Page 39 of Until

“That’s fine,” he says as he stuffs his hands in his pockets. “I won’t be around when you leave in the morning; I have meetings in town.”

“Good.”

I turn away from him and head upstairs to my bedroom. I’m so frustrated and annoyed that I grab whatever I can find in the drawers to change into, climb into bed, and fall asleep.

I awaken to the smell of fresh pancakes. I rush downstairs and find Odessa sitting at a large kitchen table that’s covered with pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, French toast, and hash browns. It’s way too much food for just the two of us.

“Mmm, you have to try the French toast,” Odessa says before mimicking a chef’s kiss.

I nod as I reach for a plate, stunned by all of this.

“There’s a note for you, too,” she says as she points to the area at the head of the table.

I pick up the folded sheet of paper and read to myself.

Carina,

I’m sorry about last night. Seeing you as stunning as you were and knowing how beautiful you always are, I guess I got jealous. It won’t happen again. I hope you enjoy breakfast before you leave. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just made everything.

Alex

PS—my offer stands. You and Lydia are welcome to move in at any time. No strings attached.

Odessa takes a sip of her freshly squeezed orange juice and smiles.

“This is the life,” she says. “It sounds like you had some night. You know I read the note.” She laughs. “Think I can move in too?”

“He’s just feeling bad. He drank too much last night.”

“If you say so,” she says. “This doesn’t taste like the food of a hungover man.”

As we ate, I told her about last night, including my coming back and everything with Alex.

“So, are you going to move in?” she asks. “It does make sense for Lydia.”

“No, definitely not. Especially not after last night.”

“But what about this incredible breakfast? I would like a lot of them in my future.”

“Can’t you be serious for once?”

“Oh hello, pot, this is kettle.”

“Ugh, you’re right. I can’t deal with this now. I’m not going to bring up moving. Maybe he’ll forget about it, and it’ll all just go away.”

“Okay, I’ll drop it, but are you still on the hook for destroying that guy?”

“That’s not helpful. And yes, there’s no way out.”

During the drive home, Odessa looks over at me with the same worried look she had the other day.

“I saw that,” I say. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I was kind of hoping it would go away too. I never thought I’d have to have this conversation with you.”

“Sis, you’re not making this any better. What’s going on?”

She sighs loudly.

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