Free Emily Calls It (The Emily Series) by Laura Albright. Page B

in Colin’s absence?”
    “Oh, I’ll get you started this week, then Tim in Colin’s group can field any questions you have.”
    “When will Colin be back?” The question fell out of my mouth before I had a chance to think about it.
    “It might be a few weeks. I’m not sure. The Levi building has fallen behind. We’ll have to see,” she said with concern.
    I nodded, and decided any more questions about Colin were probably inappropriate. On the way down to my ca r, I realized I was sad. I didn’t know I’d miss him . Who knew ? I shook my head to dismiss the thoughts and feelings, and climbed into my car, ready to meet Trish. When I arrived at the restaurant she was already enjoying a drink at the bar. I joined her, ready for a fun evening .
    “So how are things , Emily?” I knew she was asking about Graham or the lack of Graham.
    “Fine.” Yes, I was being vague.
    “Have you seen him?” she asked , taking a sip.
    “No. I mean he stopped by a couple of weeks ago, but I haven’t seen him lately.” I hoped my response was boring enough to move on to the next subject.
    “Stopped by?” Damn! She wasn’t falling for it.
    “Yeah. You know. I don’t really want to talk about it.” The whole subject irked me.
    “OK .” She said as she looked to the side, possibly annoyed that I didn’t want to go into it. The short silence felt awkward for the both of us. I decided to break the quiet.
    “OK .” I guess ed I’d better talk about it. “So he stopped by one day after work.” Trish perked up and smiled not because she heard he stopped by, but because I was opening up. “He’s just. I don’t know. He wanted me to forgive him.” I shrugged.
    “Well?” she asked, urging me to go on.
    “Well what? I don’t forgive him. And who’s to say that he wants my forgiveness because he truly wants me, or just because he wants to clear his conscience.” Trish raised an eyebrow as if to say “good point.”
    “So then, who’s the next contender?” she asked, playfully moving the conversation along.
    “Contender? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I acted put out by her question, but really it was fun to think there might be contenders.
    “Yes, Emily. I know you, and I’ll bet your summer hasn’t been spent alone. There’s someone or many someones who have potential, aren’t there? So, come on. Tell me about it.”
    I reflected on my summer for a moment while I thought hard about what she said. She knew I wasn’t alone. That could very well be my problem. I hardly let the dust settle with Christian before getting involved with Graham. But she didn’t know about Christian. She wanted new details. I decided to go ahead and spill.
    “I met a guy when I went home who was nice, but you know how those things go. I live down here now. We kept it light.”
    “And?” She urged me to go on.
    “I don’t know. There’s this guy who lives in my apartment complex. He’s nice too. But, we’ve only had a couple of conversations; nothing earth-shattering.”
    “Uh-huh? And …well, where were you last night?”
    “Oh, nothing there. I went to a beach party with Ethan and Allison.” I thought back to the evening. “Actually, I did have an unexpected conversation with Joel, my brother’s friend. He’s really sweet.” I smiled to myself and Trish caught me.
    “I know there’s more. What are you not telling me?” Then our food came, and I thought I could sidestep the question, but I was not that lucky. “So, continue.” Trish popped a French fry into her mouth, and chewed quietly waiting for me to go on.
    I hesitated to say anything, but she wasn’t letting it go. “There’s not much more to tell.” She raised an eyebrow in disbelief, so I decided to tell her about Colin. “You know my internship?” She nodded. “I work with Colin Ryan.” She gave me a blank look. “You know, Mr. Ryan.”
    Trish’s eyes bugged out. “You and Mr. Ryan? I knew it!” she stated, a little too