.

“I’m sort of dating someone? I mean, we’re not dating, we’re hanging out.”

“Hanging out,” Sydney said slowly, as if she was skeptical. “Is that what people are calling it now?”

I pulled up the new orders and started printing the shipping labels.

“I don’t know what it is. All I know is that it’s good. Really good.”

Sydney grinned. “I fucking love this for you. Tell me everything.” I followed her to the door so she could unlock it. No one was standing outside, so we had at least a few minutes for me to talk about Ryan.

“She’s, um…” I trailed off, at a loss for words to describe Ryan. “She’s tall. And sexy. And funny. She’s good at everything. And I feel good around her,” I said.

“Tall, you say?” Sydney said.

“Yes,” I said slowly.

“Would her last name be Jewel, by any chance?” she asked.

Two people walked in just then and I smiled at her.

“I’m going to pack orders, talk later!” I called and scampered into the back.

“It is Ryan, I knew it,” Sydney said after those customers had left. “Layne is going to be thrilled.”

“Is she?” I asked. “I’m definitely not good enough for her. She’s so out of my league, I try not to think about it that much.”

Sydney scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. You’re cute and fun and so sweet, Everly. You see people, and you care about them.”

I couldn’t stop myself from blushing.

“She’s leaving, though. Her life isn’t here. My life is here,” I said. My new life.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time while she’s here. Maybe that’s what you both need. Just a sexy summer romance to blow off the cobwebs,” she said, raising and lowering her eyebrows.

“I’ve never had a summer romance before,” I said. “I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

Sydney squeezed my shoulder. “I’ve had lots of summer romances. I can be your summer romance Yoda. You’ve got this.”

Sydney had a whole lot more confidence in me seeing this through than I did.

“I guess,” I said. My phone went off with a message from Ryan. It was a picture of her holding up a rock with a perfect white ring around it.

Wishing rock? she asked.

It’s perfect I responded.

Wish you were here with me she sent.

You’re not supposed to tell anyone your wish, that way it won’t come true I replied.

See? I’m not good at everything. I’m bad at wishing she sent.

“It seems to be going well,” Sydney said, and I looked up from my phone. I’d almost completely forgot she was standing there.

“She’s so intimidating,” I said. “And not just because of being tall. She grew up going to a country club and she went to a fancy college and she knows how to hire a helicopter. I feel like we don’t have anything in common,” I said, voicing one of my biggest fears when it came to Ryan.

Sydney leaned against the wall.