Page 11 of Eternal Hoptimist

I quit people-watching and turned toward him. “What’s going on?”

His Adam’s apple bounced as he swallowed. He turned his face toward his feet before seeming to gather his courage and make eye contact. My stomach dropped through my feet as I waited for him to share what obviously had to be terrible news. There was no other way to interpret his I-have-a-terminal-prognosis expression.

“Caleb and I are moving in together.”

It took me a second to process that he wasn’t dying, but he misread my pause and rambled.

“I spend most of my time over there anyway, and we’re ready for the next step. I don’t want it to hurt our friendship—”

I grabbed his shoulder. “Aus, hey, I get it. I’m thrilled for you guys.”

He blinked his bright-blue eyes. “You sure?”

“OfcourseI am. Your delivery could use some work, though. With that level of enthusiasm, I thought you were about to tell me you only had months left to live. This is amazing news.”

He blew a breath, then smiled brighter than a rainbow after a downpour. “It really is. Can’t believe I’m moving in with someone.” He shook his head lightly while smiling.

I was thrilled for him, but I would be a liar if I said there wasn’t a twist in my stomach. I wanted Austin to be happy—he deserved it—but I wanted to be happy too.

“You’ll still come back on Sundays, though, right?”

“Duh. My moving out doesn’t mean I won’t be around all the time. Caleb knows my Sunday nights are claimed.”

It would be weird without Austin in the house, but I would adapt. The four of us lived apart most of the years between graduating from college and opening the brewery, but moving to Dahlia Springs had beenour thingas a group.

We’d each contributed something. Austin with the brewing knowledge, Ty with the marketing skills and local connections, my inheritance for start-up funds, and Dom sold his Gresham house to buy the Victorian fixer-upper he let us live in rent-free. Austin moving out was the first big change to the life we’d built together over the past two years. Not only that—I was losing my best friend as a roomie.

Change isn’t always a bad thing. Think about how happy you were when you moved from Kansas to Oregon. This is exactly what Austin needs. Be happy for him. You’ve had your time, and now it’s Caleb’s.

“Have you told Ty and Dom?”

Austin shook his head. “Planning to tonight or tomorrow. Wanted to talk to you first.”

And that’s why he’s my best friend. Ty might be his cousin, but Austin and I had a special connection. I was glad he hadn’t talked to Ty and Dom first, to prepare them in case I took it hard. The last thing I wanted was them conspiring to manipulate my reaction. Austin had always been honest with me. One of the many things I loved about him.

“Was inviting me to Portland today your way of having the conversation?”

“Nah. Lucky coincidence.”

“What’s the plan?”

“There’s a two-bedroom unit coming open in Caleb’s complex. We thought that made more sense than me moving into his one-bedroom place because we can use the extra room as a home office.”

“Great idea. I’m happy to help you move. Think Ty will try to convince Dom to turn your room into a video game palace or something?”

“Bet he’ll buy a sex swing as a joke and put it in there.”

“Ty bringing people back to the house? That violates his code.”

Austin chuckled. “Good call. Anyway, enough about me. How’s your New Year’s resolution going?”

“Really? You’re going to go frommy boyfriend and I are madly in love and moving in togethertohow’s it going swearing off dating and wallowing in your single existence after getting dumped for the millionth time?”

“So, how’s the wallowing going?”

I elbowed him. “Perfectly fine.”

“Isn’t the whole no-dating thing extreme? You love relationships.”

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