Page 101 of That Time I Kissed The Groomsman Grump
Her gaze skips away from mine, and she bites her lip. Her voice hitches. “I wanted to get your notebook,” she says.
“What? No!” My eyes are slits of disbelief. “Natalie!”
“I know.” Her voice hitches and cracks. She’s still looking at her feet. “I shouldn’t have… it was dumb… I was being…” she stutters. “But you said you transfer your notes at night, so I knew there was stuff you didn’t have saved yet. And I just thought if your parents could see your work…”
“Nat.” I shake my head, overwhelmed by how much this woman would risk for me. I need to be twice as willing to take a chance on my dream. “I have other notebooks at home. Lots of them.” She lifts her gaze, eyes skittering to mine, and my pulse accelerates. “I’ve got complete drafts of books,” I say. “There’s an entire series on my laptop already. What I haven’t had is the guts to do anything about it.” I slide my hand into Natalie’s. “Until now.”
Even as the words pass my lips, I feel the first drops of rain land on my head. Natalie looks up and I count the raindrops sprinkling her face.
One. Two. Four. Ten.
They dribble down her cheekbones and run along my jaw. A jagged flash of lightning splits the sky. Five seconds later, there’s a sharp crack of thunder. And as we stand there, gaping and grateful, the sky opens up in a summer rainstorm.
ChapterForty-Three
NATALIE
Sloane’s FaceChat call comes in at nine on Monday morning, which is only six o’clock her time. This woman reallyisan early riser. Then again, she’s got summer school today. That’s why she’s not here for the wedding in the first place. I’m in bed, still at my parents’ house for the next two days. So I lean back against the pillows and take the call.
“NATALIE!” she shrieks, her dark eyes wide, mouth even wider. She’s perched on the mustard-colored couch I was sitting on last week. So much has changed since then. Everything’s changed. “I JUST TALKED TO KASEY!” She shakes her head, and her black curls bounce. “THEY’RE ON THEIR WAY TO BORA BORA!”
“Yes. I know.”
“ARE YOU OKAY?”
I nod, and a smile tugs my lips. “I’m fine,” I say. “Just fine.” I’m keeping my voice down—almost a whisper—not only so the rest of the household can’t hear me, but also to encourage Sloane to be a little quieter. She’s a teacher. I feel like she should recognize someone setting a good example.
“WERE YOU SO, SO SCARED? I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE SO, SO BRAVE.” So much for Sloane taking the hint to lower her volume.
So, so much.
“WHAT HAPPENED? TELL ME EVERYTHING!”
I tilt my head. “I thought Kasey already told you.”
She wrinkles her nose. “WHY ARE YOU TALKING SO QUIETLY?”
“It’s just that I think my parents might still be sleeping. It was a reeeeally long weekend.”
“Ohhhhh.” Sloane grimaces. “I can only imagine. I feel so bad I couldn’t be there to help.”
“We worked it out,” I say.
Sloane nods, chewing her lip. “The important thing is Kasey and Beau are married now.”
“Exactly. And all things considered, the wedding was still beautiful.”
“Kasey said you had to move the ceremony inside?”
I nod. “The storm soaked everything. Even some parts of the inn flooded. But it was a blessing, really. In the end, the rain helped put the fire out.”
“Kasey told me.” A crease takes over her forehead. “That doctor and his wife. Their place is in bad shape, right?”
“Yeah.” My shoulders sag. “The fire chief said it’s going to take months to rebuild. If not a full year. Especially since they’ll be dealing with their insurance company through the entire process.”
“But you saved those dogs’ LIVES!” Sloane gushes. “It’s incredible.”
I wave her comment away. Instead of feeling proud, guilt claws up my throat. “I should’ve saved the whole place,” I say. “Who knew you had to pull the pin out of a fire extinguisher to make it work?”
