Page 66 of Hang the Moon
She batted at the air. “It’s a reprint. It’s nothing.”
Had she the wherewithal to look upmeaningful glancein the dictionary, there’d have been a picture of Brendon’s whiskey-colored eyes gazing out at her from off the page. “It’s not nothing.”
No, she supposed it wasn’t. This was something.Theywere something. What that something was, she didn’t have the slightest clue, but continuing to call him her best friend’s brother seemed woefully insufficient when she couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss. A kiss she was pretty sure would haunt her for the rest of her life, with no other kiss capable of measuring up.
Darcy had asked her where her head was at, and if possible, she had even less of a clue today than she had yesterday. Liking Brendon wasn’t smart, and wanting him to kiss her again definitely fell into the realm of bad ideas, but that hadn’t stopped her from thinking about him as she wandered the market, wondering what he’d think of this little trinket or how he’d wrinkle his nose at the Starbucks cups littering the ground around the trash cans.
Utterly irrational, her own feelings were going to wind up giving her whiplash.
Annie wished... God, she didn’t even know what she wanted at this point. Maybe to go back in time to before Brendon had turned her inside out, upside down. Back when she’d known exactly what she wanted, when it had made sense.
Take the job. Move to London. Buy a houseplant. Try to make some friends. Acquire a taste for tea. Familiarize herself with her vibrator.
Now she was all mixed up, what she wanted at war with what was smart, what was safe. This thing, whatever it was, couldn’t go anywhere, but that didn’t stop her from wishing it could.
“I don’t know how to thank you for this,” he murmured softly.
She had several ideas of where he could start.
He must’ve been thinking something along the same lines, because he reached out, cradling her jaw, his hand trembling softly, sweetly, against the side of her cheek as he brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. She held her breath, her bare toes curling against the linoleum floor, her whole body vibrating a little from holding still as he lowered his face to hers.
“Are you guys coming? If we keep playing this stupid fucking card game, I swear to God I’m going to wind up with a broken finger,” a voice she didn’t recognize shouted, shattering the moment.
A muscle in Brendon’s jaw flexed as he stepped back with his eyes shut.
It was a blessing in disguise.
That’s what she told herself as she stepped out of the foyer and into the living room, heart still racing.
On the floor in front of a well-loved sofa, Darcy sat with her legs crossed, a glass of rosé on the coffee table beside a stack ofbattered board games. Behind her on the couch, Elle was in the process of fashioning Darcy’s long hair into an intricate braid.
Sprawled across the sole armchair, legs over one arm of the chair, head leaned back against the other, was a girl with a razor-sharp lob and cat-eye glasses that further accentuated her dark, almond-shaped eyes. Her checkered Vans bounced against the chair as she swung her legs.
Her lips spread in a smile and she sat up, curling her legs beneath her. “You’re Annie.”
“I am.”
“I’m Margot.” She reached for her glass and took a sip, appraising Annie over her drink. “So you’re the girl who’s got Brendon all in knots.”
Brendon groaned and her stomach swooped. He’d talked about her. “Margot.”
“I’m sorry,” Margot said, smiling, sounding the opposite of apologetic. “Was I not supposed to tell her that?”
He rubbed his eyebrow and sighed, his face turning a shade of pink she had no business finding adorable. Andyet.
Elle nodded to the opposite end of the couch. “Have a seat. There’s your drink.”
Annie settled in on the center cushion, scooting over, trying to make room for Brendon and his long legs. It was a tight squeeze, their thighs pressed snug together, the rough denim of his jeans making her hyperaware of the fact that her shorts left her legs bare.
Margot smirked at her. “So, Annie. How are you liking Seattle so far?”
Annie reached for her glass of what appeared to be rosé andtook a quick sip. It was ultra-sweet, almost cloying, and more than likely a lot stronger than it seemed. “It’s been great. I don’t know, I guess I had this picture in my head of constant buckets of rain falling from the sky, and I’d heard rumors about the Seattle Freeze, but everyone I’ve met has been super friendly. And the food’s been amazing. Darcy and I went out to... what was it?”
“The Pink Door,” Darcy said, wincing when Elle accidentally tugged on her hair.
“Right. Best seafood of my life,” Annie said.
“Great food, great beer, and we’re super close to a bunch of wineries if your tastes are a little more refined than Elle’s and mine.” Margot smirked.
