She looks up at me, her eyes soft.“I like you, Adrian.”Her voice is barely above a whisper.“A lot.”
A painful pressure builds behind my ribs.What if she doesn’t want the same thing?What if I’m about to scare her off?
I smile, squeezing her hand in mine.“I like you too, Amelia.I want us to be together.”
Her breath hitches, and for a second, she just looks at me.Then she smiles, small but sure.“I’d like that too.”
I give her hand a light tug, pulling her a little closer.
“So after the promotion, could we date?”“Yes.Definitely.”
Relief floods me, and I grin, capturing her lips in a kiss.She leans into it, and for a moment, it’s just us.
Then, the sound of rustling nearby makes us pull apart.
Turning my head, I freeze.“What the hell?”
Russell is staring me down at the end of the table.Russell, the damn turkey.And he’s not alone.He’s brought an entire tribe—Turkeys, geese, swans, ducks—every damn bird imaginable is closing in around us.
“Amelia, what’s going on?”
She stares wide-eyed at the growing army of feathers.“I don’t know,” she whispers.“But I’m slightly terrified.There are a lot of birds.”
I nod slowly.“Okay.Don’t move.Let’s just see what Russell’s up to.”
Asshole.
Russell takes a bold step forward, his beady eyes locked onto me like he knows I just called him an asshole in my head.I press my lips together.“Uh, sorry.”
He steps closer.
So do the rest of them.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath.
And then one of the birds lets out an ear-piercing squawk, and suddenly, they charge.
“Run!”Amelia shrieks.
We bolt, laughing, abandoning everything—blanket, vase, food, coffee—and sprint toward her car, birds flapping and screeching behind us.
The first raindrop lands on my cheek.
I glance up.More follow, light and steady.Of course.The perfect ending to our crazy afternoon.
Amelia wipes a drop from her forehead and starts giggling.
I laugh too, shaking my head.“This is not the date I had in mind.”
She grins.“No, but it’s us.And it’s kind of perfect.”
Chapter 25
Amelia
Thenextday,Isit at my desk, fingers hovering over the keyboard, staring at the half-finished article about a burnout incident in town.The smell of my old coffee mixes with the faint scent of ink and paper.It’s not the kind of story I want to be writing, but right now, it’s all I have.
My foot taps restlessly against the wooden floor.Luna still isn’t back.And until she is, I won’t know if I got the promotion.Adrian’s words aren’t lost on me.What if she does give it to Tannis or someone else?The thought makes my stomach twist with anxiety because I don’t know what I’ll do.
