Page 43 of Frosted and Sliced

She let out another of those heavy sighs. They’d been her constant companion since the whole winter festival nonsense began. Burke felt like Georgie was putting too much weight on the event, but the last thing she wanted was his opinion on the matter. Instead he’d been in stealth mode, trying to lighten her burden by doing all the little things that needed done, unasked.

“You’re right. Maybe we should go out,” she suggested.

He froze. “We? Out?”

“Are you going to make me go out on my own?” she countered, hands on hips.

“Going out is sonormal,” he said, with a shudder.

Maybe he was right. It was a lot to ask someone who had no experience with socialization to go out and socialize. On the other hand, how would he ever learn if he never left the inn? “We could meet Cotton and Elyse for supper. Supper is casual, because you have something to do. And you would automatically know two thirds of the other people in attendance. And you like Elyse.”

He could see the pleading in her eyes and it gutted him. “Okay,” he agreed and was rewarded with another hug. Was this one for him or her? Maybe both, he thought as he returned it.

There was really only one place to go in town, if you wanted a halfway decent meal. And while technically also a bar, things didn’t begin to heat up until most families went to bed. Until then it functioned as a greasy spoon restaurant, rundown and with a bit too much honky-tonk over the speakers. Georgie didn’t go often, both because she never had any reason to go and because the loud, dim interior made it hard to read lips. But Burke was also pushing his boundaries tonight, and she could, too. And, really, she was looking forward to a night out with her friends. She had never seen either of them as happy as they were when they were with each other, and their happiness was contagious. At least it felt that way to her. Neither Burke nor Brody seemed overly affected by it. Georgie hadn’t been friends with Elyse as long as she had known Cotton, but seeing him so warm, soft, and in love made something glow inside her. A reflection of his happiness or a hope for her own? She couldn’t say. All she knew was that it made her feel good to be near them. Usually.

Tonight was different somehow, and she couldn’t put her hand on what the difference might be. It couldn’t be them. They were the same as always, attentive and caring toward each other, without being icky. It wasn’t the sort of new love that oozed onto everything around it, rather it was the hard earned love story of two people who had been put through the wringer of life and come out on the other side. They valued their relationship because they remembered what life was like without it. It was a mature romance, vastly different from Cotton’s previous love-em-and-leave-em lifestyle. The loving glances and touches he tossed toward Elyse were seamless, as if he didn’t realize his body and eyes gravitated toward her. She was his center, and he couldn’tnotalign with her. And maybe that was the problem tonight, because it highlighted the fact that Gerogie didn’t have a center and therefore had nowhere to gravitate.

Her eyes rested on Burke, assessing. He was quiet, but not necessarily unfriendly, more wary and taking it all in. But unlike the two people across from them, his hand didn’t rest on Georgie’s leg. His eyes didn’t make contact with hers, his lips didn’t whisper secrets or brush her ear when he helped her with her coat.

“What?” he demanded. “Something on my nose?” He began to furiously swipe at it.

“No,” she said, facing forward and trying not to sound as dejected as she felt. Why did she feel dejected? It wasn’t as if she and Burke were a couple; they were friends, and only that in the most roundabout way, by necessity. Outside of near-daily hugs, he hadn’t attempted to touch her and had certainly never tried to kiss her. And she was fine with that, absolutely fine, because she had her online “boyfriend.” She shouldn’t feel disappointed right now and couldn’t quite figure out why she did, unless it was because she had convinced herself that there was something between her and Burke, a special sort of intimacy that existed only for them. And now that she saw that same sort of intimacy in action between Cotton and Elyse, she knew for certain she didn’t belong. But did she want that sort of intimacy with Burke specifically or with anyone? Had loneliness made her desperate?

That was a dark, unhappy thought.

“Elyse, can I talk to you outside for a minute?” Burke asked. Noting Georgie’s surprised reaction, he added, “Work stuff. Classified.”

Georgie moved aside so he could exit and watched while Elyse put her coat on and followed him out of the building. When she turned back around, Cotton was watching her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, and then reached for a peanut from the communal bowl on the table and cracked it open, tossing it in his mouth like she’d seen him do countless times. Georgette had never been able to read books where the girl fellfor her brother’s best friend. The thought was too gross and she couldn’t understand it. Not that Cotton was repulsive, far from it. He was objectively attractive. But he was just Cotton. They had an amicable relationship, one where they teased each other gently. But she had never, not for one iota of a second, harbored even an inkling of attraction to him. He was too closely allied with her brother in her mind for the thought to be anything less than repugnant. But they did have a long history and a lot of years between them, and that had given him a higher level of comfort and rapport than she felt for most people. He wasn’t like her big brother, but he was big brother adjacent. There was no name for what she felt for him, but it was comfortable and safe, more so since he’d started dating her good friend.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I think I’m losing my mind.” She stared down at the peanut bowl. The fact that she contemplated eating one was proof positive of her pending insanity. She hated peanuts in the shell, more so if they were shared by the public.

Cotton tapped the table in front of her to get her attention. He’d had so many years of communicating with her that he was a seasoned pro at accommodating her hearing loss. She glanced up into his eyes and saw concern that made a warm little glow inside her, and she smiled. “I’m glad you’re happy,” she said sincerely.

He smiled. “Me, too. Worried about you, though. What’s up, Georgie?” He cracked and tossed another peanut.

“I don’t know, Cotton. Existential dread, maybe. Or tired. It’s been a lot, prepping for the winter festival.” She rested her chin in her hand, the weight of exhaustion threatening to drag her under. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she felt totally unprepared for the festival, and she knew everyone would judge her and her inn for what it lacked, especially in comparison to theAnneMarie.She didn’t want to be the type of person who compared and came up lacking, but here she was.

“What’s going on with your whack job tenant?” He wagged his brows.

“He’s not a whack job,” she snapped. Even though she knew he was teasing her, she couldn’t seem to resist taking the bait. “Elyse likes him,” she pointed out.

“It’s not like her judgement is all that trustworthy,” he said, pointing to himself as an example.

“Touché,” she agreed. “To answer your question, nothing is going on. We’re friends, I guess, or something like it. He helps me out around the inn a lot. He’s freakishly handy.” She stared down at the shells again, thinking of everything she still needed to do for the festival. Maybe coming out tonight was a mistake. Maybe she should have stayed home and tried to rework her decorations.

“He can’t keep his eyes off you,” Cotton said, and Georgie’s eyes bugged.

“What?” she gasped. That couldn’t be true, could it? She wasn’t dense; she would know if Burke stared at her. Wouldn’t she?

“He’s sneaky about it, does it without getting caught. I mean, Georgie, he is a spy.”

He had a point there, and she knew Burke was good at sneaking. “He doesn’t give me any usable signals,” Georgie lamented.

“Maybe he doesn’t know how,” Cotton said. “Not everyone is born suave.” He kissed his bicep. She feigned a gag.

“I see we’ve reached the portion of the evening where Cotton kisses his biceps,” Elyse said. She checked her watch. “Hmm, ten minutes ahead of schedule.”

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