Kennedy then stopped trying to get her phone, so River handed it back to her.
“You aren’t sleeping?” River asked softly.
“Not because of the breakup. I’m in a hotel, which I’m used to, but it’s not my home, and I have no jobs lined up, so I’m bored. I also realized that I don’t have all that many friends whom I trust to keep this secret until Cam and I tell everyone, and, well, then there’s you.”
“Me?” River asked, hopeful.
“You were just here. I knew you were only a few miles away, and I could come see you whenever I wanted, but I was scared.”
“You’re scared of me?”
“No, River. I’m scared of what you could represent.”
“Which is?”
“Me moving on,” Kennedy said.
“You said you didn’t–”
“I know what I said. I didn’t come here to talk about that. I really did come here to talk about anything else. You said making candy was good therapy, so I’m hoping you can put me to work, and I can get my mind off everything.”
River wanted to press. She wanted to ask Kennedy more questions about how they could possibly move on together, but she didn’t.
“You need to put your hair up and wear a hairnet,” she said instead.
“I amnotwearing a hairnet,” Kennedy argued. “Do you have any idea how expensive the products in my hair are right now?”
“No, and I don’t care,” River replied. “You can’t make candy with your hair down like that.”
“Fine. Can I wear your hat?”
River squinted at her, pulled off her hat, and put it on Kennedy’s head.
“Hey, I meant thatIcould put it on. You’ll mess up my look. I’m trying to at least appear like I have my life together.”
“We’re alone here, Kennedy. You don’t have toappearlike anything.”
Kennedy shifted the hat and gave River a nod.
“You look cute,” River said and tipped the hat down.
“Hey!” Kennedy exclaimed.
But River didn’t pay her any attention as she moved to where she had her box of hairnets and pulled one out.
“Now, I don’t want to hear anything about how I look in a hairnet. I just gave you my hat, so you’re going to be nice.”
Kennedy laughed but nodded again. River put her hair into the hairnet and tried not to imagine how ridiculous she looked.
“You even look good inthat,” Kennedy said.
“Hey, no more of that. You and I are doing candy therapy today. No flirting, Kennedy Gannon.”
“Right. Sorry.” Kennedy walked over to River, who was standing at one of the prep counters. “So, what do we do?”
“Well, we have to melt some sugar first. That’s something I’ll do, and you can pick out the flavors we’ll make.”
“What do you need up front?”
