Secret Admirer Read Online Free PDF Page A

counter announced, “next,” for my turn, I actually started introducing myself to her. I quickly started over and bee-lined it for a lid. “Hi.” I couldn’t just blurt out my name.
    “Hey there. Cute scarf.”
    Instead of thanking him and saying my name which would have been totally natural and not at all weird at that moment, I said, “Thanks, you too.” He wasn’t even wearing a scarf. I’m not sure if that made my response better or worse.
    His eyes squinted, crinkling his forehead, and he chuckled.
    I pointed to my cup. “Guess I need this even more than I thought.”
    He responded with a bigger, genuine laugh and wished me a good day, raising his cup again as he left.
    Bree cracked up later when I relayed the story. “I know you’re trying, but you have only forty-eight hours to introduce yourself. How long can it take to say your name? Well, your nickname at least.” She laughed at her own joke.
    I promised her I would seal the deal the next day and changed the subject.
    “So, Alec seems super nice.”
    “Yes, he is, isn’t he? Good looking and successful too. He’s the real deal. Did I tell you I think this might be the weekend? We’re going skiing and staying at a bed and breakfast in Vermont. We both have Monday off for Martin Luther King Day.”
    “I totally forgot about the holiday since I don’t technically have the day off. We have some team-leader building thing at the Marriott.” I rolled my eyes like I was dreading the event, but I was secretly looking forward to participating. I didn’t want my nerdy side to show too soon and added sarcastically, “I’m sure it will be as fun as skiing.”
    “That’s the perks of being in your position,” she teased. “So, I don’t know about the rest of the group, but I assume no one will be getting together.”
    “No worries, I was thinking of getting up early Saturday morning and furniture shopping anyway. I’ve seen tons of advertisements for Valentine Day sales already. If I’m lucky maybe you’ll have somewhere to sit next time you come by.” Back at my office, I was about to reach into the bottom drawer of my desk where I’d stashed the container of candy hearts when my phone’s ping saved me from a possible sugar binge.
    I tapped in my passcode and discovered the names of my new friends interacting. I felt excited and told myself to jump right into the conversation, but I was intimidated by their quick, witty comebacks. Panicking, I hovered my thumbs over the screen, ready to reply.
    Bree—sorry guys, me and BF skiing this weekend
    Ethan—We have wedding coordinator meeting
    Maggie—And flowers and cake tasting
    Josh—I’ll go if u don’t want to
    Alec—that’s so cliché gay Josh
    Josh—it’s my new tagline
    Clare—getting Abbie a new phone from this century then looking at apartments. Lease up soon
    Garrett—you win for most boring plans
    Me—u have better plans, Garrett?
    Garrett—of course! 80 th birthday bash for grandpa back home
    Bree—that’s cute
    Garrett—I win cute award?
    Clare—LOL, you wish!
    Me—have a great weekend everyone
    When the text bubbles disappeared, I breathed a sigh of relief for successfully chiming in. As a reward, I picked out five candy hearts. The first was blank, and I almost threw the heart in my trash can, but I figured maybe it was intentional like a free space in a board game. There were two yellow Love Ya’s , a Miss You , and a TTYL . When had the company updated the messages to text speak? I spilled out a few more onto my desk and got a green, Only You and a blue which was turned on its backside. The flip side revealed Secret Admirer . Huh. I’m kind-of being a secret admirer to Cute Coffee Shop Guy. To determine if the saying was a fluke or a reoccurrence, I’d have to stock up on bags of these large candy hearts.
    The sun was shining as I woke up on time Thursday morning. This would be the day to find out his name. Arriving at the Fresh Start early, I was prepared to