Page 20 of Stay With Me

Hugging her close, I exhale heavily. “You gave us a damn heart attack.”

Standing, I adjust my grip on Kimchi so she’s comfortable and rush toward where I can hear Elise calling, her voice getting more frightened.

Coming out of the pathways, I follow Elise’s voice until I find her coming out of a cul-de-sac up the road.

She turns to go further, so I holler, “Elise, I found her.”

Elise whips around and runs to us. I can see tear tracks running down her cheeks. She throws her arms around me and Kimchi, burying her face into Kimchi’s fur. She’s mumbling, but I can’t make out the words.

“She was in the bushes behind my house.” My nerves settle as I hand Kimchi to Elise, watching her snuggle and chastise the dog for running out the door.

Now that the haze of fear is clearing, that moment in the gazebo flashes back. Was I seriously about to kiss my best friend?

And was it me, or was she leaning in as well?

Glancing away, I scoff silently. She was probably thinking I was getting some chocolate off her face or leaning in to tell her something. Living with her, seeing her completely at ease all the time and in different situations than normal, it’s messing with me. And those shorts and T-shirts she lounges in all day don’t help anything. She’s so effortlessly sexy.

And the picnic. How did Hank get wrangled into that?

The town needs to stop meddling where they don’t belong.

***

Elise greets me Monday morning with a basket of goodies and freshly brewed coffee. Her long hair is pulled up into a ponytail and she’s wearing a pink summer dress that hugs her curves before flowing loosely from her hips. It kills me.

“How long do you think we’re staying in Thistle Creek?” Laughing, I lift the basket, groaning and slumping to the side.

She laughs, sauntering past me with the coffee, her dress swaying with her hips. “I figured we could make it a day trip. I’ve never been to Thistle Creek and we might as well go see the gnomes in Mistik Ridge as well.”

I follow her to the car, getting in before I turn to gape at her. “Gnomes? I've never heard of these gnomes, and I've been to Mistik Ridge a few times. I was in a small-town business owner group with the woman who owns the inn, Tasha, and we met frequently there until about five years ago.”

She chuckles. “It’s a cute story. It’s a love story between two of the townspeople. She was a tenant in his house, and they didn’t click because he was a bit uptight. So she ordered these vulgar gnomes to drive him nuts. Long story short, they’re in love and now these gnomes are spread throughout the town in all their vulgar glory. It’s a huge tourist attraction, and they even posted about it on their website. We have to go see these gnomes.”

“We can make the trip. Why don’t we stop by the inn for lunch?” It’s been a while since I saw it. I’m sure Tasha is doing amazing things with it.

Elise smiles, her excitement palpable.

The drive passes quickly as we sing songs from the ’90s playlist we made together a few years ago. When we get to Thistle Creek, Elise turns the volume down, peering around her. It’s quaint. A little bigger than Willowbrook Creek, but it doesn’t feel that way.

I pull into the parking lot for the grain elevator and see a few people waiting.

“Did you want to take my car and explore?” I hold out the keys.

Elise shakes her head. “Is it okay if I join you? I’m happy to take notes. I’d love to see the process for this.”

Nodding, I don’t say much as we get out of the car. I love that she wants to learn about what I do and see a project that is the culmination of everything I got into architecture for.

The building is amazing and in excellent condition considering how old it is. It still maintains its structural integrity, a thorough report was done with a structural engineer.

Elise takes notes and collects any of the needed documents the committee has put together for me.

“I think we should build mezzanines that we stagger so we can still see the entire space.” Gesturing as I go over each area they had highlighted, I point out how we can incorporate the history of the building into the redevelopment.

As we wrap up, Elise and I linger in the building.

“This place is going to be incredible. The way you describe your vision for it, I’m in awe,” Elise gushes as she hands me everything she’s holding, which she’s organized into a neat stack.

“Just wait until I show you my renderings, I’m itching to get started.”

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