“Which part?”
“All of it,” I answered. “Telling her how I feel and having her reject me. Or worse, I let her in and she rejects me later.”
“There’s a chance it could go either way,” she said. “However, there’s also the possibility you could form a lasting relationship. One you’ll never have if you don’t try. When you’re ready to take that leap, you’ll know. And I’m always here to talk you through it if you need me.”
I tried to visualize what McKenzie would do if I told her how I felt…what she would say. But it was hard for my own desires not to take over, imagining taking her beautiful face in my hands and kissing her like I’d wanted to since that first night I took her home from The Basement East. I’d envisioned the moment our lips would finally meet, both of us perfectly sober and aware of every touch. I’d wanted to do it that night at the tavern after I signed the lease for the hobbit house before that jackass had interrupted us. There had been a shift in the energy between us, so subtle that if I’d blinked I might have missed it. Had it all been one-sided or was she feeling it too?
“It’s just something to consider,” Lacey said. “Maybe you should write about it. Explore those emotions swirling in your head.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Maybe.”
“Okay, well, I’ve got you booked for next week, but if you need anything between now and then, you know where I am.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Lacey.”
We said goodbye, and I snapped my laptop shut. My head flopped against the couch cushion, Lacey’s words still settling into the crevices of my mind. Just then, my phone pinged with a text. I glanced down, a smile spreading across my lips as I read the text McKenzie had just sent:
Just checking in on you and Randy McNutt. Tell him I said hi. ??
The next nightwas game night at Dallas and Katie’s, but because it was just me, McKenzie, Derek, and Jo in attendance, the evening quickly devolved into us sitting around and chatting. It was rare that Jo and Derek were both in townandhad a sitter, so they were taking full advantage.
“So, you’re gone for two weeks, right?” McKenzie asked Katie from where she sat beside her on the couch. Katie and Dallas had just informed us about a spur-of-the-moment trip they were taking.
“Leaving Sunday?” I added, making sure I understood since Emilia would be coming to stay with me down at the hobbit house for the duration of their trip.
“That’s right,” Dallas said, rubbing his palms together. “Italy, here we come!”
“Willam Deveraux is opening a new restaurant in Florence, and he wants us to be there for the opening,” Katie explained, turning to me. “He’s been something of a mentor to Dallas and me. When I forgot to hire the servers for our first big catering gig, it was Willam and his staff that stepped in to help.”
“Oh wow,” I said, shocked. There was still so much I didn’t know, so many things I’d missed in the months I’d been gone.
“He’s kind of a big deal,” McKenzie added.
“What else are you two doing while you’re there?” Jo asked.
I couldn’t help but catch the shift in Katie’s demeanor. Her eyes fell to the glass of wine in her lap, and she picked at invisible lint on her jeans.
“Just seeing the sights,” she said. “We figured it would be nice to extend the trip since we’ll already be there. You know I’ve always wanted to go to Italy.”
“Well, yeah,” Jo said, twisting her auburn hair off her shoulders. “That’s where you always wanted to take your honeymoon.”
Katie’s cheeks flushed as she and Dallas exchanged a glance. Neither of them had ever been particularly good at keeping secrets.
A veil of silence fell over the room.
“Wait…” The wheels in Jo’s mind started spinning at warp speed as Derek did the mental gymnastics to catch up.
McKenzie’s eyes widened. “Shut up.”
“What?” Katie asked, taking a sip of her wine, her cheeks turning scarlet as Dallas concealed his mouth with his hand.
“Oh boy,” Dallas muttered, rubbing his finger along his upper lip.
“Don’twhatme,” McKenzie said, sitting up straight, pinning Katie with her eyes.
“And you darn sure better notwhatme,” Jo countered, and I couldn’t help but smirk. Despite going from being an uptight news reporter to the slightly less uptight woman of Derek’s dreams, she still found it hard to utter certain four-letter words.
“I’m not exactly the most observant guy, but even I can tell you two are up to something,” I said, staring them down from the armchair where I sat with Emilia curled up on the cushion beside me.
