Eden’s quiet voice broke into my thoughts, a hint of worry thickening his tone. “Do you think we’ll get the news soon?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed into the warm yet crisp air, my eyes on the glowing orange ball that was slowly making its ascent into the sky. “You need to let it go for now, man. We’ve done what we could. We just need to make the best of our time off and hope like hell they’ll be calling us to board a plane soon.”
His gaze followed mine almost wistfully. As if he, like me, was wishing we were watching the sun rising from one of the rounded windows of a plane while being carried to some far-off place.
Kicking ass, taking names, bringing home hostages. Those were just some examples of things we should have been doing.
Yet here we were, chasing the sunrise to our favorite fishing spot. Still, if we had to be anywhere other than doing the job we both lived for, I was glad we were doing this.
Until Eden made one final comment on the subject that I couldn’t shake, no matter how hard I tried. Much later in the day, long after we’d stopped talking about work, Charles, or our fates, his words still rattled around in my head.
“Charles may have used his last days to lobby that you be demoted or worse,” he’d said. “What will we do if that ends up happening?”
His question had been earnest, and I’d given him the best answer I had. I just wasn’t sure that it had really been an answer at all. “If that’s my fate, I’ll be fine. Let it go, bro. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
I’d only realized later that I’d said “when” we got to it and not “if” we got to it. I was hoping the slip of my own damn tongue didn’t turn out to be prophetic.
Chapter 14
Sofia
“This is still one of my favorite places in the world,” Haley said as we walked out on the boardwalk in San Diego. She let out a happy little sigh and spun in a circle, sending her golden hair cascading out behind her.
It swirled around her waist when she came to a stop, a smile on her face and a flush on the apples of her cheeks. She’d drawn some attention from a group of college-aged guys near an ice-cream cart a few yards away from us, but she didn’t notice them.
Haley was always exhilarated to come here but especially during the summer. The sun was high in the sky. There were pigeons, children, and activity all around us. She had a popsicle in her hand. Nothing made her happier.
Yet today, she seemed more subdued than normal. Usually, she’d be insisting that we go on rides, eat until we drop, and find a place that had a happy hour going as soon as possible.
“Are you okay?” I asked, linking my arm with hers as we walked down the pier. “Something seems off with you.”
“I’m fine. It’s just good to be back here, you know?” Her eyes darted to the waves on her other side, rising and falling along with the swells. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this free.”
“That’s a weirdly specific choice of wording. Why free?” I frowned. “Do you feel shackled otherwise?”
Her narrow shoulders shrugged, but she still wouldn’t look at me. “A little. Maybe. I don’t know.”
Planting my feet, I brought us both to a stop and walked around her, then waited for her to meet my eyes before I spoke. “What’s going on? You’re really worrying me.”
“It’s nothing to be worried about.” She sighed again, but there was a soft smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Really. I promise. It’s great that you care so much about me, but it’s nothing concerning. It’s just been hard lately, you know?”
I shook my head, but when I found no evidence of a lie in her eyes, I went back to her side and we carried on walking. “What’s been hard?”
“Starting a business without any formal schooling,” she said, shooting me an apologetic look. “I never should have told you business school would be a waste of time for me.”
“You did what was right for you.” I linked our arms again and squeezed her with my elbow. “Business school would have been a waste of time for you. Look at how well you’ve done without it. Don’t start doubting yourself now, my friend. You’ve got this.”
“Do I, though?” A deep frown settled between her manicured brows, and her eyes crinkled with worry. “I know I haven’t been doing badly, but I’m nowhere near where I wanted to be at our age.”
“You’re twenty-four, Haley,” I pointed out, making a show of rolling my eyes at her. “You’re still a spring chicken. Plenty of time to take over the world or whatever it was you had wanted to have done by now.”
She pursed her lips, but I knew it was to hide a smile. “No world domination for me. I just really thought the deli would be further along by now and that I’d be well on my way to opening one somewhere around here. A degree might have helped with that.”
“You don’t need a degree to make money in this country,” I said. “Look at some of the most successful people around. They have no formal schooling, either. I’m proud of you, babe. You’re doing really well.”
“Yeah, I know there are a lot of people who make tons of money without degrees. I just feel like I took it for granted when someone else was still teaching me all the basics I needed to know. Now, I have to learn them all by myself and it’s hard.”
“On the bright side, you’re learning by gaining your own experience. That’s something I won’t be
