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Jolie laughs. “I like that. So you’re done in December. Any prospects for work?”
“Not just yet. But I’m definitely moving back with my sister.” Lily sits next to me and wraps her arm around me. “Reunited in Starlight Canyon. Who would have thought?”
Jolie hands me a glass and sits down with hers. “Molly told me you’re in hospitality. I’ll keep my ear to the ground for you.”
“Thanks.”
We all sip. I sense Jolie isn’t staying long since her glass only has an inch of liquid in it. She takes one drink, then eyes me over the goblet. “You took a while finding your way out of that haunted maze tonight.”
I drink. “Nerves, I guess.”
She puts her feet up on the coffee table. Her socks have pineapples on them. “Did Dash send you over the edge?”
If only she knew what a loaded question it was. Her raised eyebrow tells me maybe it is.
“No. He took pity on me.”
“Did he now?” She says it suggestively.
Lily darts her eyes back and forth between us. “Is there something I don’t know?”
“No.” I shake my head quickly, so quickly it comes off as defensive.
Jolie swirls her wine. “I’m just saying, he was back in Bird’s Eye with me for a couple hours, and I’ve never seen him so goddamn grumpy. He’s different living here with you.”
I laugh lightly. “I promise you, he isn’t. Still a grump, believe you me.”
“Oh, I’m sure he is.” Jolie laughs. “But heisdifferent with you.”
My heart thumps in my ribcage, and my stomach floods with fireworks, because even though my mind doesn’t believe it, my body wants it to be true.
“Well, I think we get along all right.” I say it and feel a little guilty because I still need to figure out a way to get Dash to move permanently back in with Jolie.
My sister being here reminds me Dash and I aren’t some fairy tale. My sister can’t come live in some castle in the air. She needs a room. A bed. Stability.
My plan all along was to earn this manager position, and this apartment, and give my sister a place to live while we pay down some of the loans she had to take. I contributed to her tuition as much as I could, but a college education is damn expensive. Her having free accommodation when she graduates will help so much. And maybe when she moves out, my mom will move in. I want her here, too, because I haven’t given up hope on her either. She’s been stepping down her dose for a while now. At least she says she is. And she does sound and look so much more alert and bright when I talk to her on video calls.
One day, the three of us will live a new chapter with a happy ending. Me having this apartment to use as is best for my family is the backbone of the plan.
Jolie finishes the last glug of wine and stands to take her glass to the sink. “Sorry I can’t stay longer, gals.”
Lily stands, and they hug goodbye like they’re long-time friends. “Thank you for taking us to Fright Night. I had a fab time.”
“Yeah, wait ’til you see the summer festival. It’s all about the dunk tank. I’d stay longer but I have about a hundred bovine vaccinations to do tomorrow at a ranch an hour away, so it’s an early start.”
I hug Jolie goodbye, and Lily and I take up places on the couch again.
Lily says, “So why didn’t you tell me you have a thing for your boss?”
“I don’t. And even if I did, it’s irrelevant.”
“It’s just fun girl talk,” she says lightly, having no clue just how not fun having a thing for my boss is.
Dash doesn’t feel like a simple crush or a hot guy we’re talking about in passing on a night out. I really need to ignore the deep curiosity and… whatever else this is that is far beyond him being super gorgeous. The thing about him I want to take care of. But as usual, my sister, who was forced to grow up beyond her years, figures me out anyway.
“You like him,” she deadpans.
I don’t answer.
