Page 81 of Love Redesigned
“You mean it’s been nice—”
He cut me off. “Not just because of the food.” He stood, moving behind me, and dropped a hand onto my shoulder.
I smiled and slid my hand over his.
“I’m getting another coffee,” he said. “You want anything?”
I shook my head no and gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting him go.
Two days later, the seven of us sat around Isaac’s living room in Charleston sorting through the accumulation of Christmas cards and fan mail that had arrived over the holidays. With all of us so focused on the Compassion Experiment, Isaac had fallen behind on reading it all. I was just impressed that hedidread it all.
“Hey, listen to this one,” Alex said from his place on the floor. “Dear Isaac. Thank you for the episode where you talked about saying something nice to one of our teachers. I made my history teacher cry which was weird, but also awesome. Sincerely, James. From San Bernardino, California.”
“I like this one better,” I said. “Dear Random I, I’d like to marry you. I know I’m too young right now, but if you wait for me, I’ll grow up soon. Love, Avery Morris, age twelve. From Springfield, Illinois.”
“This girl sent you stickers,” Tyler said. “Of your face.”
“What?” Isaac said. “Let me see.”
Tyler handed them over. “I think she drew them.”
“Dude. These are amazing. They’re totally going on the air.”
The doorbell rang and I jumped up. “That’s probably Paige.” I picked up my overnight bag from beside the couch.
“So let me get this straight,” Mushroom said. “Her parents are giving her a fancy vacation house as a wedding gift, and you’re holing up in the fanciest hotel in Charleston so they can move all the new fancy furniture in without Paige seeing it?”
“Ridiculous, right?”
“I think it’s nice,” Alex said, though he didn’t look up from the card he held in his hand.
Tyler tossed a pillow at his head. “You would. You’re used to that kind of money.”
Alex grinned good-naturedly, deflecting the pillow with his arm. “Pretty sure you make more money than I do. I meant that I thought it was nice that Dani and Paige would get to spend some time together one last time before the wedding.”
My stomach swirled as I thought about the wedding that would happen first,beforePaige’s wedding. I looked at Alex, waiting for him to finally meet my gaze. “I’ll be back in time to pack for Islamorada.”
He nodded, that indefinablesomethingpassing between us, gripping my gut and making me feel as though my life depended on me running to him and throwing myself into his arms.
I tightened my hand around the straps of my bag.
“Okay,” he said.
I swallowed hard—what was wrong with me?—and willed my feet to move around the corner and into the entryway. I paused when I heard Tyler laughing. “Okay,” he said in a sing-songy voice. “I’ll miss you, Dani. Ilooooveyou, Dani.”
“Shut up,” Alex said, followed by an indistinguishable grunt, then more laughter.
The doorbell rang again, startling me out of my stillness. I threw the front door open, but Paige wasn’t behind it. Instead, a delivery man stood on the porch, three large boxes beside him. “Delivery for Danielle Jacobson.” He held out his tablet, asking for a signature. “Sign here.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I just deliver them, Ma’am.”
I nodded and thanked him before shifting the boxes one by one into the entryway. I pulled the tape off the first box and gasped. The box was filled with fabric.Myfabric. I pulled out several yards of emerald green twill. I’d planned to make a pencil skirt out of it someday. Underneath, I found the calico chintz I’d been saving, confident it would be big again within a year or two, as well as the half-dozen yards of lavender satin I’d scored at a Mood flash sale. Movement caught my eye, and I looked up to find Isaac leaning against the wall in front of me.
“You did this?”
He shrugged. “I’m surprised they got here so quickly.”
