“Britt made an emergency run to purchase forty-percent heavy cream but she said to tell you, if you arrived before her, that she’d be right back.”
He and Britt were scheduled to pilot the Bradford family speedboat to Whidbey Island this afternoon to meet and talk with Grant Mayberry.
“Can a shortage of forty-percent heavy cream be considered an emergency?” he asked.
“You know Britt well enough to know the answer to that.” Maddie crossed her arms. Her green eyes sized him up. “So.”
“Yes?”
“What’s going on with Britt lately?”
He grew instantly alert. “What do you mean?”
“She’s been acting really strange for a little over two weeks now.”
“How so?”
“Grumpy. Impatient.”
He’d kissed Britt a little over two weeks ago.
“Do you know what might be causing this?” she asked.
“I don’t.”
“You don’t? Or you do but you don’t want to tell me?”
“I have a suspicion, but I don’t want to tell you.”
“Zander!”
He shrugged by way of an apology.
“Britt won’t confide in me, either. I tried to get it out of her again this past Saturday, but I couldn’t. And then she went out dancing with Hannah and Mia that night, and they said that Kyle’s friend Reid was falling all over her.”
Everything inside him turned to ice. When Britt had sent him a text Saturday night saying she was at a club, he’d known what effect she’d have on the men there. He’d worried that she’d meet someone, but it hadn’t occurred to him to worry about Reid in particular. “And?” he asked tightly.
“And Hannah told me that Britt had too much champagne. Apparently, she was acting like she was determined to have a great time even if it killed her. Then Britt and Reid left the club together to go have late-night pancakes at a diner. Hannah and Mia tried to talk her into sharing an Uber home with them, like they’d planned, but Britt went to the diner instead.”
He kept his face impassive. “In Reid’s car?”
Maddie dipped her chin in assent.
“I’ll talk to her about it.”
Her look turned compassionate. “Want a chocolate?”
“No. Thank you.” He was amazed that his voice sounded smooth and calm because inside him, a tornado raged.
An elderly gentleman entered the shop, and Maddie went to assist him.
Zander had gone to St. Louis to spend time with his brother because now that Frank was gone, only Daniel, Carolyn, Britt, and Britt’s family knew him well and cared about him deeply. Daniel’s presence grounded him and gave him a sense of belonging. He only wished he could have enjoyed his weekend with his brother more than he had.
On the flight to Missouri to see Daniel, he’d hoped that thedistance from Britt might offer him perspective on their relationship. In actuality, the distance from Britt had done nothing but make him miserable. He’d spent large sections of the weekend wondering what he was doing halfway across the country from Britt.
If Britt decided to date Reid, the misery he’d endured in St. Louis would seem like a trip to Disney World in comparison.
The door to the kitchen rushed open, and Britt crossed to him. She had on a plaid shirt, jeans, boots. “Sorry I’m late.”
