Page 7 of Meeting Me, Loving You (Hearts of Maple Lake #1)

“Wow, Cam,” she says, easily reverting to the use of my childhood nickname.

“I didn’t recognize you under all the facial hair.

” She gestures toward my face. “And you’re so tall and…

large.” Her cheeks turn a darker shade of pink as she waves her hands toward me as if to say look at all of this .

“I’m sorry I didn’t know it was you this morning!

Now I feel bad, I should have welcomed you back! ”

I put my hand on her shoulder and look straight into her eyes. “Jules, it’s okay.” I drop my hand, immediately missing her skin’s warmth. “I’ve actually been back for a while. I started teaching at Maple Lake High in August.”

“But that was,” she counts on her fingers, her eyes wide with concern, “five months ago! How did I not know you were living here?”

She looks absolutely appalled that she was left out of the loop, but really, there was no loop to be in.

“I didn’t tell anyone I was moving back, besides my parents. So, please, don’t feel bad. I haven’t even told Tyler.” I confess. “How’s he doing, by the way?” We sort of lost contact after I moved, and it was mostly my fault.

Now is not the right time to tell her some sob story about my parents and how I needed to get away from their controlling behavior, so I default to changing the subject and making it about Tyler.

“Ty’s good,” she says. “He lives a few hours away. He’s doing really well with work, climbing the corporate ladder, as they say. You guys haven’t stayed in touch?”

“No, uh, not really. We did in the beginning, mostly through gaming online, but it got kind of hard to keep the communication regular. Teenage boys, you know? Busy with school and sports, he made new friends, as did I.” She looks at me with what feels like pity. “It’s okay though, that’s just life.”

“Life can be… unfair at times,” she states as her face drops for a split second, before snapping back into a smile.

I push my sweaty hair away from my forehead, noticing Jules’ eyes as they bounce from my face to my flexed bicep, then to the inside of my left forearm where they linger on the tattoo I have there.

As if remembering herself, she looks around at the workout machines and then down at her shoes, swiping at another loose curl from her braid.

“Well, Ty visits every month, and he’s due for a visit soon. We try to do some hiking every time he’s here. You should come! I’m sure he’d love to see you,” she says, her face brightening at the mention of her brother.

“I’d like that, I’d love to see him and reconnect. And I’m always up for a hike.”

“Great! I’ll let you know when he’s coming to town. Anyway, I don’t want to keep you from finishing your workout; I guess I better go.” She points a thumb behind her and takes a step backward.

I feel like seeing her twice today is a sign. I want to see her again—every day, if that’s possible.

But I play it cool, even though my heart is pumping wildly and my brain is coming up with a thousand ways to try to see her again.

“Can I get you coffee?” I blurt out, like I didn’t already get her coffee.

Her pink lips pull up to the side in a cute smirk.

“You already got me coffee today. Thanks again for that, by the way.”

I feel instantly dumb and deflated from her rejection .

“But,” she continues, “you could get me lunch. Maybe next week?”

That’s even better than coffee .

“Sold,” I say, “to the beautiful woman in the brown tank top.”

She rolls her eyes, shoving my arm playfully, and I’m aware of the electricity in that exact spot. I rub my arm in mock pain and pull my eyes into an offended grimace, a smile still playing on my lips. She’s smiling too.

I’m pleased to see she feels comfortable enough with me to joke around.

I’d joke with Tyler and their family all the time, and it was something that made me feel like I belonged, like I was a part of their circle.

Teasing and joking was like their family’s love language, and I always felt honored to be included in the humor.

The Berns family was the epitome of the perfect family; close knit, always encouraging and uplifting one another.

Even though Jules and Tyler had an age gap of five years, he doted on her and their younger sister Natalie like any decent big brother should.

The siblings were close then and it sounds like they still are now.

Looking down into her eyes, I wonder if I should tell her that tutoring her all those years ago is what started me on my path to being a teacher.

Instead, I ask, “Does Saturday work for you?”

“Yeah, Saturday is great.”

“Should I pick you up at noon?” I’m not sure if she’s thinking of this lunch as a date or simply a meal between friends, so I lay out options. “Or do you prefer to meet me there?”

“I actually live right across the street from the diner. They renovated the old movie theater to make apartments instead. So I’ll see you there. Noon? ”

“Noon. A week from today.” I confirm, and before thinking better of it, I add, “It’s a date.”