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Chapter Eighteen
Late that afternoon, Audrey came into the café for a coffee. Kylie was helping a customer find a book, so Audrey took a seat at one of the open tables. She wore the baby blue cardigan she’d bought at the sale.
It was a bit weird for Kylie to see someone else wearing her old clothes, but the colour suited Audrey much better. After ringing up the customer, Kylie sat at the chair across from her.
“Hey!” Kylie said cheerfully.
“Hey you. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good, a busy day to keep me occupied.”
“The sale went so well last night. You should be proud.” Audrey lightly punched Kylie’s arm. “And I’m proud, because I look amazing in your clothes.”
“Your clothes now, and you do look amazing.”
“What are you doing after work?” Audrey asked.
“Not much. I have something to work on for the fair.”
“More work for the fair?” Her friend raised her eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re doing all this just for your brother?”
“He sent me a message last night—my brother I mean.”
“Oh yeah? Any job offers yet?”
“Actually, yes.” Kylie hadn’t told anyone yet, not even her parents although they’d likely heard from Brad by now.
It wasn’t a secret, but it kind of felt like one. She didn’t want Derek to find out yet, but it had been weighing on her all morning.
“He wants me to start next week.” Kylie bit her lip
Audrey sat there, staring at her with calculating eyes. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know!” Kylie blurted out. “This is what I was asking him for. But I can’t leave right now. I made a commitment to the town.”
“Right. To the town.”
“I suppose Brad would understand and let me start afterward, but…”
“But what? Like you said, this is what you wanted. It’s still what you want, right?”
Kylie should give a definitive answer to her friend—she owed it to all of them to be honest. But she wasn’t sure anymore. The idea of going back to Toronto now had shifted. She had loved her job, but that job was gone. Her brother’s offer was very generous, but did she want to work in marketing for a tech company? It would be a great opportunity to get back to the city, but for what? Other than Brad, she had no ties there anymore.
“To be honest,” she said, “I don’t know anymore. And I can’t tell if I want something different or if I just want to take the easy road. After last night with Derek—”
“Whoa.” Audrey threw up her hands. “Are you finally going to tell me about last night?”
Kylie slumped, resting her chin on the table. “I didn’t mean to; it just sort of happened.”
“Okay, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
“I kissed him on the way to Jillene’s.” Kylie’s voice was muffled against the table. “Or he kissed me. I’m not one hundred percent sure. But it happened, and it was butterflies and sparkles and all of that.” She buried her head in her arms.
“Wow. Are you guys, like, together?”
“No.” Kylie bolted upright. That might have sounded mean, so she added, “I mean I don’t know. We kissed again when he took me home, but I haven’t talked to him today. So maybe he wants to pretend it didn’t happen. I wouldn’t blame him; I shouldn’t have done that. Please don’t tell him about the job offer from Brad yet, okay? I’m still thinking.”
“But why did you kiss him?” Audrey asked.
