What do you think the odds are that we’ll win the jackpot again?” Callie asked her sisters, glancing down at the three lottery tickets on the table in her living room. An empty pizza box and half-drunk bottle of wine also sat on the small rectangular particle-board coffee table. They hadn’t played since they’d won three months ago, and so much had changed since then, yet the furniture in the room had stayed the same. Callie just couldn’t seem to bring herself to buy new stuff. This apartment felt like home.
“Hey, it could happen!” Lexi said, wiggling her feet. She was lying in the supine position sprawled over the entire length of Callie’s sofa while her sisters sat cross-legged on the floor. Their little sister had been going on and on about her wedding details practically all night. Granted, she had just come back from her final meeting with her planner and the wedding was only a week away, but Callie was already so tired of hearing about it. She was happy for Lexi, but also a little annoyed.
Wynn had asked her the other night how she felt about her younger sister getting married before her. Callie had never even thought about that. But now that he brought it up, she did feel a little sad. Somehow, her sisters were surpassing her in milestones. Marriage, kids, a house—Hanna had it all already, and Lexi was well on her way to having it all soon enough.
But Callie was still… just Callie. She never thought she needed those things, but now it felt like she was getting left behind.
Looking at Wynn, though, she saw hope in her own future. She could see marriage, kids, and a house one day. Of course, she didn’t tell him any of that. Instead, she just said, “That’s a weird question to ask.”
“Sorry,” he said, his piercing blue eyes begging for forgiveness. “It’s the reporter in me. I always ask the tough questions.” He kissed her to make up for it, and she quickly forgave him.
“Look at our sister,” Lexi said to Hanna, bringing Callie back to reality. “She’s got the googly eyes.”
Callie looked up. “What?” She shook her head to snap out of it. She must have been making a sappy face thinking about Wynn’s kiss. “No, I was just in a daze.”
“Yep! I see them,” Hanna said, inspecting her sister closely by prodding her cheeks. “Someone’s in love.”
She took a deep breath and tried to prevent herself from blushing, but she knew her face was getting pink.
A promo for the ten o’clock news played in the background on the TV.
“Is your boyfriend going to be on tonight?” Lexi called out from the couch.
“Okay, y’all are being obnoxious,” Callie said, taking the empty pizza box to the kitchen trash. Now she remembered why she didn’t talk about her love interests with them. “We’re not five.”
“You’re the one being obnoxious.” Lexi groaned. “Why don’t you ever talk about him? Like, you brought him over to meet the family and we still don’t know anything about him, except for the fact he works for the TV station and is the only one in the world who could make you quit that job at the newspaper.”
“Yeah, he’s a little mysterious,” Hanna agreed. “Like, what’s his story? And how are you feeling about him? Do you think he’s the one?”
Callie straightened her posture. She could see their point. There was a lot he had told her about himself, but also a lot she didn’t know. He had met her family and a bunch of her friends already, but he still hadn’t introduced her to anyone in his life outside of work yet. She didn’t even know what he did for fun when he wasn’t working or hanging out with her. It didn’t really bother her, though, because when they were together, they were really together. The connection she felt to him was unlike anything she’d experienced before.
Her heart began racing, and the words rolled effortlessly off her tongue. “I’m in love with this guy.” She let out a romantic sigh. “He makes me feel like a completely different person than I was before and shows me parts of myself I didn’t know existed. He’s the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep,” she confessed as she fidgeted with her fingers. “Honestly, I don’t know how I got so lucky to have him in my life, but I’m just going with it.” Her voice began to feel shaky. “I’m head-over-heels in love.” She was surprised at how emotional she got saying that out loud. Callie took a deep breath to compose herself.
“Awwww,” Hanna said, touching Callie’s back.
“Woo!” Lexi gave an air toast with her almost-empty wineglass. “I’m so happy for you, Cal.”
Just then, they heard the familiar words of the man in the suit: “Across the country, it’s America’s favorite jackpot game!” Callie leaned against the couch and focused her attention on the TV screen in front of them.
“Get ready, everybody… this is Powerball!” They all giggled as they said the words along with him.
As they watched the man call out each number, they quickly realized they didn’t have a single correct number. Callie felt surprisingly relieved. They didn’t need any more money. Hell, she didn’t even know what to do with the millions she already had.
“Guess last time was just a fluke,” Hanna said with a laugh.
“Hey, you only have to win once, right?” Lexi said.
Callie nodded her head in agreement. Her sister’s words felt like they could be related to love, too, she thought. All those years she had lost waiting for Garrett, but really, she only needed one win. And Wynn was looking more and more like her jackpot every day.
Speak of the devil… She glanced up at the screen to see Wynn reporting the lead story for that night’s broadcast. Seeing his face made her stomach flip. “Look who it is,” she said giddily. “That’s my boyfriend,” she said proudly. It felt nice to be able to talk about him with her sisters.
They clapped their hands in excitement. “I just want to say I’m so happy you are finally in love,” Hanna said. “It’s about damn time!”
She chuckled to herself. Little did her sisters know that she’d been in love before. Garrett’s face flashed in her mind, but she quickly forced it away. As she watched Wynn on the TV, she couldn’t help but adore how passionate about his job he was—in her mind, there was nothing sexier than a man who loved going to work every day. And he made her feel smart and successful, too. All of that combined with his good looks, great personality, and kind ways made him everything she wanted in a man. But the best part was that he was actually hers.
That Monday, Callie was surprised to find out she and Wynn were assigned to a story together. “I want you guys to go and do a piece on this psychic who’s in town for a show at the convention center,” Adler said as he spoke to them in his office with his feet casually crossed on the top of his desk. He was much more laid-back than Jerry used to be, probably since the weight of the business didn’t rest solely on his shoulders. “Her name is Busy Honeycutt,” he continued. “And she’s been generating a lot of buzz lately—she’s got this YouTube channel that’s crazy popular.” He threw a Koosh ball up and down in the air as he spoke. “Make it fun. Do some playful banter with her, get her predictions for some newsy things.”
Callie let out an inaudible sigh. Another fluff story. She still wasn’t loving the kind of assignments she was getting at the new job, but she told herself if she kept working hard, they’d have to give her the better beats soon enough. At least she got to hang out with Wynn while doing this one.
A few hours later, as Wynn drove the two of them to the convention center downtown where they had planned to do the interview live on air at the six o’clock show, a panicked thought crossed her mind and Callie wondered why he was on the assignment, too. Did Adler think she was doing a terrible job—that she needed backup as a reporter? Was she too boring for viewers to be reporting by herself? “Isn’t it a little random we’re doing an assignment together?” she asked him, hoping she sounded casual.
“Not really. He likes to throw reporters together every now and then, especially when it’s a fun topic. I’m just happy I get to do something with you.” He took his eyes off the road for a second to look over at her and smile.
They made their way to the convention center and backstage where Busy was getting ready for her eight o’clock show. She looked around Hanna’s age, maybe a little older, and was wearing a black leather jacket and ripped blue jeans. Her short black hair was spiked and her red lipstick fierce.
“So, how’s this gonna work?” Busy asked Wynn and Callie as the cameraman set up. “Your producer said you guys are going to ask me for predictions about what’s happening in the news?”
“Yep,” Callie said. “Should be a quick, fun segment.” She cringed slightly after saying that. She was starting to sound like Adler.
The three of them settled in their chairs as the news started and their bit was about to begin. “Y’all ready?” Wynn asked with a smile, flashing his made-for-TV pearly white teeth.
They nodded and smiled, too, right as the senior anchor, Ainsley Frey, began talking through their earpieces.
“While our mission is to give you the news in real time, what if there was a way to find out what’s going to happen in the future? Well, News 12’s Wynn Kernstone and Caroline Breaux are about to find out. They’re with psychic medium to the stars Busy Honeycutt, who’s in town tonight for a special event at the convention center. Wynn and Caroline, have you been able to find out what the future holds from Busy?”
“Hi, Ainsley,” Wynn said in his deep TV voice. “Yes, we’re with the lovely Busy Honeycutt, and if you aren’t one of her one million YouTube subscribers or one of the two hundred attendees at tonight’s exclusive event, you may not be familiar with her. But all that’s about to change right now.”
Busy flashed a cool smile into the camera. “Thanks for having me!”
“Thanks for being with us,” Callie said. “So, Busy, you’ve made some major predictions on your YouTube channel through the years, and a lot of them have happened—last year’s hurricane in New Orleans, the latest presidential election results, Brad and Angelina’s divorce.…”
“Yep,” Busy said proudly.
“Well, we have some of our own questions for you,” Callie said. “We’ve got a big election coming up.…” Maybe it was a fluff piece, but she’d at least try to get something substantial out of it. “Can you give us any insight into what’s going to happen?”
Busy didn’t even flinch. “We’re going to see a record number of voters come out. The people’s voices will be heard. The message remains to be seen.”
“Interesting,” Callie said, trying to hide her disappointment in Busy’s vague answer.
“And what about our beloved Saints?” Wynn jumped in. “Are they gonna make it to the Super Bowl this year?”
Busy smiled. “You can start prepping for your big game party now.”
Callie swore she saw Wynn pull his right arm in quickly as if to say, “Yes!” He was so cute.
“Hey, I’ve got another one for you,” he said, suddenly serious. He took a deep breath. “Can you tell me if Caroline Breaux is going to say yes when I ask her to marry me?”
What did he just say? Callie’s eyes widened as her brain struggled to keep up. It felt like minutes, but she was sure it was only milliseconds.
Before she could process what was happening Wynn was down on one knee, presenting a sparkly diamond ring in his hand.
Callie looked at him in shock. Then she looked at Busy, who was covering her mouth in disbelief. Her head flooded with thoughts as everyone in the room stared at her.
A million questions raced through her mind. Was it too soon? Did she really know him? Was he who she wanted to be with for the rest of her life? She felt her forehead sweating. Oh god, what was she supposed to do?
“She’s going to say yes,” said Busy into the microphone.
Callie snapped back to reality. She could hardly contain her excitement. “Yes!”