7. Leah

CHAPTER 7

LEAH

A fter knocking on my grandparents' front door, I check my reflection in my phone's camera.

Ugh. It's even worse than I thought.

A night of next to no sleep followed by a flight has left big bags under my eyes.

Not that I regret anything about last night. In fact, it was amazing.

Which is why I left before Jack even woke up.

Last night was a one-time thing. I'm not stupid. I know who he is, and I can clearly see what he looks like. He probably has a million women waiting in line to hop into bed with him.

I'm not a part of that club. What we had was nice, but now it's over, and I'm washing my hands clean of him.

And yet… it's been really, really hard not to think about him. In fact, he's been on my mind every minute since I left his house at dawn this morning.

If only—

The front door opens, stealing me away from my thoughts.

"Hi, Grandpa." I lean in to hug him.

"Leah, sweetheart. Come in." He takes my bag and leads me inside. "How was traffic?"

"It was good until I got into your neighborhood. Then there was a traffic jam of golf carts."

I grin to let him know I'm joking. The retirement community my grandparents live in is one of those new ones where everyone has a golf cart that they drive to the community's shopping center and restaurants.

He chuckles. "You have to be careful out there. Come now. Your grandma is in the kitchen."

We walk into the kitchen, where Grandma is stirring something at the stove. "Oh, Leah. You're here!"

I give her a hug. "Yep. I'm here."

She gives me a smile, but there's concern in her eyes. "You look tired. How was your flight?"

"Long." I laugh nervously. "It was fine, though. And you look great, Grandma."

At seventy-five, she looks like she could be in her mid-fifties, and her spirit is just as young.

Looking at her makes me feel like a failure. She's been happily married to Grandpa for almost fifty years, yet I know I'll never have what they have. My life just isn't built for it. I'm too invested in the career I've put everything into. Plus, I've never met anyone worth putting down permanent roots for.

It would be nice, though, to have a partner. A family.

My mind drifts to Jack, but I pull the thoughts back. I barely even know the guy, and I didn't go into his house last night with any intentions of dating.

It doesn't matter whether I want him to call me or not. I highly doubt it will happen, so what's the point in fantasizing about it?

"I'm making lasagna," Grandma says.

I take a seat at the table, feeling warm and cozy all over. She always makes my favorite dinner when I come to visit them.

"I'm sorry this trip has to be so short," I say.

Grandpa waves his hand. "Don't apologize. You have a whole company to run."

"There's a lot going on there…" I trail off, not sure I want to talk about work. The app still isn't where I hoped it would be this quarter, and things are tough.

Once or twice today, I've wondered if I should have just sold to Jack. Taken the money and run.

But then I immediately realized how crazy that thinking is. GourmetGlobal is my biggest dream fulfilled. I'm not letting it go, no matter what.

"So." Grandma puts a cup of coffee in front of me, just the way I like it — cream, a bit of sugar. "What else is going on in your life, besides work?"

I take a sip of coffee. "Not much."

She's clearly disappointed, but she does her best to hide it. "Have you gone on any dates?"

"Er… no."

No way in hell will I be mentioning last night.

You know what, Grandma? I did have a really hot hookup with this tech billionaire. You've probably heard of him. He owns half the applications we use.

"I read online about how hard it is for people your age to date." She takes a seat next to me and flips open her tablet. "Have you thought about trying a dating app?"

I try not to cringe. The last thing I want to do is go on a dating app. My job is already stressful enough, and the thought of having to sift through countless profiles and messages just sounds like more work.

But then again, maybe it's worth a shot.

"I don't know, Grandma. It seems like a lot of work."

She shrugs. "It's not like you have to marry the first person you meet. Just give it a try and see where it goes."

I think it over for a moment. Maybe she's right. Maybe I do need to put myself out there more, even if it's just online.

But Jack won't be on there.

I stiffen. Uh-oh. Where did that thought come from?

Jack and I are not a possibility. He's this big billionaire who puts money first, and I'm the creator of a startup who cares about how the product enhances people's lives. We could never work out.

"The couple across the street have a nice grandson," Grandpa says. "I have a picture of him right here."

He pulls out his glasses and puts them on before proceeding to scroll through his phone. "Here we go."

He turns the phone around and shows me a shot of a man taking the garbage out. It appears to have been taken both from across the street and through a window.

"Grandpa." I stare at the photo, in which you can barely see the guy's face. "Are you taking pictures of people without their permission?"

He chuckles. "Of course not. I asked him if I could take a picture of him for my wife to see. She's always interested in meeting new people." He winks at Grandma, who smiles back at him.

"Very funny," I say with a laugh.

I can count on my grandparents to cheer me up, no matter what's going on in life. It's the main reason I decided to come see them at the last minute.

The flight was expensive. Really expensive.

But it was also worth it. This whole week has thrown me off, first from Leadsom Inc. hounding me about selling, then to dinner with Jack, then to spending the night with Jack.

Honestly, I'm not even fully sure what's going on with me right now. I feel so off balance, so out of it. It's a good thing that I'm with my grandparents because staying in Olympus City this weekend would have felt unnaturally… empty.

"I can introduce you," my grandpa says. "He's a carpenter."

I smile. "Thanks, Grandpa, but I don't think a long-distance relationship is for me."

He nods. "All right, but let me know if you change your mind."

"How is pickleball?" I ask, desperate to change the conversation. "Are you still playing it?"

Grandpa's face lights up. "Of course! It's the highlight of my week. Your grandma and I even won the doubles tournament at the community center last month."

"That's amazing," I say, genuinely impressed. "Maybe I should come play with you guys next time I'm in town."

"Absolutely." Grandma pats my hand. "We'll teach you how to play."

As we chat about hobbies and family news, I feel my stress levels slowly dissipating. Being around my grandparents always has a calming effect on me, and I'm grateful for this moment of respite from my chaotic life. They're the only family I have, and in times of need, I cling to them like they're a lifeboat.

But as the evening wears on and I head to bed in their small guest room, my thoughts keep drifting back to Jack. It's like I can't shake him off, no matter how hard I try.

I pull out my phone and stare at his contact, tempted to text him. But what would I even say? "Hey, I'm away visiting my grandparents and can't stop thinking about you?" That sounds desperate, and that's not me. At least… I don't want to come across that way.

But as I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, I realize that maybe I am desperate. Desperate for some kind of connection, desperate for someone to make me feel less alone.

I don't regret giving most of my energy to my career, but I'm starting to wish I had saved a little bit for other things. Like a relationship.

Sighing, I roll onto my side and stare at the dark window. Maybe I was too quick to dismiss things with Jack. He never said he was only interested in a hookup.

Was leaving his house before dawn the right thing to do?

Chewing on my lip, I close my eyes. It's decided. I'll send him a text sometime this week, just to let him know that I'm interested.

From there, the ball will be in his court. He can take it or leave it, and at least I'll know where he's at.

And then I can embrace whatever happens between us… or I can move on.

Deep down, I already know that I don't want to move on. Jack woke something in me, and I don't want that part to go back to sleep. I want to explore this new world with this man who makes me feel unpredictably, thrillingly alive.

I'm realistic, though. I know he might not even be interested. But that's not stopping me.

I'm throwing my hat in the ring, and that alone feels good.

Having finally made a decision, I fall asleep smiling.