Page 21 of Lovesick
Ellie gestured toward the display. “Le Grand Boulangerie sent them with the order this weekend. Said they had some extras. They’ve been selling like crazy so far.”
My absence for even a few days left me feeling disoriented. The Frolicking Moose had been under my sole care for so many months it felt like mine. Would I feel like this when I left for the Pinnable job? If I got it, of course.
My stomach growled, so I dismissed those thoughts. JJ’s breakfast seemed ages ago. I stepped behind the counter, already reaching for a coffee mug.
“Talked to Bethie a bit ago,” Ellie said. “Mav said they’ll come home tonight. The canyon was mostly plowed, so it should be safe. Dev and I cleaned the house yesterday. It’s all ready to go.”
“Thank you.”
Unlike Ellie, I’d never been able to bluff my way through things. She trained her piercing glare on me.
“Are you really okay, Lizbeth?”
I nodded, but I was so far from it. Being home made it all seem so much scarier.Almost died.Saved by the man I’ve adored for months. Saw a new side of him. Fell even harder. Don’t have a chance.
As sweet as JJ had been, I felt like a tightly wound braid ready to loosen. Coffee warmed my cup with radiant heat. I grabbed creamer and syrup. Coffee was just a vehicle for all the other delicious stuff.
“Oh, Dev and I are touring State University next weekend,” Ellie said. “Can we swap shifts?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks. I’ll put it on the calendar.”
“You excited?” I asked.
Ellie nodded emphatically. Devin’s expression dimmed for half a second but then recovered. Had I imagined it?
Probably.
“Oh, and some mail came for you.” Ellie motioned upstairs with a flick of her wrist. “I tossed it on your bed.”
The blood in my body froze all at once. “Anything interesting?” I asked.
She sent me a look that suggested I’d failed at seeming casual. “Not a big white envelope from Pinnable, if that’s what you mean.”
“Dang.”
The bell on the door rang, admitting a group of brawny high schoolers. A scowl leapt to Ellie’s face, and a grin to Devin’s. She was a year younger in school and decidedly less extroverted, particularly with his football friends.
Or with anyone but Devin, in fact.
Fortunately, his rampant extroversion had no fear of her extreme dislike of people and crowds. Somehow, those two oddballs made their strange friendship work.
I cast a knowing smirk at Ellie. “Have fun,” I mouthed, slipping past Devin with my coffee. By the time I disappeared around the counter, she’d already made herself scarce in her catlike way.
* * *
The attic room where I lived above the Frolicking Moose had a steep, sloping roof. My bed—a four-poster wrought iron beast swathed with gauzy fabric—took up most of the space. On the other side of the attic was a small bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink so closely packed together I could barely spin around.
The most important part of all greeted me: my books.
Maverick had built in an entire wall of bookshelves. He’d even trimmed them around the windows. I’d crammed all 957 novels into every spare spot and then some. The cacophony of titles, colors, and paper gave me a physical thrill every time I saw it.
Today was no exception.
Right now, all I wanted was to dive into one of those romance-affirming books and prove JJ wrong. Romance wasreal. More importantly, it was a force for good in this world.
I snuggled into a pair of bright-red flannel pants, a long white snowman T-shirt that saidFrosty is my jam,and a pair of monster slippers. Sunshine trickled into the room through the frozen windowpanes. A pair of soft, glowing lights wrapped around my canopy bed. The gentle smell of evergreen mingled with coffee felt like a warm embrace.
