Page 89 of The Now in Forever
“Kyle’s nice, handsome, and he likes me. He’s been so up front with wanting to spend time with me.”
Robin is nodding, her pink lips pulled into a straight line, not quite a frown. It’s her thinking face. I’ve seen it many times. “Kyle’s super cool. But Hattie, I’ve seen how you and Ed look at each other.Yousuggested not talking for the rest of the summer. You can’t be pissed that he’s respecting your wishes.”
“But what about the photo?”
“I think you should talk to him about it. Maybe it was just friends goofing around. We don’t know. What are the odds that you two would find each other again after all this time? Stick to the plan. Ask him about it when you see him. When are you supposed to meet?”
“In a week.”
“There you go! You can talk about it then. What made you finally join Instagram?”
“Well, there’s this bookstore…”
I describe the shop to Robin. I can tell she’s trying very hard to be neutral, but the smile playing at the corner of her mouth gives her away.
“That all sounds amazing! So, what’s stopping you?”
The question gets under my skin.
“Ed. What if he doesn’t want to live here?”
She frowns. “He may not. But what if he moves to LA? Do you want to live there?”
I think about the cute cafe, the house with a pool, Ed. Would it really be that bad?
“I don’t know.”
Nathan calls out from the house. “The castles are waiting.”
Robin smiles at the sound of his voice. “I’ll tell him we’re not going. Let’s eat ice cream and watchGilmore Girls.”
I’m not going to ruin the day they had planned, and I need to get things in order. “I really do want to work on my book. Thanks for listening.”
We both stand and share a big hug.
“Anytime. Hattie, I was wondering, will you be my maid of honor?”
I nearly fall back on my chair. I thought for sure she would ask Anh. But with Anh’s engagement broken off, maybe it would be too painful. “Of course.”
She smiles. “When I leave, are you going to get back on Instagram?”
I shake my head.
“Are you going to keep asking that magic eight ball questions?”
I sigh. “No.”
“If Ed wasn’t a factor, would you buy the bookstore?”
“Yes. In a heartbeat.”
And as soon as it’s out of my mouth, I know it’s true.
She shrugs. “You’ll figure it out. If this is what you want and you and Ed are meant to be, then you can figure it out together.”
We hug again, and she heads off with Nathan.
I turn my phone over in my hand, take a shaky breath, and check my bank account. Still not looking great.
