“Too messy,” I told her. “I’ve had enough drama this week. So, back to my original question. Do you have a color theme in mind?”
“We’re waiting to find out the sex of the baby before we finalize the nursery, but I like your idea of choosing modern furniture that looks vintage and I love that chair.” She pointed over to a Victorian style chair upholstered in beige striped silk fabric. It was one of my favorite pieces too. “And the matching ottoman.” She walked over to the ottoman and ran her finger over the lid of the china teapot that sat on the sterling silver tray. “You’ve displayed it so beautifully that I want to buy the tea set and tray and I don’t drink tea.”
“Your mother does,” Milo said from behind me. “Isn’t her birthday coming up?” How Milo remembered all this stuff was beyond me.
“A few weeks,” Amanda confirmed. “I’ll take the chair, ottoman, the silver tray, and tea set.”
“Step over to the register and we’ll write it up and schedule a delivery date. Would you like to take your mother’s gift home with you today?”
“Would the chair and ottoman fit in the back of my sport utility broom?” Amanda asked, winking at Milo.
“It fit in the back of my SUV, but I have a full-sized one for hauling big things,” I told her. Amanda pulled her keychain out of her coat pocket. I took the keys from her and held them out for my brother. “Milo, will you kindly look to see if these items will fit?”
I don’t know why I was suddenly so willing to put my turbulent past with Amanda in my rearview mirror, but it felt like the right thing to do. Milo wasn’t there yet, but he accepted the keys and went outside anyway.
Amanda continued to walk around the store and comment on pieces that stood out to her, but swore she wasn’t going to buy another thing until she knew if she was having a boy or girl. I wrote down some websites for her to look at for furniture while we waited for Milo to come back in. I needed to know if I had to tack on a delivery charge if they wouldn’t fit in her SUV.
“What’s taking him so long?” I asked out loud. “He better not be slashing your tires.”
“I deserve worse,” she said wryly.
“I won’t disagree with you, but…” My words died in my throat when I saw what held him up. I smiled when Elijah looked up and met my eyes through the glass door. I opened it to let him and Milo in.
“Hi, Freckles,” Elijah said affectionately.
“Hi there.”
“I waved down some muscle when I saw that the chair and ottoman will fit in the back of her Sport Utility Broom. I may not like the Wicked Bitch of Blissville, but I have nothing against an innocent baby.”
Elijah raised a brow at Milo’s comment, but didn’t remark on it. “Where’s the chair and ottoman?”
“Uh….” Amanda stared dumbfounded at Elijah.
“Over there,” I said, pointing. He dropped a kiss on my lips as he passed me. “Let me box up the silver and china for her while you guys carry out the furniture.”
“Who’s that?” Amanda said when we were alone again.
“His name is Elijah,” I said, never taking my eyes off my task of wrapping the teapot and teacups with bubble wrap.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Amanda asked. I glanced up expecting to see disbelief in her expression, but I only saw curiosity.
“Um….” I wasn’t sure how to answer that. First of all, I didn’t know what was going on between Elijah and me, and second, Amanda wasn’t someone I felt comfortable confiding in.
“Sorry, it’s none of my business.”
Milo and Elijah returned before I could respond. Milo handed Amanda’s keys to her and nodded his head to the door in a not-so-subtle way. Amanda grinned and reached for the box holding her silver tray and tea set. Milo grabbed it before she could and headed toward the door.
“Take care, Maegan,” Amanda said over her shoulder as she followed Milo.
“You know what it’s like when you turn on a movie toward the end and you try to figure out what the hell is going on?” Elijah asked me.
“Yeah.”
“That’s how this feels right now. I can sense the roles you’ve all played, but not what led you to this big finale moment.” He traced his finger along my jawline before he lowered his hand.
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” I told him.
“How about you tell me over dinner tonight? I was thinking I would make you my famous homemade pizza.”
