Page 102 of Under the Weatherman
My stomach rumbled. I hadn’t eaten anything. With all the drama, Bas never cooked breakfast. “But maybe we can get some doughnuts first?”
“And coffee.” The smallest of smiles curved her lips, and for the first time since she’d walked out the night before, I thought there was a chance for us still.
If only I could defeat the monster that had been chasing me the last ten years.
Chapter Thirty-three
Elizabeth
“The course of true love never did run smooth.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
While the guys made a beeline for the order window, Chelsea sidled up beside me, staring out over the orchard with Charlottesville spread out below us, the Blue Ridge Mountains on the horizon.
I soaked in the sun, trying to release the negative emotions that had come between us. “My dad would’ve called this a quintessential fall football Saturday.”
Chelsea scoffed. “My dad would’ve called this a good excuse to get drunk.”
I shoved her, laughing at her dark humor. I hadn’t been lying to Evan about our ups and downs. We’d built our friendship over years, and it would take more than a single failure to break us apart. “Thanks for coming up here. It puts way less pressure on us.”
She pushed me back. “So you’re going to fix him?”
It was a valid question, but she’d taught me I can’t be anyone’s nurse. “He has a therapist for that. I’m gonna stick around and see where this goes.”
“Did he at least grovel?”
He hadn’t, not exactly, but he had apologized and given me a little insight. “It wasn’t really that he’d been jealous of any guys I might have dated. But hewasjealous of you. Of the experiences we have, the fun we have. I promised him we’d make our own list if he wanted.”
She crinkled her nose. “That’s kind of sweet, actually.”
“I thought you’d like that.” I laid my head against her shoulder, happy to know she’d support me, whatever I decided. “You know what he added to our list?”
“Murder Chelsea?”
I barked a laugh. “No. He doesn’t want to murder you. That’s the kind of thingyouput.”
“Does he want to quietly get me out of the way? Have me disappeared?”
“No. He putGo on a hayride.”
She hummed dismissively. “At an apple orchard where you can do that very thing? He’s not above cheating, huh?”
Evan reappeared, passing me a coffee, and Bas laid a box on a table, saying, “You have to eat these while they’re still hot.”
We dug in, listening to Bas prattle on about Greece, while Chelsea glowed, blissed out on his gentle good humor. She was positively smitten. I’d never seen her like this.
“You know what we should add to our list?” Evan asked, turning to me.
“You can’t put apple cider doughnuts,” Chelsea shot at him.
He ignored her. “What about sailing?”
“Sailing?” I did love water, but we were basically landlocked. “That would be fun.”
“My parents own a boat, over near Annapolis. We could go out some weekend when it’s warmer.”
It wouldn’t be warmer for months. Did he really see us together by spring? “Yeah. I’d love that.”
