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Jenna
Joanna’s dark red brows furrow and she leans forward to sniff—yes,sniff—me. “You’rewearing perfume! Why are you wearing perfume? Jen, you never wear perf—” She gasps. “Wait a sec. Hold on. Did I miss something exciting over the weekend?”
Considering a lot happened since I clocked out on Thursday—namely, Seth kissing me for the first time—yeah. But I’m not about to spill all the details, especially not as I’m clearing up dishes from tables. Is it considered unprofessional for my boss to following me around in her own restaurant sniffing me?
Probably.
But honestly, Joanna is like the most professional unprofessional businesswoman I know. Somehow that oxymoron works for her.
“Nothing too exciting,” I say lightly as I grab two mugs and add them to my tray, then wind around a table occupied by a sweet older couple. “Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Celebrated Ella’s birthday and all that good stuff. Enjoyed the holiday. The fireworks were great this year. How was your weekend?”
Joanna ignores my question. “You’re wearingperfume, Jen. You never wear perfume.”
“Mm-hmm, we established that a minute ago, my dear.” Tray full, I head in the direction of the kitchen. Jo easily keeps my fast pace, practically attached to me at the hip. “Why can’t I wear perfume? Especially with the cloudy weather.”
“Because you just…don’t.”
I set the tray of dishes on the counter beside the sink and smile at Tommy, our excellent dishwasher who wears earbuds and jams to music all the time, then turn to face Joanna. She doesn’t even look concerned I’ll withhold my exciting news from her. Probably because we both know I won’t. Remember when I said I wasn’t going to spill all the details?
Yeah, I mean not at that moment.
Jo and I have an unspoken agreement that we don’t keep exciting things from each other. We might be ten years apart in age, but she’s like the sister I always wished Jade would be. When she found the perfect anniversary present for Ben last year, she immediately texted me a picture of the handcrafted charcuterie board so we couldoohandahhover her brilliance. When I managed to get through an entire grocery trip without buying anything that wasn’t on my list a couple weeks ago, I texted her and she came over to celebrate with the ice cream she’d picked up onherlast grocery run. (The ice cream that hadnotbeen on her list.)
But this weekend’s happenings?
Well, let’s just say that any of my previous exciting things pale drastically in comparison.
So, because it’s the lull between breakfast and lunch and I know I can get away with it, I jut my chin in the direction of her office. Her green eyes light up with inexplicable joy, and not five seconds later we’re both folded into her closet of an office that’s cute, if not a little small. She has no windows, of course, but she has the space decorated in her signature boho-chic style. It’s practically Jo’s work sanctuary.
“So…” I draw the word out, leaning casually against the closed door behind me. “I mean, there was nothing too exciting, ’cause I wouldn’t consider the fact that Seth and I kissed all that—”
“What?!!”There are no less than two exclamation points on the end of her screechy question. “Jenna Elizabeth O’Malley Williams, youkissedSeth-freaking-Johnson and you’re just now telling me?!”
“Okay, first of all, stop yelling. Second, I didn’t kiss him. Not—I mean, I didn’t kiss him first.”Great, now my cheeks are flushed because I can still remember, down to the expression on Seth’s face, how our first kiss happened. Even if I had amnesia and forgot everything else, I think that memory would be an exception. It, much like the feel of Seth’s arms around me, is burned into my memory like the craftsman’s logo on Ben’s birthday charcuterie board. “Third, we are still in averynew relationship, Joanna Maybell Scott Crawford, so I would thoroughly appreciate if you didn’t march down to theGazetteand splash it across tomorrow’s headline.”
Joanna waves a hand. “It’s too late for tomorrow’s edition, honey. By next week, everyone will know anyway, so we’ll be good. But if it’s gonna go on the front page—which it obviously is—we’ll need photo proof.”
“No, no, no,” I say, the laughter in my voice completely working against my warning tone. Even my finger doesn’t look intimidating as I wave it at her. Traitorous thing looks like a stubby carrot dancing happily to my exciting news. “Not next week’s paper either. Or the next or—neverwill this go in the paper.”
“When you get married it probably will.” Jo makes a headline with her hands, faux awe on her face. “Hunky Chief of Police Marries After Years of Bachelorhood. Yeah. It’s probably gonna be theGazette’shighest selling edition, like, ever.”
“Joanna.”
She shrugs one shoulder. “Just sayin’. But anyway,finally!Oh, my gosh, that’s so exciting. Like, wow. You guys kissed. I was beginning to think that man was going blind prematurely. Would be a shame because he has such pretty eyes, but it would make sense. Until now.”
I choose not to ask about the premature blindness thing. Sometimes it’s best to let things lie where Joanna’s concerned.
“So, do you have a date planned?” she asks, and my eyes must pop open, because she laughs. “Not for a wedding. It took the man three years to kiss you. It’ll probably be six before he
proposes—”
“Please don’t jinx it.”
“—at this rate. But no, I mean just a regular date. You know, where two people who like each other go out and eat and smile and kiss?”
“Yeah, I know what a date is, thanks.”
“To be fair, I wasn’t sure. I’ve never seen you on one or heard about one, and we’ve known each other for over three years.”
