Page 29 of Josephine and Clay

Josie: You seem pretty confident I couldn’t…

Clay: Hey, I was there too on that night. I know how good it was.

Heat floods my face instantly.

Penny leans forward. “What did he say?”

“Nothing.”

“Josie.”

“Nothing helpful.”

She narrows her eyes. “You’re blushing.”

“I'm not⁠—”

“I have eyes.”

I press my lips together, looking down at my coffee like it’s suddenly fascinating.

“Okay,” Penny says, softer now. “Real talk.”

I glance up.

“You can have fun,” she says. “You’re allowed to. But just don’t expect him to be anything other than what he is.”

“I’m not expecting anything,” I say.

And that’s the truth. Isn’t it?

“I mean it,” she adds. “He’s not the settling down type.”

“I don’t want him to be.”

She nods. “Okay.”

The food arrives, breaking the moment. For a while, we fall into easier conversation. Work. Town gossip. Penny’s running commentary on half the people who walk through the diner.

I laugh more than I expect to, relax more than I’ve allowed myself to in days, and through it all my phone sits on the table.

Buzzing.

Again.

And again.

By the time I climb out of the shower, the scents of the clinic and the diner are gone, and I finally begin to relax. Well, until my phone buzzes once more.

I pull it out as I walk toward the kitchen, flicking on the light.

Clay: What are you doing now?

Josie: Just at home.

Clay: Alone?

My breath catches slightly.