She smiled up at him and pressed her other hand to his abs. “Why does it get harder and harder to say goodbye?”
“I think it’s what happens when you fall for someone.” Forget falling. I think I’ve base jumped. “I’ll call you before I go to sleep later, but, babe, good-night phone calls aren’t enough.”
“I know.”
“But for Evan’s sake, it has to be for now.”
“I know that, too.”
Chapter Eighteen
BELLA WAS STILL thinking about last night’s good-night phone call with Caden when she parked in front of the office of The Geeky Guys (TGG) Monday morning. She loved that he called to say good night each night before he went to sleep. She slept better having his voice as the last she heard before her head hit the pillow, but last night she’d wanted to crawl through her cell phone and climb into his arms. Although neither had crossed the invisible line of saying I love you, their feelings hung in every word. She’d never forget the longing in his voice when he’d said, I can’t wait to fall asleep after making love to you and wake up with you in my arms. She wondered if that was what Vera had alluded to when she’d asked if Bella minded that Caden had a son. There were challenges when dating a man with a child, like not spending the night together and worrying about someone other than themselves at all times. She missed Caden at night, and she woke up in a bed that never used to feel empty, longing for him to be there with her, but she didn’t begrudge Caden for having Evan. She was falling for Evan as quickly as she was falling for Caden.
She liked Evan, whether or not he was going through a tough time. There wasn’t a teenager on earth who didn’t go through trying times. She could tell by the way Evan handled himself around other adults that he would come out on the other side as a good man. He’d been raised by Caden, after all. Bella also knew that when he acted out around Caden, he did so because he felt safe doing it with his dad. Evan knew that Caden loved him unconditionally. No one could behave all the time, and if a child couldn’t act out occasionally in front of those who loved them unconditionally, then where could they?
Bella took a deep breath and tried to push away thoughts about her personal life and mentally prepare herself for gaining TGG for the work-study program. Getting her professional life in order had to be her primary focus. Especially if I hope to stay here with Caden. Stop it. I’m making my career decisions separate from him!
Yeah, right.
Okay, she was trying to.
TGG was the only computer shop within twenty miles of Wellfleet. They handled computer repair, designed websites, and a multitude of other computer-related services. Jamie had suggested that she try them, and as she walked into the one-room office, she wondered if they’d be able to afford to hire anyone at all.
Five sets of eyes turned toward Bella when she stepped inside. Six desks were paired off, facing one another in the center of the room. The walls were lined with deep metal shelves, littered with CPUs, monitors, electronic gadgets, and other digital paraphernalia.
A twentysomething guy with black framed glasses and jet-black hair cropped short on the sides and spiky up on top rolled his chair a few feet back from his desk.
“Hi. Can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Bella Abbascia. I’ve got an appointment with Frank Kohler.”
The guy peered around his computer monitor at the man sitting behind the desk across from him. “Frank, you’re up.”
Frank had one hand on his forehead as he peered at his monitor with his thick blond brows drawn together. He held up one finger. “One sec, Bell.”
Bell? While she waited, she quickly assessed the office. Four men, one woman, and one unoccupied desk. The employees appeared to be in their midtwenties and early thirties, dressed casually in shorts or jeans, and as far as Bella could tell, not at all bothered by the fact that she was standing there.
“Holy hell.” Frank smacked the desk.
“Frank.” The skinny blond girl who was sitting closest to Bella chided him. She smiled and Bella realized that she was probably closer to twenty than midtwenties. “He’s been crunching that program for hours.”
“That’s okay.” She made a mental note to address foul language if by some miracle they were able to hire any of the students.
Frank rose to his feet, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “Just one sec, Bell. I’ll be right there.”
She wondered if he’d misunderstood her name. A few minutes later he waved her over and pulled a chair from the unoccupied desk.
“I’m Frank.” His handshake was firm, but his hand was soft. Based on that and his pale skin, Bella doubted he spent much time away from his computer. He was just a few inches taller than her, with short blond hair and blue eyes that held the excitement of whatever issue he’d just solved. “Sit down. Talk to me.”
“Congrats on whatever you’ve just accomplished,” she said to break the ice.
“Thanks. I’ve been trying to crack that algorithm for days, not hours.” He shot a look at the blond girl, who rolled her eyes. “Stace doesn’t work on the weekends like I do. Anyway, tell me about your work-study program.”
Stace. She assumed that was short for Stacy, and that Frank was one of those guys who didn’t need friendship or an invitation to shorten someone’s name. Bella explained the goals of the program and what type of commitment was required from each company that signed on.
Frank leaned back in his chair and called to the guy sitting behind the desk to his right, “Sam? Whaddaya think?”
Sam, a dark-haired, clean-cut guy, was poring over a manual of some sort. “Sounds good if they’re not morons.”
Frank shrugged. “Not exactly a politically correct answer, but he’s pretty much right. Anyone we hired would need to be familiar with computers on some level. I’m all for on-the-job training, but they’ve gotta have the basics. You know, understand what batch files are, have some HTML knowledge. Any kid who has a real interest in computers will know those things, and experience with Python, Java, or Ruby is a big plus.”
“Python? My friend’s son is learning that now.”
“Is that the kid Jamie Reed is teaching? He said something about helping a kid learn Python when he told me about the program. We’d love to help someone that motivated.”
She was surprised Jamie had mentioned Evan. “He’s not a senior, so he’s not eligible for this program, but if you’re interested, I’m sure Evan would love to shadow you. He was in the technology club in Boston and he’s just recently moved to Wellfleet.”
“Sure. Why don’t you give Evan my number and we’ll see where it goes with him.”
“I’ll do that.” She could barely contain her excitement for Evan.
“How about an application that asks about the basic computer stuff? Any kid can go to Codeacademy online, and if they’re really driven, they can learn the things we need on their own.” Stace walked around the desks and put a hand on Frank’s shoulder. “My big brother’s quite a mentor.”