Page 87 of The Romantic Agenda
The day’s agenda had been modified to include making an appearance at the neighborhood holiday party Summer wanted to go to after getting the invitation from the boating invaders. Before that, they’re going downtown, and then hiking after lunch.
Joy retrieves the bag Malcolm gave her to assess the items and figure out how to tailor them to her style. A pair of soft brown leather hiking boots that aren’t terrible to look at. A couple ofhigh-rise breathable leggings in a few different colors. Some pants she would donate to a shelter when she got home. A black long-sleeved shirt that doesn’t look like anything special but according to the tag has “special moisture-wicking technology built in.”
Joy would just... change her clothes in the car when they got there.
Her outfit of the day is a simple teal gingham top with puff sleeves, a deep V-neck, and thick ties that wrap around her waist to make a bow in the back. The top matches well with flared jeans, letting her live her best seventies disco chic life. She dresses quickly—well, quickly for Joy—and barely restrains herself from running down the stairs to meet Fox in the kitchen.
Was she maybe a little too excited to see him? Yes.
They’re the real deal now, until they say goodbye at the end of the trip tomorrow. And Joy doesn’t want to waste a single second.
Fox appears, rounding the corner to the kitchen. Joy ambushes him. “Let’s go.” She hands him a still-hot mug of tea.
“Where?” he asks, a smile in his gravelly voice but not yet on his face.
“I’m coming with you on your morning walk.” Joy unlocks and opens the sliding glass door. “Which way?”
Fox points to the left. They set off for the lake’s edge, walking along the path. The mornings have all been uniform in their weather and beauty. Partially cloudy skies. Gentle waves. The barest hint of chill. Early morning birdcalls and other wildlife noises Joy doesn’t recognize but has a healthy fear of. There could still be bears out there. Overall, though? She could really get used to a place like this.
He slings an arm over her shoulders and kisses her forehead.She leans into him, hoping he doesn’t notice how deep of a breath she takes through her nose. God, he smells so good.
At the midway point, they stop at a wooden bench with a gold dedication plaque. It’s stationed right in front of what appears to be an entrance that leads straight into a denser woodland area. It’s so thick with stick-thin saplings, flourishing ground plants and bushes, and trees with trunks bigger than Joy, it’s only possible to see a few feet inside.
Won’t be going in there. Nope.
Fox sits down, and so does Joy, except sideways to keep an eye on that entrance. That’sabsolutelywhere Hansel and Gretel went to get eaten. Trail or not, willingly going that way is no different than flat-out asking for the universe to test your will to live.
“Any word on how the festival went?”
“Malcolm came to my room last night—”
“He did?”
“Yeah, he does that all the time. Anyway, I asked, and he said something like it didn’t go the way he expected it to. Have you talked to Summer?”
“No.” Fox takes a sip of his tea. “This is just a question: You think it’s perfectly fine and platonic that he goes to your room every night?”
“All we do is talk, so yes.”
“Hmm.”
“You don’t think it’s okay?”
“Just a question. Not a judgment, Joy.”
“Okay, I’m going to lose it if I don’t say it: you’re thinking, and I can see it, so just come out with it.” Joy swats at a bug that flies too close to her face. “Come on.”
Fox actually laughs. “Sometimes I’m not thinking about anything. I pretend like I am to see what you’ll do.”
“Youdiabolicaldick.” She kisses his cheek to let him know she doesn’t mean it.
He laughs again. “This time I am—thinking, not a dick. You two bother me.”
Joy’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “Me and Malcolm?” He nods and she asks, “Why?”
Fox exhales into a sigh. He raises his head, looking at the sky and frowning before his gaze lands back into his cup of tea. His lips twitch, either ready or reluctant to speak. Joy can’t tell which it is.
“You love him,” he says through nearly clenched teeth.
