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“I knowthat I shouldn’t start relying on her, but she’s made my life infinitely better,” I said to Lark that night as I made spicy peanut noodles with chicken and vegetables.
Lark made a non-committal sound as she sat on one of the stools with Clementine in her lap.
I glanced up from the stove and she was staring into space.
“Lark?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said, her eyes flicking over at me. Something was off, and I wasn’t going to ignore it, so I turned the burners down and went over to her.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said, her tone a little defensive.
I put one hand under her chin and forced her to meet my eyes. “Hey, talk to me.”
“Is she pretty?” she said after a few seconds of hesitation.
“Is who pretty?” I asked.
“Everly. Is she pretty?” I blinked at her. Why was she…
Oh.
I held Lark’s face between my hands and kissed her forehead. “Not even close to as pretty as you.”
Lark scoffed. “You’re just saying that.”
“No, I’m not. I don’t bullshit compliments like that. She’s not my type. And she’s my employee. I’d never cross that boundary even if I was attracted to her. Which I’m not. You have nothing to worry about, my anxious burrito.”
Lark kissed my mouth. “See? I have no problem admitting jealousy.”
“You didn’t admit it right away, and I wasn’t jealous of Mia,” I said.
“Agree to disagree,” she said, and I had to rush over and make sure the chicken didn’t burn.
“If you really want to meet Everly, I can probably arrange that. She’s a bit shy around new people, and I don’t know her that well yet, but I’m going to try and see if she’ll come to book club,” I said, turning the chicken.
“I’m not that paranoid,” she said. “But I would like to meet her, since she’s a part of your life now.”
“She’s fun. An interesting combination of bubbly and reserved. I still don’t know much personal information about her, apart from what she gave me so I could pay her and the little things she’s told me,” I said.
“Mysterious. I wonder what brought her here if she didn’t have work yet,” she said.
I shook my head as I carried the pot of noodles to the sink to drain. “No idea. I’m sure it’s something like a sick relative that she just doesn’t want to talk about because it’s painful.”
“Makes sense,” Lark said. “You should tell her to go to the bookstore when Joy is there.”
That was actually a good idea. Everyone felt comfortable with Joy. She just had such an open, comforting personality. No one could hold up for long with her. Even the grumpiest grump would end up smiling by the end of a chat with Joy.
I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Joy asking her if she could swing by the store and pretend that she had to come there for a reason so I could introduce her to Everly. She’d been dying for this invitation, so she immediately said that she would be there.
“Done. She’ll be best friends with Joy within a week, just you watch. And as soon as she meets Layne, it will all be over. If they decide they want to be friends with you, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it.”
Lark laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t exactly intend to join this little group, but my sister brought me along for the ride.”
I gasped dramatically, pretending to be offended. “Are you saying you wouldn’t have chosen us?”
