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Eva followed her, still holding her box. “Wait, why? What if he gets into Columbia?”
“He doesn’t hear for weeks, so we can’t plan on that.” She carried the garland box over toward the register, Eva trailing her. “And I’m too old to be pining after some guy who lives two thousand miles away.”
She thumped the box on the counter, bracing herself for the slew of unreasonable arguments Eva would come up with. Maybe one of them could convince her she was wrong. That would be nice.
“I understand. I really do. I was exactly where you are, remember? You and I were supposed to switch back at the end of October, and Ames had a really good job in New York. I was so crazy about him, and I had no idea what to do.”
“I remember. But then I decided to stay here longer, and you lucked out that Ames was able to relocate.” Chris took Eva’s arm and steered her back to a table, removing the box from her arms. “One centerpiece per table.”
“I did luck out.” Eva followed Chris back to the counter. “But we would have worked something out regardless. He was incredibly special to me from the beginning, different from every guy I’d ever dated, and I would have been miserable without him.”
“I’m sure I will be, too, at first. But there’s someone in New York for me, I’m sure.” Chris pointed Eva firmly back to the centerpieces. “One for each table?”
“He won’t be like Zac.”
Kaboom. Five little words, and every fear Chris had been battling back into the swamps clambered out, smelly and dripping.
“We’ll see.” She barely managed to get the words out.
“Hi, sorry I’m late.” Summer pushed through the front door. “Luke dropped me off. He makes me late for everything.”
Eva looked up from ripping open her box. “Because he can’t manage his time or because you can’t bear to leave him?”
“Yes.” Summer was beaming.
Chris was so happy for her. And she also wanted to ask Summer please not to look that joyful again until Chris was safely back in New York.
“So besides the fact that you can’t tear yourself away from him...” Eva put a centerpiece on one of the tables—not in the center. “Are we talking romance yet or still just friendship?”
Summer hesitated. “We’re friends. It seems to work best that way.”
“How come?”
“Eva.” Chris rolled her eyes, taping a length of garland to the counter. “Let the woman have some privacy. Summer, I’ve got honeycomb heart thingies for you to hang from the ceiling. There are hooks already up there.”
“Oh, yes!” Eva pointed them out delightedly. “Those are from when we had the first-anniversary party for the store, remember, Summer? We hung little boxes wrapped to look like presents. Gosh, it will be so good to come back.”
Chris clung to the box of honeycomb heart decorations, not trusting herself to speak. She could not believe she was being such a crybaby about this.
Hey. She was allowed. This was hard.
“Thanks, Chris.” Summer took the box and headed for the ladder.
“Sorry for prying.” Eva put down another noncentered centerpiece. “I just want to see you happy. You’ve had it rough.”
“We’ll see what happens.” She dragged the ladder under one of the ceiling hooks. “I’m not sure we’re right for each other.”
“Really?” Eva said. “Why not?”
Summer looked cornered, as people often did when Eva got going with her questions. “We come from different worlds.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t care.”
“Maybe not now...” Summer climbed the ladder and hung the first honeycomb heart from the ceiling.
“Wait, wait, let me get this straight.” Eva approached the ladder, having abandoned the centerpieces once again. Chris took quick advantage, quietly moving through the room, placing each in the exact middle of the table. “You’re not going to give Luke a chance because it might not work out?”
Summer scrunched up her face in confusion. She looked adorable. “Well, don’t put it like that.”
Eva shoved her hands on her hips. “I’m telling you, these Arnettes are good guys, one in a million. Okay, I don’t know Luke, but be glad he’s nothing like your previous boyfriends, Summer. They deserved eternal torment as far as I’m concerned.”
