Page 38 of The 7 Rules of Moving On
His lips quirked into a hesitant smile while he picked up her pajama pants from the floor and handed them to her. “You want to help?”
“Yeah,” she said, wiggling back into her pants. “I see you behind that bar, busting your ass. And if it’s gonna be busy today before the McDuck party—”
“Almost the entire town comes here before going there,” he cut in.
“Exactly. You’re gonna need some help. Besides, it’ll be great for gathering advertising ideas.”
“Are you sure?”
Getting to her feet, adjusting her crooked pajama pants and straightening her top, she nodded and said, “One hundred percent.”
* * *
Kissie pulledthe covers up to her chin while Dawn stumbled out of the bathroom, wrapped head to toe in one of the fluffy white robes that came with the room. Her fever had broken sometime during the night, and she’d felt good enough to take a shower. But as she plopped back onto the bed, Kissie could tell the activity had wiped her out.
“This cold sucks,” Dawn said, her nose still stuffed up, her eyes red. “Taking a shower shouldn’t feel like running a damn marathon.”
After Dawn slid under them, Kissie pulled the covers back up so they were both warm and nestled.
“You look better, though,” she said. “Not as pale.”
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a train.”
After kissing Dawn’s forehead, Kissie pointed the remote at the TV, turning up the volume onDays of our Lives.
They watched in silence for a while until Dawn eventually said, “Are you gonna tell me what happened last night or what?”
Pretending to be enthralled by whatever was happening onDays, Kissie replied, “Huh?”
“Come on, Kiss. I may be sick but I’m not blind. You’re doing that goofy glowing thing you do whenever you get lucky.”
“I don’t do a goofy glowing thing,” Kissie insisted, inhaling the lavender scent of the sheets. “What the heck do they wash these in anyway? Rainbows?”
Dawn cuddled up close, resting her head on Kissie’s shoulder. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But I’m here if you do.”
Everything happening with Trig aside, there were so many things Kissie needed to talk to Dawn about. The least of which was the fact that she’d be moving away in a few weeks. She knew Dawn was going to be pissed at her for waiting so long to tell her, but for some reason Kissie still couldn’t make the words come out of her mouth. And she couldn’t even blame it on being delirious from heartache anymore, because her heart wasn’t aching. Not even a little. Today her heart was a warm thing in her chest, beating light and easy like the sun beneath her ribs.
She had to tell Dawn, and soon. And she would. Maybe on the drive home tomorrow, the drive away from Twin Hearts, from Mystic, from Trig.
“Thanks,” Kissie said, a heavy cloud drifting over her sunshine heart. “But nothing’s going on.” Nothing at all, except for maybe the most amazing man coming into her life at the worst possible time.
“Whatever this nothing is, it’s making you look happier than I’ve seen you look in a while.”
Kissie clenched her jaw, a weird pressure building up behind her eyes. Attempting to change the subject, she said, “Trig asked me to come up with some advertising ideas for Mystic.”
“That’s awesome. This place is like a hidden gem.”
“I think I’ve got some good ideas, but I’m going to help him with the bar today, then spend some more time in town tonight. See if anything else clicks.” She cleared her throat. “He wants a jingle, too.”
“A jingle?” Dawn raised her head. “You’re going to write him a song?”
“I’m going to writeMystica song,” Kissie corrected. “If I can come up with one. I’m kind of stuck. There’s something…” Closing her eyes, she reached for the first few notes, the lyrics hovering right on the tip of her tongue. “But I don’t have it yet.”
“I’ll be sad to leave tomorrow,” Dawn said. “I wish we had a few more days. I’ve barely even left this room. If it wasn’t for you and Ryan visiting, I’d have spent this entire weekend lonelier than if I’d stayed at home.”
Turning her head, Kissie tried to see Dawn’s expression. “What do you mean? You’re not lonely at home. You have Jeff.”
Dawn’s eyes fluttered closed. “Sometimes even when you’re with someone, it’s still lonely.”
