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Chapter 9
“You look like you need coffee,” Linley said as I stumbled through the bakery in search of donuts on Monday.
“Yes, please,” I said, and she poured me a cup before adding a dash of hazelnut creamer and handing it to me.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I said, taking it from her. First coffee, then donut.
“Late night?” Linley asked as she worked on frosting cookies for the day.
“No, just had a lot on my mind.”
“Looks like you had fun with Alivia yesterday,” she said, not looking up from the cookies.
“How, um, how did you know about that?” I asked.
“You were posting pictures on your social and she told me that’s what she was doing when I texted her to ask if she wanted to hang out yesterday.”
Oh. That made sense.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked.
“Yeah, I helped her pick out some stuff for the inn. We had lunch at this absolutely amazing place.” I told her all about the little southern restaurant.
“I’ll have to convince Gray to take me,” she said. “We are in need of a date night that doesn’t revolve around the wedding. I’ve had to start setting non-wedding-talk hours,” she said with a laugh.
“We’re almost there,” I said.
“I know. I know. And once it’s over I’m just going to be sad and wish I could go back. It’s weird.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’m glad you and Alivia are hanging out. She seems so lonely and I can’t tell if it’s by choice, or because it’s just hard to make friends when you’re older.”
“That is so true. But she’s doing okay. I think she does like hanging out with us, but she also doesn’t mind being by herself.” I tended to spend quite a bit of time by myself, with Natalie out of the apartment, so I got it. I liked my time alone, and not just so I could masturbate in peace. I was a fan of my own company.
“Great. She’s really cool. I’m glad she’s hanging out with us. I’d say that we should invite her to the wedding, but she’s already going to be there.” Linley laughed. “I almost wish I could fire her so she could chill out and hang with us, but then I wouldn’t have anyone to manage my wedding and I can’t handle that.”
“We’ll pull her in for a dance and a drink at the reception,” I said.
“Solid plan,” she said. “Oh, we’re looking at the new kitchen next week. Mom somehow got the loan processed and the closing date moved up, so we’ll be able to start renovations after I get back from my honeymoon.” Linley’s dream, for many years, was to visit France and sample as many desserts as possible and see the top of the Eiffel Tower. Gray had made it happen, which was why he was going to be an incredible husband to her.
“Awesome, I’m in.” Martha had been serious about me designing my office, so I definitely wanted to figure out where it was going to be and start thinking about how I’d decorate it. I’d already looked at desks online and had several picked out that I loved.
I finished my coffee and had my first donut of the day while I watched Linley work and listened to the bustle out front with the breakfast rush.
“Okay, I should probably actually do some work today,” I said, sliding off the metal stool.
“There’s another donut set aside for you when you need it,” Linley said.
“You’re my favorite cousin,” I said.
* * *
Alivia sent me pictures of all the things we’d bought in their places at the inn over the next few days. The chair was still a work in progress, since Randy had to squeeze her in amongst all his other jobs.
I’d been avoiding walking on the trail so I wouldn’t run into her. For now, the easiest way to avoid just jumping on her seemed to be to keep my distance. It was only a few weeks more until Linley’s wedding and then we could deal with everything.
My plan was solid until I went to the library that Thursday afternoon to return some books and see what was new, and almost ran right into Alivia as I rounded the corner of a shelf.
“Oh, sorry!” I said, grabbing onto the shelf so I didn’t fall. She reached her hands out to steady me, but then pulled back.
“Hey,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
