The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (29 page)

This one time, forever and ever ago, this guy named Joshua was fighting this battle and he called out to God and prayed for the sun to stand still in the sky until his army found victory. God heard his cry and listened and the daylight stretched on as if time itself was standing still. If I recall correctly, that was the one and only time God allowed that to happen
—
and yet, I swear time is
not moving
right now. Instead, this day just keeps going and going and going and I
’
m no closer to getting off of work than I was this morning!

Okay, okay
—
that
’
s a gross exaggeration. I actually only have an hour left. But, goodness gracious, it seems like I
’
ve been here forever
. The truth of the matter is, I
’
m incredibly distracted. And anxious. And excited. My thoughts seem to be focusing on everything
except
work. Honestly, it
’
s a miracle I
’
ve made it through this day without screwing up people
’
s orders or dropping everything I touch.

Every five minutes, I
’
m thinking of Addie. I haven
’
t really had a chance to talk to her since yesterday afternoon, before she went to work. Even then, we only had a half an hour from the time I got home until she had to leave. When she and Sarah got back, I was already asleep. Today, she
’
s working an earlier shift
—
two until eight
—
so she
’
ll be gone by the time I get home. We have been texting a bit, so I know that she went to yoga yesterday. She told me that her yoga instructor happens to be that Roman character Sarah was going crazy over. Apparently he
’
s a pretty cool guy. I also know that she saw Hammy last night. I
’
m still dying to hear the details on that one. And she tells me she
’
s been journaling, which makes me happy. It also makes me think about Sonny.

I think about Sonny about every other second. I used to think I thought about him plenty before
—
but my past thought patterns pale in comparison to my current state of mind.
Then again, I never had memories of him asking me to be his girlfriend over and over or him kissing me repeatedly
—
scenes for me to rewind and play back in my head all day.
I sigh wistfully as I remember the way he pulled me into his arms; the way his hair felt between my fingers; and how his mouth tasted faintly of mint.

Dear Jesus
—
thank You for Grayson. Thank You for giving me another reason to remember how much You love me.

I haven
’
t seen him since he dropped me off after our errand on Tuesday. Our work schedules prevented us from being able to meet up at all yesterday. He invited me to come out with him, Jack, and Hammy after he got off, but I was too tired to even seriously consider it. I
’
m still getting into the swing of waking up at five fifteen every morning. He did call me, though, on his way to the pub. He told me about his day and I told him about mine. We didn
’
t talk for long, but it was still special because he was calling me as
my boyfriend
.

I bite my lip at the thought, fighting to contain my grin. It
’
s still hard to believe.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I reach for it right away. It
’
s a text from Sonny. I free my grin and peek out into the front of the store to make sure there aren
’
t any customers before I swipe my screen to open his message.

Sonny:
Ave, I have a serious problem
…
I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU.

I giggle as my stomach does a somersault
—
a trick that
’
s clearly reserved for Grayson only. I think for a moment before I type my reply.

Me:
That
’
s a problem?

Sonny:
On my way into work this morning, I got honked at twice because I zoned out and didn
’
t notice when the stop light turned green.

Me:
Haha. Okay, yeah
…
maybe that
’
s a problem. Does that mean we have to break up? :(

Sonny:
Absolutely not! Just means I need you in the car with me so that I have you to tell me when the light turns green.

Me:
A good idea in theory
…
but I can
’
t promise that I
’
ll be able to stop thinking about you long enough to pay attention to such minor details.

Sonny:
:)

Sonny:
I can
’
t wait to see you. Are you excited for our first date?

Me:
Wait
—
we have a date?

Sonny:
Whoops. Wrong girlfriend
…

Me:
Haha. Stop it! Of course I
’
m excited. I
’
m dying to see you.

Sonny:
Speaking of my gf, I changed your contact info in my phone. I replaced
“
Avery
”
with something else. I figured if no one else knew about our relationship, at least Siri should know.

I laugh and then cover my mouth, looking to see if Dottie or any new customer is around. I
’
m still alone, Dottie busy in the back, so I resume texting.

Me:
And who did you tell Siri that I am?

Sonny:
My Shorty.

I laugh again, with a blush this time. I
’
m so
in-like
with this guy that it
’
s not even funny. I pinch myself
—
literally pinch myself
—
because I need to be sure I
’
m not dreaming. I feel like
such
a cheese-ball, but I
’
m so happy that I don
’
t even care how ridiculous or blissfully gross our flirty exchanges are. It hasn
’
t even been forty-eight hours and yet being in a relationship with Sonny is better than I ever imagined it possibly could be.

Me:
That
’
s very fitting. Guess it
’
s time I told Siri about us too, huh? Hmm
…
what name should I give you?

Sonny:
You tell me. You
’
ve already given me one nickname. I bet you can come up with another.

Me:
My Hottie?

Sonny:
You think I
’
m hot?

Me:
Maybe
…

My Hottie:
For the record, I think you
’
re hot too.

My Hottie:
Did I make you blush?

Me:
Hahahaha
…
I
’
ll never tell

My Hottie:
That means yes ;)

My Hottie:
Have to get back to work. See you tonight. 7:00.

Me:
Can
’
t wait!!

“
Don
’
t think you
’
ve managed to get away with whatever it is you
’
re doing without me hearing you giggle up here,
”
says Dottie as she makes her way from the back with a tray of freshly sliced zucchini bread. She opens the back of the display case and slides it in before turning to face me.
“
By the look on your face and the phone in your hand, I
’
m going to go ahead and guess this has something to do with a
boy
.
”
She wiggles her eyebrows at me before she pulls out a second stool and plops down beside me.
“
So. Let
’
s have it.
”

I don
’
t bother to hide my smile as I stare at her for a moment, contemplating how much I
’
d like to share. Her light brown ringlets are pulled up in a bun on top of her head, leaving her gracefully long neck on display. Dottie is slim with not a single curve to boast of
—
unless you count her barely-noticeable-bust
—
which I do, even if she doesn
’
t; I can relate, even though I
’
m sure I
’
m a cup bigger than she is. In any case, her killer metabolism and her vegetarian life-style are the reasons why she can own a specialty bread bakery with so many delicious carbs and still look as good as she does. She considers herself to be pretty plain, but I don
’
t think so. She
’
s got big, round, hazel eyes that I think are the opposite of plain. I
’
ve never seen her in makeup, but her pronounced cheekbones and delicate nose and chin make her look timeless, if you ask me.

She clears her throat, hinting at her impatience, and I refocus my thoughts. I must admit that it
’
s a little bit like torture carrying around this too-good-to-be-true secret. I want to tell Addie
so badly,
but she
’
s so fragile that I
’
m not sure how she
’
ll take the news. I mean, like Sonny said, I know she
’
ll be happy for us
…
but I
’
m also worried it
’
ll make her think about Hammy even more and I don
’
t want to be the trigger that induces more crying. Her poor tear ducts.
No, I think it
’
s a good idea that we give it a few more days, regardless of how much it
’
s killing me to keep this from her
.