“Even more dreamy.”
She sighed, balancing her chin on her palm. “His abs should have their own Instagram. I mean, really. I’d follow.”
I shoved her playfully. “I bet you would, perv.”
We giggled, getting back to the pressing matter at hand of the seating chart as we continued catching up, talking about a little of this and that between making decisions.
Around lunch time, I skipped out to record my podcast, which went off without a hitch and had me grinning from ear to ear when I rejoined Morgan and her mom at the dining room table where we had the seating chart spread out like it was the architectural design for a mansion. Perhaps the best part about my job was that I loved it — truly enjoyed it with every fiber of my being. And wasn’t that the goal, to do something you loved so much for a living that it didn’t feel like work at all?
Morgan still didn’t feel great about the seating chart, though, not even when her mother and I forced her to set it aside and let it breathe for a day before she revisited it. She was a little pouty when we moved on to our next task, which was finalizing the design for the ceremony programs and making sure each guest had a room at the three beach houses, and I say houses lightly because they were more like mansions, on the Cape where the wedding would take place.
Then, there was the hair and makeup trial, which Morgan insisted I join her for. She wanted to get an idea of not only her look for the day, but mine, too. I didn’t mind, of course, because my aunt was the one doing our hair and one of Oliver’s cousin’s was doing our makeup. I was all jazzed after my podcast, anyway, so we all laughed and talked and carried on throughout the entire thing.
But by the time I was freed for the evening and Morgan headed upstairs to shower before dinner, I was completely exhausted, and completely amazed by the Energizer Bunny that was my best friend.
I hadn’t had time to check my phone, had barely even plopped down onto the beautiful, plush, white sofa in the Wagner’s sitting room and leaned my head back to close my eyes on a sigh when I heard a distant chuckle.
My eyes fluttered open, finding Tyler leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and an amused smirk on his face.
He looked different from last night — his hair styled, jaw freshly-shaven, arms clad in the white button-up that I imagined had a tie fastened at the top of it for most of the day. He’d gone into the office with Robert to meet with a new client.
And we hadn’t spoken since last night.
My stomach wriggled uncomfortably, but for some reason his smile soothed me, and I crooked a grin in return. “What’s so funny, Wagner?”
“Just the aftermath of my sister,” he observed. “I thought her energy would run out as she got older, that she’d slow down. You know, the way cats or dogs do as they age.”
“I guess she proved you wrong.”
“She does that often,” he agreed. His eyes watched me, something heavy in the air between us now.
A flash of last night hit me — my face in his hands, his forehead touching mine.
His phone ringing.
Azra’s beautiful face.
“How did the podcast recording go?”
I cleared my throat, sitting up a little straighter on the sofa. “It was amazing, actually,” I said, beaming. “I’m really excited to hear the full episode once Marni edits it, and even more excited to see if we get some crossover listeners. We’re both in the lifestyle realm, but she’s got her shit together way more than I do,” I admitted on a laugh. “I could see my listeners flocking to her, but not entirely sure if her listeners would find benefit in listening to me — a twenty-something trying to figure shit out.”
Tyler’s mouth hitched up in a way that told me he thought differently.
“Hey, at least they’ll be able to hear you,” he pointed out. “All thanks to a certain someone who somehow managed to get you to shut up for a full day.”
I flicked him off, and he laughed, pushing off the wall to stand straight.
“Did you run this morning?”
“No, I wanted to rest a little while longer, make sure I was good to go for Morgan and for the podcast.”
“Do you want to run now?”
I frowned, not understanding. “Uh… I mean, I do, but it’s six o’clock. Dinner will be soon.”
“Not for another couple hours. Mom is picking up from her favorite Thai food place, and they always take forever to get our order ready.” He paused. “Mostly because mom orders one of practically everything on the menu.”
I chuckled.
“If you want to go for a run, I was thinking I would join you.”
My heart stopped for a long, yet somehow fleeting moment. And when it kicked back to life, I cleared my throat. “Oh?”
Tyler nodded. “But not your usual route.”
“Oh,” I said again.
At that, Tyler shook his head, grinning. “Go get changed and meet me down here in ten.” His eyes wandered over me then — slowly, purposefully, and in a way that made heat rush to the back of my neck.
“What?” I asked, flushing even deeper at the fact that I was calling him out on staring.
He swallowed. “You look beautiful.”
My lips parted, and distantly I realized it was my own hand reaching up to touch the curls in my hair, the foundation covering my skin. “Oh,” I said, embarrassed as I looked at my lap before meeting his gaze again. “Hair and makeup trial.”
He nodded, watching me with a lazy smile a little longer before he turned toward the stairs. “See you in ten.”
As tired as the day had made me, I came alive in the evening glow breaking through the trees on the quiet forest trail Tyler took me to. It happened quickly, automatically, with a welcome sigh from my chest. It was as if my body had been waiting all day for this moment, and the longer we ran, the more my sneakers carried me through the muddy trail, the faster the breeze swept over my face and the more my chest ached with the familiar tightness of a good run — the more I felt at home.
It hadn’t rained since I’d been in town, but the shade from the forest somehow kept the trail damp, and the wet dirt made everything feel fresh and new somehow, like childhood in a scent. Birds and insects sang their evening songs all around us as Tyler and I ran, weaving in and out of trees, hopping over exposed branches and logs, crossing a bridge over a creek and alternating patches of steep incline with comfortable, steady stretches of flat meadow.
Every step, every minute that passed, every mile under our feet stripped away another layer of tension until I was smiling and feeling the unique ecstasy that only a good run ever provided. It was still burning through me when we made it back to where we’d started, the head of the trail with an impressive vantage point over a valley and creek, with the White Mountains as a backdrop against the setting sun.
Tyler stopped by the car long enough to grab us the bottles of water he’d packed, and he handed one to me, draining half of his before he plopped down on the dark rock that extended out past the edge of the cliff. His feet dangled under him just like they had the other night on the dock, and I lowered myself down next to him, folding my legs underneath me as our eyes danced over the scenery around us.
“That was amazing,” I said once I caught my breath.