I glanced at the time. He’d left thirty minutes ago—that was a hell of a search for a stuffie.
Me:No, O’Malley and I have already made it to bed. We can talk more later. Glad you found the elephant; it must have been well-hidden.
I reread my text because I liked to second-guess myself like that. Did that sound like I was giving him grief for not getting back to me sooner? Or was that a breezy text that indicated I was good with whatever. Ahhhhh, why did my mind read into everything? So frustrating.
A reply pulled me out of my pain-in-the-ass brain.
Noah:Ellie, that’s the elephant, “decided” to take a bath in the washing machine. Or so Addie told us when we called Jake to have him ask her where it was since we couldn’t find it. At any rate, I do want to talk more, Jules. I get the vibe that what you shared with me was a big deal, and I don’t take that lightly. Breakfast tomorrow at the Sanctuary?
My stomach did another roller coaster ride. Breakfast? To talk more about it? That sounded mildly terrifying. I dug deep and laid down some more truth.
Me:In the spirit of continuing to share, I half want to say hell no and go curl up in a ball somewhere. However, I’m working on being open here. Just an FYI—the only other person in the world who knows I’m a writer is my friend Kylie.
The dots telling me that Noah was typing tormented me until his text finally came through.
Noah:I’m honored to be part of that selective group and promise no one will learn about this from me. You’re my accountant now, right? We can call this client confidentiality. That’s a thing, right? So, breakfast? I’ll make sure you don’t need to take the fetal position.
I snorted at the “client confidentiality” comment before taking a few deep breaths, thinking that would help my skittering heart rate. No luck. Maybe I needed to see a doctor.
I shook my head. One step at a time.
Me:Breakfast works. Nine sound good?
Noah:It’s a date. I’ll see you there.
Date? Sure, sleep was going to be easy to come after that text. I put my phone down and settled on my side, O’Malley curled up behind my knees. “Everything will look better in the morning, won’t it, boy?”
“Mrow?” He rubbed his head on my legs, bringing me comfort from the familiarity.
“I’ve got to believe it will,” I whispered.
Saturday morning dawned, and I hurried down Main Street toward the Sanctuary. It was a bit cool with bits of fog lifting off gardening beds on either side of me, the sun shining through them. Gorgeous.
I had been correct—sleep hadn’t come easily, and I’d tossed and turned until the early-morning hours. All that was to say I’d overslept because I’d finally found the shut-eye that eluded me until far too late in the night, or early in the morning to be more precise. Luckily it was only a few blocks to hit the Sanctuary, and the weather was gorgeous—blue skies, light breeze, warm sun. It all worked together to help me wake up as I rushed to meet Noah.
Stepping into the coffee shop, I was hit with the delicious aroma of the magic elixir I knew would fix my exhausted state. Add the amazing smell of baked goods, and I wondered if I could just move in.
“Hey, Jules!”
I looked over to the counter in the front of what would have been the altar in the former life of this building when it was a church. Allyson offered me a wave before waiting on a customer.Her belly was like a small beachball under her fitted shirt. I looked around for Maeve, but there was no sign of the more outspoken sister. Noah, however, waved at me from the leather armchairs by the window I’d sat in just a week ago. I pointed at the counter, indicating I was going to order, to which he nodded and raised a book he had open in his lap in response.
“Hey, Allyson,” I said as I reached the counter.
She tapped the steamed-milk pitcher on the counter, then proceeded to pour the milk in the coffee before passing it off to the guy in front of me. “Medium latte,” she said, then turned my way, gesturing to the stools on my side of the counter. “Want to order and grab a seat? We can visit while I make drinks.”
“Um.” I bit my lip and looked over to Noah, who was reading with an armchair ready for me.
Allyson followed my gaze, then looked back to me. “Ahh, meeting someone?”
I felt the heat warm my neck and cheeks as I nodded my head, mumbling out a reply. “Yeah, it’s just, we had dinner last night and…”
Allyson interrupted, her eyes twinkling. “Dinner? You are holding out on us, Jules. You’re lucky that Maeve and/or Maggie isn’t here right now.”
I laughed, knowing that was the truth. “We’re just friends,” I said, rolling my eyes. I had to admit, after having a small group of friends in Chicago, it was going to take some time to get used to knowing people wherever you went in this town. Jury was still out as to whether this fishbowl feeling would get old or not. For now it was somewhat comforting.
“Okay, friends it is,” Allyson said reassuringly. “What can I get you?”
I scanned the menu board. “Umm, how about a vanilla latte and an egg sandwich?”
