Page 64 of The Romantic Agenda
“Okay,” he says. “I’ll see you out there.”
Joy approaches Fox and Summer, joining them near the edge of the lake. Her hoodie has bear ears on the top—Fox tugs at one of them, and she doesn’t mean to look up at him with sad eyes and a pout, but she can feel it on her face and see it in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asks immediately.
“Are you okay?” Summer looks concerned... and wobbly. She’s flushed from the chest up and her eyes are glassy.
“Are you?” Joy asks. “You’re kind of red there.”
“I’mperfect.” Summer drains her beer and hiccups. “I think I need another one.”
Fox sighs. “I’m cutting you off at five.”
“Ew. No,” she says with a snort, already walking away.
Joy’s eyes widen in surprise. “Does she always get so...sassywith you when she’s drunk?”
“Yeah, and it’s all downhill from here,” he says. “Now, what’s with the sad face?”
“Something’s up with Malcolm. It’s like he doesn’t want to talk to me,” she says, watching the water. “Did something happen while I was upstairs?”
“Not that I know of.”
“He should be happy. They’re going to flit away to some festival together tomorrow for his big confession. Oh god,” she says with a groan. “And that’swhyhe’s upset. He’s stressed about thatespeciallyconsidering what happened today. He gets like this at work too.” She rolls her eyes and sets her drink down. “He’s impossible to deal with the night before important meetings or presentations. I’ll be right back.”
Malcolm is beside the bar now, preparing to carry the meatout to the barbecue. Joy takes the tray out of his hands, sitting it back down on the bar. “Hey, hey, I have returned. I need to talk to you.”
“What?”
“Now.” Joy grips his arm, pulling him into the hall and taking him to the living room couch.
“Joy, I need to finish—”
“Malcolm, you need to sit down. Now, tell me what’s wrong.” She hasn’t let go of his arm, nor does she plan to.
“Nothing.”
“Oh really? You know, today was a lot of fun. I had a semi-wonderful time. Did you?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t lie to me. You’re obviously upset, and we should talk about it so it doesn’t fester.”
“I don’t want to do this right now.”
All Malcolm needs from her is support. She can give that to him. She can give that andmeanit. Straight from her heart.
Joy takes a deep breath, decides on a tactic, and goes for it. “Okay, fine. Let’s talk about tomorrow. Are you ready or are you having second thoughts because Summer keeps messing up your perfectly choregraphed trip?”
Malcolm seems surprised. “Who said that?”
“No one needs to say it because I know you. I ditched you during horseback riding, Summer tried to ride with Fox in the helicopter, and she did ride with me in the golf cart after deciding to skip the museum. I know you’re upset about that.”
He frowns. “ ‘Upset’ is a strong word.”
“A word that fits.” Joy squeezes in closer to him until their shoulders are pressed together. “I shouldn’t have to say this, butI’m going to: you can’t force people to always follow your lead. People are unpredictable, Malcolm. Plans will change. Things can go wrong.”
“It’s not about force.” He grimaces. “It’d be nice ifpeoplewould just trust me. When I plan things a certain way, it’s for a reason.”
