CHAPTER EIGHT
Lucy stared at the man across from her and wondered how she could have got so lucky. She normally stayed away from men, well people in general, not knowing how to react around them. Home schooling and overly-protective parents would do that to a person.
“So how did you end up here?” he asked as he put the last bite of his burger in his mouth and licked his lips.
“I’ve always wanted to work with kids. I guess it’s another symptom of being an only child,” she laughed and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Being homeschooled meant I didn’t have the qualifications to go away to college so I went to a local community college to study Early Childhood Education. I think my parents planned it that way. Then my parents died during my first year and a student counselor helped me get a live-in nanny position. My parents didn’t leave me enough to finish the course and I was struggling so much after losing them, so it seemed the most sensible thing to do. It gave me an income, somewhere to live and I still got to work with kids.”
Why, if this was all she’d wanted to do, did it not feel like it?
“You’re not looking as happy about that decision as you’re trying to sound,” he raised an eyebrow at her and placed his hand over hers. “You are stronger than you think. Getting to where you are right now proves that. You can do whatever you want when you put your mind to it,” he said as he squeezed her hand.
But could she? The sad truth was she only had some savings and no idea what she wanted to do. Well she did, but it felt so outside the realm of possibility that she tried never to think about it.
“Ah, I can see the wheels turning,” he said as he tipped her chin up with his index finger. “Care to share? Maybe I can help.”
“Well,” she said as she got lost in his eyes. They were trustworthy eyes, and something made her want to spill all her dreams to this practically-a-stranger who sat in front of her. “I want to be a kindergarten teacher.”
“So, why don’t you?” he asked. She looked down at her hand that he was still holding. He made it seem so simple.
“It’s so expensive,” she sighed loudly. “I’m not sure I would have the time for my job and studying, although when Indya moves in with Mateo …”
“Hey, I know we just met, but you’ll still have me,” he fluttered his eyelashes at her which made her burst into laughter.
She gently slapped his arm, “You’ll never get rid of me now,” she grinned. “Thank you. I think I was maybe waiting on someone giving me permission to do it. I’ll maybe look into starting in the fall. I’ve saved a lot of my salary over the past three years, and I’d still have my job, so maybe it would be possible.”
Her heart filled with joy at the possibility of becoming a teacher. All it had taken was a conversation with this amazing man in front of her.
“Atta girl,” he said, “Now can I interest you in a sundae to celebrate or do you want to head somewhere else?”
“Sundae, definitely a sundae,” she grinned, taking the dessert menu he’d passed her.
CHAPTER NINE
Adam grinned at the new message on his cell. Hey, if you’re not busy want to join us at the park? We’re leaving in 5. There was no way he’d miss an opportunity to spend more time with Lucy. He guessed he’d also get to meet the infamous Indya, he’d heard so much about. From what Lucy had told him they were close, and she’d tried not to show how upset she was with Indya’s plans for the future. Hopefully with the new plans of her own, she’d be a lot more open to the changes in her life.
He grabbed his hoodie, wallet and keys and went to meet Lucy at the elevator. Their life seemed to be revolved around that elevator he chuckled.
The trio were waiting for him as he got out his door. “Hey guys,” he said as he shrugged into his hoodie. He wasn’t used to being around small children but as he was going to be an uncle soon, he figured this would be good practice.
Tristan hid behind Lucy, clinging to her leg, while Olivia looked up at him with huge brown eyes, not saying a thing.
Lucy laughed, “Hey, we’re all ready to go. I’m not sure why he’s pretending to be shy all of a sudden. C’mon Tristan, you’ve met Adam before, he’s going to go to the park with us and play with the twins.”
A small head appeared from behind Lucy’s leg, “You’ll play with us on the jungle gym?” he whispered, his eyes sparkled with eagerness.
“Of course,” he said, wondering what he’d let himself in for.
It didn’t take them long to walk to the park. There were plenty of other people sitting around, enjoying the sunshine. He wondered if any of them were Indya. He knew she’d brought Lucy out of her shell and introduced her to the local scene, so he was looking forward to meeting her in the flesh. He’d heard the worry in her voice when she’d told him Indya’s news. He didn’t like that she felt that alone. He did, however, like the idea of slipping into the space Indya would leave … if it came to that.
A young woman that looked to be a few years older than Lucy came walking over with a huge grin on her face. “Hey guys, the twins are on the jungle gym and I’ve saved us a table.” She looked directly at Adam, her eyes moving from his feet to his face. He could tell she was protective of Lucy, which made him automatically like her. “You must be Adam, Lucy has told me a lot about you,” she grinned. Guess he passed her test.
“Yeah, same,” he said with a nod. He turned to Lucy who had unbuckled Olivia from the stroller. “You want me to take her so you can catch up with Indya?” he asked as he offered an outstretched hand to Olivia, not sure whether she’d take it or not.
Olivia looked at his hand, then up to look him in the eyes, then over to Lucy with a scrunched up face. Lucy nodded to Olivia with a smile. That seemed to be the response she was looking for and she let go of Lucy’s hand and took hold of his and her whole face lit up. He wanted to see the same response from Lucy when he held her hand.
Olivia’s hand looked so tiny in his shovel of a hand. “Where to little lady?” he asked, bending down to focus all his attention on the toddler.
“Jungle gym,” he deciphered between her mumbled words and the point towards her brother who was sliding down the slide with his arms in the air, screaming his delight.
It was a while before Lucy and Indya came over. He’d given them a few side glances to check on them and as they seemed to be either giggling or deep in conversation, he left them to it. He appreciated that Lucy wanted to spend as much time as she could with her friend.
They spent a couple of hours at the park and he was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. He got to know Indya better and could see why they were best friends. Although Indya was the louder of the pair, he could see how similar they were. He loved seeing Lucy so relaxed and outgoing in their company which she had deemed her ‘safe space.’ There was definitely more to Lucy than even he had first thought.
CHAPTER TEN
Lucy was curled up on her bed, blanket around her, chocolates within reach and her Kindle in hand. Her favorite author had finally released their latest book and she’d looked forward to reading it all day. This was the book she’d waited, not so patiently, for three months to find out what had happened to her hero and she didn’t want anything to interrupt her night of reading pleasure.
She’d just got to the end of the second chapter when David and Sylvia called her into the living area. She struggled to read the blank expressions on their faces when she stepped into the room. Normally they never called her out of her room once the children were in bed; they respected her alone time. She sat down on the chair nearest the door, put her hands on her lap and waited for someone to speak.
“Don’t look so worried,” David reassured her as he glanced over at his wife. “It’s good news. We’re having another baby! We wanted to wait until after the first trimester before letting anyone know. We’ve not told Tristan or Olivia yet.”
She should have guessed when Sylvia had swapped her wine glass for water.
Before Lucy
could offer her congratulations, he continued with what sounded like a rehearsed speech. “It made us think about things, especially with the kids. You know how I work late most nights and frankly, it’s not going to get any better anytime soon at the firm. It’s not how Sylvia and I want to raise them. We’re going to have to make some changes.”
Was she going to lose her job? She sucked in a shallow breath and let it out slowly. After Indya’s news and now the new thing with Adam, and the possibility of going back to school, she wasn’t sure she was ready for any more changes. She wasn’t a ‘changes’ person.
“I’ve accepted a new job in L.A. and start in three months. We wanted to make sure that you wanted to move with us and not presume like we did when we moved here. So, Lucy, would you like to move with us to L.A.?” he looked at her and she could feel the pressure to give the right answer, whether it was the answer she wanted to give or not.
She squirmed in the chair as both sets of eyes were glued on her, as they waited for her response. Yes, she’d moved with them here when he’d got his last promotion without a second thought, but things were different now. She loved her job and the thought of having a new baby in the house filled her with excitement … but then there was Adam. It was new and while it might not go anywhere, she’d like to give it a chance, but she’d need a job to be able to do that and go to school. What was she supposed to do?
“There will be a pay raise for you,” Sylvia smiled as she ran her palm over her flat stomach. “I’m going to ask to go part-time after my maternity leave, if the firm agree to my transfer request. We know Tristan and Olivia would love for you to move with us. We would too. We would be lost without you. I hope you know that.”
“I’d love to,” she forced out and gave a fake smile. She could always change her mind once she’d had time to process this news, right? She would see where her relationship with Adam went during the next month and then would discuss the move with him. She scoffed, relationship? She’d been out a few times with him. He’d just moved into the building and she was around his age, so it was only natural they’d hung out a few times. He was just being a friendly neighbor who’d been looking to make new friends. She knew this wasn’t true, but it might make the move easier if she thought of him as just a friendly neighbor than anything more, and she so desperately wanted more.
“Great news!” said Sylvia as she moved to wrap her arms around Lucy. “We’re so glad you’re coming with us.”
“That’s great, Lucy. We’d hate to lose you, after all you’re part of this family,” David smiled as he put a hand on his wife’s back and rubbed it.
She smiled back, not sure what else to say. As soon as she could she scurried back to her room to process the news. Her Kindle lay discarded on her bed and the last thing she was in the mood for was romance and happily ever afters. She picked it up and placed it on the nightstand and then wrapped her blanket around her and lay on her bed. She pulled the chocolates towards her and popped one in her mouth and began to chew.
Did she want to go to L.A.? She could always study there. She sighed with the realization that, although she loved her job, she needed to figure out what she wanted for her life, instead of going along with what the people in her life expected. She’d never been to L.A. and wouldn’t mind living there, but it wasn’t the life she wanted. She loved her job as a nanny but more than that, she wanted to be a teacher and have a family of her own one day. Moving around with the Delgado’s might not be the best way to get that but was she ready to start out on her own?
Although it was still early, she switched off her light to try and sleep. It had certainly been easier to go along with the decisions other people had made for her life, but perhaps it was time she made some of her own.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
He’d been in his new apartment for just over two weeks and it finally felt like home. His home office was set up the way he liked it and was ready to take a more active role in his business. He’d missed being involved, brainstorming new projects with his employees, working with beta-testers on their latest software release and problem solving any issues that had occurred.
In his last year at MIT he’d hired a project manager to manage his business, knowing that his final year would be a killer if he tried to do both. Mark Costello had allowed him to focus on his studies while he managed the business. He was ready to jump back in with both feet. There were a lot of software application ideas he wanted to test out and improvements he wanted to make with their existing products.
Adam stretched back in his chair as ideas for his new project began to formulate. He glanced quickly at his phone - no new messages. He’d sent a few messages to Lucy last night, but she’d not replied, although it had been late when he’d sent them. He picked up his phone to send her a ‘good morning’ message, hoping he wasn’t coming on too strong, but couldn’t help himself even if he tried.
A ping came back almost immediately, “Can I come to yours?” He knew this was her day off. They hadn’t planned anything but as he wasn’t fully back working full-time in his business he was more than happy to make time for her. He shot back an ‘of course, anytime’ and got up to let her in.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked as he put his arm around her to usher her inside. She’d burst into tears as soon as he’d opened the door.
“I’m so sorry to do this to you,” she sobbed in his arms, “I needed to get out of the apartment and speak to someone.”
He led her over to the sofa so she could sit down, “What’s happened?” he asked as he found a box of Kleenex and handed it to her as he sat beside her and waited anxiously for her to reply.
She took the box and pulled a few out and blew her nose, “Thank you,” she said, the tears had stopped, and she looked up at him with a smile. “I’m just being stupid. It’s not as bad as I’m making out. It’s just there has been so much going on in the past week or so and last night’s news was just too much, and I don’t know what to do. Well I kinda know what I want to do but I don’t know if I can.” She sat the box of Kleenex at the side and twisted her body to face him.
“Want to start at the beginning, or at least with what happened last night,” he asked as he took her hands in his.
“The Delgado’s are moving … to L.A. and they want me to move with them,” she stared at him, watching for his reaction to the news.
“L.A.?” he gulped out, “I take it that’s not good news?” He hoped it wasn’t good news and that she wanted to stay, especially after the conversations they’d been having lately. He wanted to play it cool, so if she did want to go then he wouldn’t be the one to be holding her back.
“No, but I’ve said that I’d move with them,” she said as she started to sob again.
“Why did you say yes if you don’t want to go?” he asked, perplexed at her logic.
“They’re moving in three months,” she looked at him with her big brown eyes, that were now red from all her crying. She continued to explain without pausing for a breath, “and it happened all too quickly, and they were both looking at me, wanting me to say ‘yes’ and I couldn’t think straight. Our conversation about college ran through my head but then how can I go to college if I don’t have a job to support myself? What if they gave me my notice if I said no? Adam, I’m not ready for this.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she looked at him for answers.
He withdrew his hands from hers and leaned in to wipe away the stray tears on her cheeks with his thumbs. “Lucy, what do you want? If you can answer that, then I can help you get it,” he said meaning every word.
“I want to stay here and become a teacher.” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, “After we talked the other night, I’ve done nothing but think about it. I even looked up local courses and with my savings, I should be able to afford to go. Then I got the news about L.A. and Sylvia being pregnant again, so I didn’t want to upset her by saying no, or even mention college.”
He could understand why she was so upse
t. There was one thing he was determined about, well two. He would help her become a teacher and there was no way she was going anywhere near L.A. She’d helped him realize how lucky he was to have such a loving family and get over his hang-up, now it was his turn to help her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lucy looked up, “I’m sorry, we always seem to be talking about my problems. What about you? How are you settling in to your new apartment?” She looked around, taking in his minimal furniture and the art on his walls, “It looks really nice. I’m not taking you away from working, am I?”
“Not really. I have a project manager who has been managing the business for the past year, so I’m not really needed,” he chuckled.
“But you want to be,” she noticed.
“Yeah, I’ve got a new software idea that I want to get the framework done for but I’m still working out the details in my head. I’m ready to start building bigger and more complex software, now I have the time to dedicate to it.”
“Want any help?” she asked. She knew she wasn’t as clever as he was, but she could lend an ear and give her opinions.
“Sure. Do you want to do this here or do you want to go out and grab an early lunch?”
She was sure her eyes lit up at the sound of lunch and at that her stomach rumbled, “Lunch sounds great,” she laughed. “It’s been a while since breakfast.”
They ended up at the local burger place again, but this time got a booth in the rear. She liked that they had some privacy this time. It was just the two of them and not all the strangers walking past who looked in.
“So, what are you working on?” she asked, as they dived into their burgers.
“Well, you sort of got me thinking about this,” he said, as he looked up to gauge her reaction.
“Me?” she squealed, “How could I have given you an idea? Although, I am pretty awesome,” she grinned, fluttering her eyelashes.
Love by Geek Page 3