Page 12 of The Disasters of Dating (Love Connections #6)

KEATON

You are enterprising—take advantage of it.

Learn Chinese: 家 — Jiā — Home

I stare down at my phone. Wrong number? Why would Poppy say I have the wrong number? I lean back in my office chair as I look at the top and see her contact name there. I know I have the right number. Is this her way of saying she never wants to see me again?

I scroll up to find the text that she originally sent me. Hadn’t she noticed it? But why would she need to? Hadn’t she put my name in her phone?

I don’t have far to scroll to get to the top. But mine from earlier in the day is the first one listed. How can that be? What happened to her text at the airport?

I frown, then take a closer look at my phone.

I slap my hand to my forehead. Oh, man. “No, I didn’t.

” I push that phone aside and pull out my personal one.

The one with the New Hampshire number. Yes, I have two phones.

Evan thought it would be best if I had a local number for my contacts at the Utah office.

Sometimes it’s a little confusing. Especially now.

It looks like her info. must have saved to the cloud, which populated her contact onto each phone.

But the texts only stay with the phone they were sent from.

It seems the weight isn’t the only downside to having two phones.

I’ve heard that there are a few brands that allow for two SIM cards in one phone. I should look into that.

Anyway, I open the screen and pull up my text messages.

There’s Poppy’s name right at the top. I open the text, and there is the missing one from the airport.

Well, crap. It seems I gave her my personal phone when I had her put her info in.

But why? I had my work phone with me. I shake my head.

I mean, I had just avoided arrest, so maybe that had something to do with it.

It was no wonder she thought I was a wrong number.

I pick up my work phone—the one with the Utah number—and start typing.

Hey Poppy, this is actually Keaton…from the airport? You remember the one with the gum?

I stare at the words. They aren’t the most engaging, but they are literate…barely. My thumb hovers over the blue send arrow. But I don’t press it.

She thought I was a wrong number.

I tap the fingers of my other hand on the desktop and bite the side of my lip.

Maybe this could work to my advantage. Was it possible to keep texting her as a wrong number and get to know her?

She could get to know me. And then, when the time is right, we could meet up.

And then she would realize I’m not a complete…

idiot? Loser? I’m not sure what she thinks of me.

But maybe wrong number me could discover that.

Off the top of my head, I can think of a whole handful of ways that this could go very wrong. But I can think of as many ways that it could go very right. Is it worth the risk?

I delete the text and put my phone away.

This isn’t a decision to make rashly. It needs thought and consideration.

And if I decide to go through with this plan, some things need to be planned, or it will all blow up in my face.

I suck in a breath and close my laptop. The best thing to do right now is to sleep on it.

I work half a day tomorrow before I head to the airport.

I can think about things and make my decision in the next few days. That text isn’t going anywhere.

I grab my bags out of the back of the Uber and move into the Salt Lake City Airport.

I rub my eyes. This travel is getting pretty brutal.

I just start to adjust to a time zone, and then I fly to a different one.

I’d talk to Evan about it, but I don’t want him to regret hiring me for this position.

I know I’m his brother, but that isn’t always to my advantage.

Yes, it gives me a bit of a leg up, but the expectations are way higher.

Also, Evan doesn’t know every stupid thing that Dan or Jasmine did when they were teenagers.

Brenden and Claire’s high school years are not thrown in their faces every time they make the wrong decision.

Sometimes, I wish I were a stranger to Evan and had gotten the job based on my degree from one of the top schools in the country and an impressive resume.

But no, I went the nepotism route because I was insecure, and now I have to pay my dues.

I sigh and rub a hand over my face as I place my belt, phones, and money clip in a bin. I move through the X-ray machine, lifting my arms above my head.

I’m careful not to look at any of the screeners.

I did that once because I thought she was talking to me.

Turns out she wasn’t. So I got the wand and a pat down instead of the non-evasive X-ray.

If I were a conceited person, I would have accused her of wanting to feel my calf muscles and biceps.

But I decided not to go for a cavity search, so I kept my mouth shut. I thought it was a wise move.

The guy on the other side of the machine waves me forward. Looks like I passed this time. I’m more relieved than I let on. I hate the pat downs—which I’m sure says more about me than anyone else. But whatever.

I slip on my shoes and grab everything else so I can get dressed away from the chaos of security.

Moving to the back wall where there is a line of benches, I put my stuff down while I feed my belt through the loops on my pants.

Now that I’m not concerned about a wardrobe malfunction, I hitch my backpack higher on my shoulder and roll my suitcase behind me.

I pull up my boarding pass. In all the craziness of final meetings this morning, I hadn’t checked my gate assignment.

I look down and grin, then frown. My gate should be almost directly across from The Wandering Reader.

My stomach does a little cha-cha move. I want to see Poppy, but I can’t guarantee that the feeling is mutual.

Maybe she isn’t even working today? It’s a lot earlier than I usually fly in or out. I get the idea that she works the night shift pretty regularly. I’m both happy and disappointed that I might not see her.

I slow down as I walk past the shop. My gate is actually two past The Wandering Reader.

I glance inside, my insides knotting together.

No wonder the universe told her we were a hard no.

I’m a complete weirdo. What kind of guy pursues a girl who tried to have him arrested?

I’m now remembering that I was supposed to psychoanalyze myself while I was at my hotel. Guess I dropped the ball on that one.

The person in the shop is bent over with their backside to me. It’s a pleasant looking backside, if I’m being honest. But it doesn’t do much for me because it’s not Poppy—not that her backside does much for me. I mean it’s attractive, but—I’ll stop now.

The woman stands up, and long hair, with at least a dozen small braids, falls down her back.

Oh, man. It is Poppy. In the handful of times I’ve been into her shop, I’ve never seen her in pants.

But I should have realized the wide-legged jeans belonged to her.

I can barely see the faint mist rising from the diffuser on the counter behind the register.

My heart picks up speed. I’d convinced myself I wouldn’t see her today. And now that I am, I’m all kinds of nervous, and I don’t know whether I should go in and say hi or pretend I don’t see her.

She turns around, and our eyes lock. Crap. I can’t ignore her now. Not that I want to. I want to talk to her…I just have no idea what I’ll say.

She smiles and lifts her hand in a wave. So I guess she doesn’t hate me. Or she is good at customer service. I glance down the terminal at my gate. I’ve got a little time to kill, so I may as well at least say hi.

I pull my bag behind me and stop in front of her. “Hey,” I say.

“Hey,” she says back.

Well, so far, the conversation is riveting.

I glance over at the gum. “I was coming to buy some gum.”

Her lips twitch slightly. “Did you use up all those packages you had with you on Monday?”

I nod. “It was one of those weeks, you know?”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m not much of a gum chewer. I was as a kid, but I guess I never transitioned from kid gum to adult gum.”

I shift my backpack up higher. “I get that. It’s hard to make the move from grape to mint. I think they tried to make it easier by making a minty grape. But it just didn’t do it for me.”

She actually laughs, and my breath hitches. I think if she’d been laughing when she tried to arrest me, I might have gone willingly. “So, you’re headed home? Or do you live here and just travel a lot?”

“Both,” I pull my suitcase up, letting it rest on all four wheels. “I mean, I don’t live here, but I travel back and forth a lot.”

She nods. “What gate are you out of? With the way our past interactions have gone, I don’t want to be responsible for you missing your flight. ”

I lift my chin, motioning down the terminal. “I’m there at Gate 18. I can hear if they call for boarding.”

She glances down at the luggage tag from a past flight. “Boston, huh? What brings you to Utah so much?”

“The company I work for is moving its corporate offices here to Lehi. I’m overseeing it.” I lean against the gum display case. They look much sturdier than they are. Before I know what’s happening, the shelves collapse, and the gum is all in a pile on the floor.

With wide eyes, I drop to the ground and start picking up the minty-smelling packages. “Oh, man. I’m so sorry.” I shake my head and keep my eyes on the floor. What is wrong with me that I can’t function like a normal human being when I’m around her? “This kind of thing rarely happens to me.”

Poppy kneels next to me. “It’s okay. Those shelves are terrible.

I keep asking the owner to replace them.

But he just says, ‘There isn’t the money to do it right now, and so you’ll have to make do.

’” She says it in a low but mocking tone of voice.

She scoots the gum to the side and starts messing with the first shelf.

“I’m really sorry. I’m sure it’s my fault. If I need to pay for the damage, I totally can.” I might think about not pursuing this relationship just for the sake of my wallet.

She waves me aside. “Don’t worry. This happens at least once a month. You were the lucky person to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She puts the shelves back and starts stacking the gum. I help her, matching the gums with the ones she has already placed.

Everything back where it belongs, we stand up. She brushes her hands together. “Thanks for the help.”

I lift my backpack to her. “Would you like to search it? Just to make sure it wasn’t a ploy to steal a pack of gum?

” I wink at her. Where in the crap did that come from?

I’m not a winker by nature. I won’t say I’ve never done it.

Because I have. And if a guy says he hasn’t, he’s lying.

We all try it. But most of us grow out of it.

I went through my winking phase when I was in college—undergrad.

By grad school, I had realized what I looked like when I winked and it’s not an attractive thing, trust me.

She laughs again, and my chest constricts.

“I’m pretty sure you earned the gum when you helped me clean it up.

So we’ll call it even.” She moves behind the register and rests her backside on the counter behind her.

“So, when do you come back?” Is that interest in her voice?

Or is she just making polite conversation? Man, I want it to be the first .

But I don’t want to look like any more of an idiot than I already do, so I try for nonchalance. “Sunday night. That’s my usual.”

She frowns, and I head her off.

“This week I had a meeting first thing on Monday morning with the CEO of the company, so I couldn’t fly in until later that day.”

She folds her arms. “Ooh. The CEO of the company, huh? Sounds like you’re pretty important and influential.”

Now I laugh. “Hardly.” I should tell her that the CEO is my brother. But she’s looking at me with a very impressed gaze. And I admit, I like it. Probably too much.

“That’s pretty impressive. Didn’t you say you graduated with your master’s? You must have done well in school to land such a great job.”

My smile drops slightly. If she only knew.

Over the loudspeaker, they call the pre-boarding for my flight. I grab the handle of my suitcase. “That’s my flight.” I nod like an idiot. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

She grins. “If you fly in at night, it’s a good possibility. I’m not going to be here as much until school starts in a couple of weeks. But after that, I only work nights because of school.”

“Nights…got it.” I say like I’m a stalker taking notes. Man, I need to chill out or she’s going to change her school and work schedules just to avoid me. I take a few steps back. “Well, then, I guess I’ll see you on Sunday?”

“Yep! See you Sunday.” She lifts her hand and waves.

I turn around, even though I’d love to watch her as I leave.

I suck in a much needed deep breath as I blend into the crowds of people walking through the terminal.

I get to my gate and move to the end of the business class line.

I used points to upgrade this flight. Like I told Poppy, it’s been a long week.

I pull out my phone—my personal one—and look at the message from her yesterday. Without even thinking more about it, I start a new text.

I’m sorry to have bothered you! Thanks for letting me know. I would hate to chew out my bro for leaving me hanging at the restaurant when he didn’t even get the text.

I press send and glance over my shoulder just in time to see her take her phone out of her back pocket.

She smiles.

It’s going to take strategy and time, but pretending to be a wrong number guy may be worth the risk.