Page 62 of Resisting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 3)

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Josh droveup to Nonna’s house to the thump, thump, thumping of Thor’s tail wagging wildly beside him. He’d only had the dog for a few weeks but Nonna’s house for Sunday dinner was already Thor’s favorite place to go.

The dog was whimpering and whining as Josh pulled the truck to a stop. He checked his phone and saw that he hadn’t gotten a text from Audrey. Tonight was Sunday night which meant it might be a movie night. He’d been hoping that she would reach out and tell him that she’d just baked a pan of double fudge brownies or something equally delicious, but she hadn’t.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He hadn’t wanted anything to change between them, but he’d been naïve in thinking that would actually be the case. He was sure that some people could manage to be friends with benefits but in those cases, he doubted that one party was madly in love with the other party, like he was with Audrey.

His relationship with her had already been complicated before he’d added sleeping with her. Now, it was…he didn’t even know what it was. He was second guessing himself at every turn.

Since getting home from Moonlight River he’d gone into Brewed Awakenings, like normal, to get his coffee and chocolate croissants and, on the surface, everything was just as it usually was. But he sensed that beneath the surface, there was a lot going on. The dynamic between them had shifted. When she looked at him, he could see that there was something behind her hazel eyes, he just wasn’t sure what it was.

Did she regret the night they’d spent together?

Did she just want to forget the entire thing ever happened?

Did she wish her first time had been with someone she was actually in a relationship with?

Those were the questions that had been whirling in his mind like sugar in a cotton candy machine.

She’d seemed fine on the drive back to Hope Falls the morning after. But almost too fine. She talked nonstop the entire hour drive, which wasn’t like her at all. She spent twenty minutes listing the pros and cons of buying a new espresso machine. She barely took a breath as she spent half an hour discussing whether or not she should change the logo of Brewed Awakenings before the summer rush of tourists and whether or not it would hurt the brand recognition with return vacationers.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t enjoyed listening to Audrey talking. He could listen to the sound of her voice every minute of every day and never get tired of hearing it. It was just that she never just rambled on like that.

There was a voice in his head that told him she was acting strangely because of his episode. She’d witnessed something no one else had and it had made her uncomfortable. But he told himself that was ridiculous. Audrey was the sweetest, kindest, most empathetic person he knew. There was no way that she would think badly of him because of something that was totally out of his control.

That same voice had also tried to say that she was probably disappointed after spending the night with him. Not because of the night terror, but the actual sex itself. She’d been a virgin for thirty-two years and maybe he hadn’t lived up to what she’d hoped sex would be.

That voice was easier to silence. He’d read her body language and felt what had passed between them. He might have had some issues in that department in the past, but with Audrey everything had been firing on all cylinders. He didn’t think he let her down in that regard.

But maybe after the fact he had.

Should he have bought her flowers?

Or maybe a card?

Did Hallmark make a card that said, “Thank you for trusting me with your virginity. It was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Ruff!” Thor barked, demanding to get out of the truck so he could go see Nonna.

“Sorry, man.” Josh shook his head. He’d gotten so caught up in his own thoughts he’d totally forgotten where he was or what he was doing.

He got out of the truck and Thor hopped down behind him. As the two walked up the back porch, Josh couldn’t get over how strange it was that it felt like he’d had Thor forever. Like they’d always belonged together.

“There he is! Il mio bel ragazzo!” Nonna exclaimed calling Thor “my handsome boy” as he came bounding into the kitchen.

Josh never thought he’d be jealous of a dog, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about being replaced as Nonna’s favorite grandchild. Thor was clearly in the top spot now.

“Ahhh! Il mio tesoro!” Nonna patted Josh on his cheek as he bent down to give her a kiss on her cheek. When he did, he noticed that her skin looked pale and she had dark circles under her eyes.

He looked around and saw that she had made spaghetti with homemade sauce and meatballs, a fresh chopped salad, homemade garlic bread, and gnocchi. “You don’t have to do this every week, you know. I could cook or we could order out.”

She waved him away with her towel.

He loved Sunday dinners, but he was concerned it was getting to be too much for her. It was also one of the reasons that she wouldn’t agree to move into Golden Years. The residents had mini kitchens, but there was no way that Nonna could cook the same way she did in her home. He’d offered, more than once, to pick her up every Sunday and bring her to his house to make it, but she refused to cook in anyone’s kitchen but her own.

“Can I help with anything?”

“What is there to help?” she asked. “It’s done.”

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