@theanswerisno:
I don’t HATE pancakes. I’m not a monster. I just prefer cake
@pancakesareelite:
You don’t have to choose. You could have it all, Link
@pancakesareelite:
Ooooh, let’s bake a cake next!
Main quest: Help move furniture. Side quest: Don’t fall in love with Elizabeth.
Having Elizabeth at my mom’s house, making my mom laugh and handing me a slice of cake, was really not helping the side quest.
Elizabeth, Emily Ann, and my mother picnicked on a blanket in the center of the mostly empty living room while Daniel and I carried in the last of the furniture. There were more items than I’d bargained for, and even though my back started complaining, I didn’t want this to end.
From here, I could hear Elizabeth laughing, and now and then she’d tease the way she often did and glance in my direction. Those beautiful gray eyes knocked the air out of me.
I couldn’t have her. I knew that. She was far out of my league, not to mention my employee. But maybe I could enjoy her. Right? Like this. It wasn’t against company policy.
Mom walked over to me. “You better get going. I didn’t mean to keep you.”
“I don’t mind.” I took one last look at how comfortable Elizabeth was. Her safety boots had come off, and her feet were curled up underneath her. She and Emily Ann were taking rock, paper, scissors very seriously.
“Because you’re the most wonderful son.” Mom gave me a squeeze.
Elizabeth glanced upward and studied me as she often did. Over the last few weeks, she’d started reading me and acting without me having to ask her to. Right now, she knew I was ready to leave. She stood, walked over, and stretched out her hand toward my mom. “It was wonderful to meet you. Everything I ate was delicious. I wish I could cook like that.”
My mom swatted her hand out of the way and pulled her in for a hug. “I’ll teach you.” She released Elizabeth and winked. “Come over, anytime.”
Elizabeth squirmed.
Why? What did she and my mother talk about?I’d need to ask.
My mother edged closer, her eyes wide. “Lincoln…” Her brows hugged. “There’s one other thing. We need to hand over the keys to the new owner in just over a week.”
I knew what was coming, and yet I waited for her to finish in the hopes it would be something else.
“If you can’t finish the last of the packing…” She looked downward and fidgeted with the hem of her blouse. “I can do it.”
A violent pang slammed the inside of my chest. “I’ll do it,” I barely got out. She remained unconvinced, so I mustered up all the confidence I had before adding, “I’m busy this weekend, but I promise it’ll be all cleared out before next weekend.”
“Are you sure?”
My thoughts turned to noise. “Yes,” I said through the mess of feelings swirling inside me. Packing away my father’s things would make it hard to forget that he’d died. “It’s no problem.”
As fast as humanly possible, I left. I wasn’t interested in thinking about it any longer, but now it was the only thing I could think about. If Elizabeth hadn’t been quick, I may have driven off without her in my distracted state.
But there she was, in the passenger seat, observing me without saying a word. I should explain to her why I went from hot to cold, but I couldn’t find the right sentences.
“Your mom showed me photos of you as a kid. Apparently, you were really into pirates.”
An unexpected laugh pushed out of me, and the sweet sound of hers joined. I glanced over at her, grateful for the subject change. “Ishould have known she’d show you all the embarrassing things she’s kept of mine.”
The naughtiest grin crept onto Elizabeth’s face. It was the one I enjoyed most. I think. It was hard to choose.
“She told me about Bianca too.”
