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She placed her hands on either side of my face. “You’re not alone in your feelings, but there are a lot of complications with all of this. Our past, for one. We’re forever intertwined with the worst thing that ever happened to us.”
“We’re the only ones who can truly understand what it was like. We understand each other.”
“Okay, maybe that’s true, but there’s my life in the public eye. It’s messy. You’ve gotten a taste of it this week, but it’s wayworse in LA. I can’t see Atticus Moon putting up with it all for very long.”
“And then you think I’ll bail?”
“Maybe.” Her voice softened. “It would kill me to lose you because of what I do for a living.”
“We don’t have to decide anything now,” I said, kissing her. “If these are the only weeks I ever get with you, I’ll not regret a moment of it.”
“Nor will I.”
The front doorbell rang, and I went to answer it. Finley and Elliot stood on the front porch. “Sorry to barge in like this,” Finley said in her cute British accent. “We have the day off and wondered if Annie wanted to go into Bozeman for a little Christmas shopping."
“Come in.” I ushered them inside out of the cold. “Take off your coats, and I’ll get her. You can ask her yourself.”
Annie appeared. “Ask me what?”
“If you’d like to shop with us in Bozeman today,” Finley said. “And maybe have a little lunch?”
“Oh, well, I guess that would be okay.” Annie held my gaze for a moment. “Do you think I should?”
“It’s up to you,” I said.
Annie turned to the ladies. “It could wreck your day if I tag along.”
“You can wear a hat,” Elliot said. She herself wore a floppy brushed-leather one over a long braid that hung down her back. The rest of her outfit consisted of an oversize Irish sweater and a pair of jeans paired with ankle boots. Perfectly normal attire, yet somehow she looked a little wild, as if she might take off to follow a rock band at any moment. How did the dynamic between Caspian and her play out in the kitchen? Not only did he believe Montana was the only place to live, he was extremely independent-minded and liked to do things a certain way. His way. Didshe comply? I had a feeling she was feisty enough to push back.
“Yes, please come,” Finley said. “We’re dying to get to know you better. We promise we won’t only ask you about famous people you know.” She wore a flouncy pink sweater with puffy shoulders and wide sleeves.
“Even though that will be hard,” Elliot said, brown eyes twinkling. “We have a whole list of actors who we think might not be as nice as they seem.”
“You’re probably right.” Annie shifted from one door to the other. “All right, I’ll go. A girls' day out. Sounds like just what I need.” She glanced at me. “Plus, I have some shopping to do.”
“We thought we could get our nails done too,” Finley said.
“I’m in,” Annie said. “Wait two seconds, and I’ll change and grab my jacket.”
While we waited, I invited the women in for coffee, but they both declined.
“There’s this coffee shack we want to stop at,” Elliot said. “Just up the road.”
“We went there last week on our day off and can’t stop talking about the cold brew.” Finley laughed. “I know, we really need to get lives.”
“It’s hard in Bluefern,” Elliot said. “There’s not that much to do.”
“Have you been into town much?” I asked. “Weekends at the tavern can get a little rowdy.”
“More like dummies fighting each other after too many beers,” Elliot said.
“We’d love to meet a few nice guys,” Finley said. “But if I see a cute guy on one of the apps, they usually live like a hundred miles away.”
“What brought you here again?” I asked, curious to see if she’d give me any further clues as to what she was running away from.
Finley looked out the window, her face clouding over. “It was the only way I could get away from my family. They’ll never find me here.”
“I see.” My curious nature wanted to ask her to tell me the whole story, but I knew it was none of my business. However, having invented an app for families to stay connected and always know one another’s locations, I wasn’t so sure she was correct in her assumption.
