Page 17 of Falling into Place

She’d spent most of her time in her room, alternating between escaping into a book or movie and studying like her life depended on it.

In a way, it had. She hadn’t been nearly as focused on guys and parties like her peers—she’d just wanted to get out and finally be in control of her life. Her own future.

Mom was doing so much better now, though, spending her free time working in her garden, cooking, or going on walks rather than hitting the nearest casino.

Carly’s gaze passed over the five- and ten-year pins her mom had earned for abstinence, shining and proud in their usual place on the bookcase, and she smiled.

Yes, the decisions her mom once made had hurt her, crossed the line into neglectful at times, and had a lasting impact on her to this day.

But shortly after Carly had left for college her mom had entered rehab, progressed through a twelve-step program similar to that for AA, and turned her life around.

It wasn’t immediate, but as her mom had made improvements on her own, the same could be said for hers and Carly’s relationship.

She was the only family Carly had, and while she couldn’t forget her mom’s past mistakes, she had accepted her apology and agreed to move on.

“Mom?” Carly called out as she stepped onto the small patio. On the bistro table to her left lay a spread of bread and cheese, plates, utensils, and two bowls.

“Out here.” Her mom’s voice came from somewhere in the garden. “Just grabbing some herbs for the gazpacho. Could you get it from the fridge?”

“Sure.”

When Carly returned, her mom was sitting at the table picking cilantro leaves from the stems. Once she added a handful and mixed it together, her mom used a ladle to scoop a serving of soup while Carly filled her plate with way too much cheese.

“How’s work?” Carly asked. Her mom had recently been promoted to senior administrative assistant at the ad agency where she worked, and while she’d been thrilled with the move, she’d been nervous about the added responsibilities. “Has it been better this week?”

“So much better. I only needed time to settle in, I think.”

“Really?” Carly feigned surprise. “Weird.”

Her mom rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know. It’s exactly what you said would happen.”

Carly just grinned and took a bite of sharp cheddar.

“I never understood when people talked about loving their job. I figured going to work was just a means to an end, you know?” her mom said.

“But I get it now. I look forward to it every single day and never dread going to work like I did when I was in retail. I love knowing that I’m the most organized person in the entire office and everything will run smoothly because of me.

” She looked down at the table. “I’ve never felt so useful, fulfilled, and . .. well, proud of myself, I guess.”

“I love that for you, Mom,” Carly said. She was proud of her, too.

“I partly have you to thank, you know.”

“Me? Why?”

“Seeing how passionate you are about your job made me want the same thing. At Mode, I mean,” she clarified. “I know you don’t mind accounting, but I’ve never seen you get as excited over math as you do for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.”

“Who in their right mind would be excited about anything more than the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?”

“Not you, clearly, which just proves how perfect personal styling is for you. I’ll never forget that story about the science teacher you helped last year. Chris, or something?”

“Christian,” Carly said, and couldn’t help but smile.

She’d adored working with that client—a middle-aged English teacher who’d contacted Mode for help finding something to wear to a school fundraiser he’d worked all year for.

He and Carly bonded over their favorite books as they wandered through TJ Maxx.

As a teacher, he’d had a limited budget for clothes, and she’d taught him all her tips and tricks for sifting through the overfilled racks at discount department stores.

“He met his husband, Nick, at that event. It all started with a compliment about the shoes we’d picked out, and the rest was history. ”

“I still remember how you lit up talking about it, and thinking how badly I wanted a job that made me that happy. Honestly, I’m a little surprised you haven’t tried making a career out of it.”

Carly shifted in her chair. She usually kept her thoughts about balancing both jobs to herself when it came to her mom.

As far as her mom knew, she was perfectly content sticking with accounting and dabbling in fashion on the side .

.. as more of a hobby. She’d never hinted at the fact she wanted to put everything she had into personal styling and definitely hadn’t mentioned the reasons she was hesitant to do so.

Her fears of financial insecurity stemmed directly from her mom’s decisions during Carly’s childhood, and she didn’t want to say anything that might make her mom feel guilty.

“Maybe someday,” Carly said noncommittally.

That seemed to be enough for Carly’s mom, because she sat back with a smile. “So have you heard from Benjamin lately?” Her mom had adored Benjamin from the moment she’d met him and might have taken the breakup harder than Carly had.

“We FaceTimed a couple of days ago, which was nice. I hadn’t seen his face for weeks. He was at a lunch thing and I was about to go to bed, so we didn’t talk long. But he’s still really enjoying it and said he met someone based out of Texas who’ll be a great job contact when he finishes up.”

Her mom waggled her eyebrows. “That sounds promising! Texas is a lot closer than South Korea.”

“That’s what I said.”

After taking a sip of water, her mom gripped her hands in her lap and cleared her throat, then picked up her glass and put it down again.

Carly frowned. “What’s up, Mom?”

Her mom smoothed a few flyaways from her face. “I, um, have something else I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve sort of been ... seeing someone.”

“Dr. Gantz?” Her mom (and Carly, occasionally) had seen a therapist off and on since rehab. Was she struggling with temptation again?

“No. Not that. I meant I’ve been seeing a man. Romantically.”

Carly’s brain briefly tripped over romantically before settling on surprise. “Wow, really? For how long?”

“Two months.”

“Two months!”

Her mom winced. “I know, I just wanted to make sure it was really ... real before I said anything. And I think it is. Real, I mean.”

“Oh my God. Are you blushing?”

“No?”

“You so are! Tell me about him. How’d you meet? What does he do?”

“We met online. They have a site for ‘mature adults,’” her mom said, as if offended by the term.

“And he’s a financial planner. We messaged for a few weeks before we met in person, and we’ve gone out four times now.

He knows about my gambling history and that I’ve been clean for a while now.

He’s divorced, no kids. He’s really nice, Carly. I like him a lot.”

Carly smiled. “That’s amazing, Mom. I’m happy for you. When can I meet him?”

Her mom nodded, as if that had been where she was going with this. “I told him about you, of course, and said it was important to me that you two meet. I wanted to talk to you about it and make sure you were comfortable before I arranged anything.”

It was strange, because her mom had dated very little. None at all before Carly went to college (that she knew of), and only a couple of times since. Her mom seemed content to be alone, but just like Carly keeping her thoughts about career changes to herself, maybe her mom had done the same.

Had she been worried Carly might be jealous, since she was nowhere near settling down?

“Of course I am,” she said with a genuine smile. “I can’t wait.”

Encouraged, her mom’s eyes lit up. “Great! Maybe we can get lunch or dinner in the next few weeks?”

“Sure, Mom. That sounds perfect.”

Carly spent several hours with her mom, then stopped at the grocery store on her way home. It was almost midnight when she settled down with the remote to queue up The Proposal , and her phone dinged with a text message.

Brooks: look

Brooks: [image]

Brooks: i took this earlier and your mom was right. fucking tree

Brooks: i don’t mean that, i love that tree. but the majestic bastard is casting shade on my tomato plants all afternoon.

He’d sent all four messages before she could get a single response out, and her smile grew with each one.

Carly: Bummer. I don’t think they’d survive you trying to move them, either. Maybe next year?

Brooks: oh next year it’s on. i’m gonna pot them and find the perfect spot. do you think your mom would come check out my yard and tell me where?

Carly: I’m sure she’d love to.

Brooks: But

Brooks: Look

Brooks: [image]

Brooks: the cucumbers have flowers

Brooks: that’s good right

Carly: Heck if I know

Carly: Stand by

Carly: Ok my mom said that’s where the cucumbers will grow.

Carly: You did it!

Brooks: let’s not get ahead of ourselves. i won’t celebrate till i hold a big cucumber in my hand

Carly nearly fell off the couch.

Brooks: ah, shit

Brooks: never mind

It took her a full minute to stop laughing and type out her next message.

Carly: Please tell me you didn’t discuss this with your date tonight ...

Carly: (Was that a smooth segway? Because you know I’m dying to hear how it went)

Brooks: haha, i did not mention my garden

Brooks: but it went pretty good

Brooks: she left about twenty minutes ago

She left? As in, his house? He’d brought the woman back to his house on the first date?

Carly dropped her phone to her lap and rubbed her eyes, now recognizing the ugly feeling in her chest—the same one she’d had while chatting about Kendall dating him, earlier—as jealousy. Which the rational part of her brain acknowledged was ridiculous and uncalled for.

Where was this coming from all of a sudden?

She wasn’t interested in Brooks. Not as more than a client and a friend.

Hell, because of his relation to Sasha, he was almost like family.

Was she feeling possessive because of the work she’d put in, preparing him for this moment?

Helping him shop and practice small talk didn’t mean she deserved credit for how well things were going, or any claim on the funny, sweet guy he’d been hiding beneath that serious, analytical veneer.

Whatever the reason, she had to get a grip.

Even before the PR near miss with the Princetons, Carly had considered all clients firmly off the table, and now that decision was more than a personal rule, it was a company one, too.

She had no intention of considering Brooks in a romantic sense, but apparently some primitive part of her brain needed the reminder.

Pushing the unwelcome feelings down, she focused on keeping up her encouragement of his success.

It was good news that this first date seemed to go well, but Brooks could use some extra confidence in the bank for the one that would crash and burn.

A bad date somewhere in the mix was inevitable.

She picked her phone back up.

Carly: !!!

Carly: She came to your place??

Carly: You baller

Brooks: she said she wanted to meet oreo! she works with animals!

Brooks: it wasn’t like that

Brooks: well, it wasn’t like that at first

Okay, off the table or not, she didn’t want any more details in that direction.

Carly: I take it this means the conversation part went well?

Brooks: yes, thanks to you

Brooks: i used your trick to guess backstories of the other customers and she loved it

Brooks: turns out I can be kind of funny?

Carly: You’re totally funny

Carly: Well done

Carly: I’m happy for you.

Brooks: me too, actually. it was more fun than i expected

Carly: What’s next? A second date with tonight’s winner? A first date with someone new?

Carly: I.e., how much help will you need from me next week?

Brooks: for clothes or for general dating tips?

Carly: Clothes, because clearly my job preparing you for date conversation is done.

Brooks: i wouldn’t say that

Brooks: it could have been a fluke

Carly: I doubt it, but just know I’m here for whatever you need.

That night when Carly fell asleep, she had a dream that she was on a date with a man who made her laugh and her skin tingle.

The next morning she woke up with a silly smile on her face, still a little groggy but slowly remembering the details of the scene that had played out overnight.

But then her smile faded as everything came back to her, and she groaned loud enough for Pepper to meow in response.

Even though it was just a dream and it meant absolutely nothing, it didn’t bode well for her that the man sitting across from her was none other than Brooks Martin.