Page 178 of Safe With You

“Oh my God.”

I pushed off the couch and carried my plate into the kitchen, even though there was still food on it.

Maybe I was just tired. That had to be what this was.

The last few days had been busy between the community reading day and getting the store back to normal afterward. Saturday had gone better than I expected, and Mila had stayed attached to my side for most of it, with Ellis never too far behind. By Sunday, he was sending me pictures of her sitting on their living room floor surrounded by three of the books she’d gotten from the event. Monday, I sent him a picture of the denim jacket she’d managed to leave at the store for the second time.

Now it was Tuesday, and apparently one day without hearing from him was enough for me to notice.

I stood at the sink longer than necessary, staring down at my plate.

“That’s weird.”

Saying it out loud didn’t make it less weird.

I scraped the rest of my food into the trash and rinsed the plate before putting it in the dishwasher. When I turned around, I could see my phone from the kitchen.

I could leave it alone.

There was absolutely no reason I needed to talk to Ellis that night.

That thought followed me all the way back to the couch.

I sat down.

Picked up my phone.

And opened our messages.

The last thing there was the picture I’d sent him yesterday of Mila’s jacket hanging from the back of my desk chair.

At this point she owes me rent.

Put it on my tab.

Your tab is already delinquent.

Damn. No grace period?

This is a business.

Thought we were friends.

I’d stared at that message longer than I should have too.

Then I’d told him friendship didn’t pay invoices.

He’d sent back a thumbs-down.

I smiled now just looking at it.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I opened the camera and took a picture of the television.

The contestant from earlier was standing in front of the judges waiting to find out whether he’d been eliminated.

I sent it.

This man just put strawberries in mashed potatoes.