Page 23 of Sunny Skies Ahead
“Connor is the grandpa here. Just because I don’t like content creation doesn’t mean I don’t like to scroll.”
“Fair enough,” I said, my laughter finally dying down. “I needed this. Thank you for the meal, and for the laugh. And the job. For everything.”
I blew out a long breath.
“I’m glad you’re here, Im.”
“Well, this is surprisingly romantic.”
I whirled around in my chair, a loud high-pitched sound that was very close to a scream escaping my lips. Kameron stood from his chair with a loud scrape. Standing in the front door was no other than Lucas Morales.
“Jesus Christ, Lucas,” I gasped, pressing a hand to the center of my chest to slow my racing heart. “You can’t sneak up on people like that!”
“You told me you were taking the day off,” Kameron muttered.
“I took the day off. And now I’m back at my house, because I want to sleep,” Lucas said, strolling into the kitchen and yanking the fridge door open to peruse his dinner options.
Kameron sat down in his chair wearily.
“You let your guard down,” Lucas said, looking at Kam. “You should have seen me come in. Were you, perhaps, distracted?”
“Take your grumpiness elsewhere, Lucas,” Kam said, shaking his head. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Thank you for the meal,” I said, smiling apologetically as I stood to leave. “To be honest, I’m still running a sleep deficit from the wedding the other night. Is it okay if we resume everything tomorrow? I could use tonight to rest.”
Kameron opened his mouth to say something else, but Lucas cut him off.
“See you in the morning.”
I kept my smile plastered on my face until I had stepped through the door, immediately sinking into the relief of thecool mountain night. The path back down the hill to the tiny house was well-lit, and the sound of the trees and grass rustling and the crickets chirping was a comfort to me.
I made my way inside the tiny house, locking the door behind me before I put my phone on the charger and flopped down on the couch. There weren’t many windows in the house, a detail I was grateful for. Too many windows would have made me feel exposed.
Just like with everything Kameron had a hand in, there seemed to be a perfect balance.
I drummed my fingers along the edge of the couch, parsing out my next move. My mind was far too active for sleep, full of ideas for how to streamline Winding Road’s operations.
And maybe a few thoughts about the intensity of Kameron’s stare.
I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself.
I poked around the tiny house for a few more minutes, exploring the bathroom—surprisingly spacious, considering the overall size of the house—before I climbed the ladder up to the loft. I laid down on the bed, looking up through the skylight.
I fumbled for the remote to dim the lights, opening the small nightstand drawer. The dimmed lights, leaving only a faint glow from the downstairs kitchen, illuminated the full night sky visible through the skylight.
It was breathtaking.
I went to return the remote to its rightful place in the nightstand when my eyes landed on a book. Not just any book, but my favorite book of all time.
The book that I’d re-read over and over while I was clawing my way out of an abusive relationship.
The book I saw so much of myself in.
I saw this book on your shelf at our last Wednesday night dinner, and it was the only copy on your shelf you had annotated. I figured it might be one of your favorites, so I bought you a copy to have here, over the summer.
— Kam
Butterflies took flight in my stomach once more as I ran my fingers over the embossed cover of the book.
