Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“You’re being awfully quiet,” Ava said on the way into town.
“Do you think if your parents knew that I was your best friend instead of your boyfriend, they might like me better? Maybe they’d feel less threatened by me?”
She thought about it for a minute while looking for a place to park. “Maybe. Do you care that much about my parents’ opinion of you?”
I blew out a breath and ran my fingers through my hair. “If I was to move here—”
She didn’t even let me say it before she screeched and nearly sideswiped a minivan. I grabbed for the handle at the top of the doorframe. “Oh my God! Are you thinking of moving here? For real?”
I waited until she’d found a parking spot and we were safely stopped. “No. I mean… maybe? I don’t know. But I just wondered if—”
“Is this because of Brooks?” she asked, turning in her seat to face me.
“No,” I said quickly. Too quickly. “Maybe? I mean… no. He lives in New York and—”
Ava was an interrupter. “But what if he moved back?”
“He won’t.” At least, I was pretty sure. But at least it would be easier to date long-distance if I lived halfway closer to him than California. And if I lived in the same place as his family and friends. Surely that would help, right?
I thought about how, before this week, he hadn’t been back in the Thicket for ten years. Maybe I was being too optimistic.
Ava pressed her lips together before finally spitting it out. “You might be right. And anyway, you need to make this decision based on what you want, not based on him. Do you think you could be happy here? It doesn’t have to be forever either, you know?”
I looked through the open car window at the small groups of happy families decked out in cow paraphernalia making their way to the parade route to get a good spot. The sun was shining, and the sky was a clear blue. Balloons were tied in bundles here and there, and colorful parade signage was posted showing people where to go, as if the main drag was so complicated, people needed arrows to find it.
The rich, smoky smell of barbecue already filled the air, and I could hear chatter and laughter from one of the groups of people walking by on their way past the car. I wondered if that would be Ava and Paul and their children one day, or someone other than Paul if things didn’t work out between them. I knew regardless of what happened with him, Ava would land someone wonderful who would find it a joy and a privilege to raise her child alongside her.
I didn’t want to miss it. And maybe, just maybe, Brooks would consider moving back here if Paul, Ava, and I were all making a home here.
“I think… yeah. I think I could maybe try it.”
She squealed and leaned over to hug my neck, dropping a big smacking kiss on my cheek before pulling back with a wide grin. “I’m just excited you’d even consider it. I know it’s a big decision, and I’ll love you either way. But, God, Mal… I just… I want you to be in this baby’s life. You’re so important to me.”
As we got out of the car and walked against the flow of traffic to find the staging area for parade participants, I daydreamed about what life in the Thicket would look like. Brooks had called me special. He’d cuddled with me and told me he didn’t do that with casual hookups.
After leaving Ava at the staging tent, I wandered around in a happy daze, imagining what it would be like to live here with Brooks and Ava and even Paul. Trivia nights with the great group of friends I’d met the other night at the Tavern, incredible junk finds at Diesel’s and first dibs on cool new stuff he got in, carrying Ava’s son or daughter on my shoulders to future parades and helping them pick apples at the Lickin’ Pickin’. It was an idyllic dream, but maybe, just maybe…
The sound of Brooks’s familiar voice jacked up my heart rate. I knew he was probably really busy, but I at least wanted to say hi and wish him luck. I followed the sound of his voice until I came around the side of a building and saw him talking to a much older man in a narrow brick alleyway between a restaurant and a gift shop. This had to be General Partridge from everything Brooks had told me about the man.
I ducked back behind a tall decorative planter at the corner of the building before Brooks could see me. The last thing I wanted to do was interrupt anything important with his hopefully new client.