“Well.” Ethan thought it over. “Some of my fondest memories are of going over legal documents with a highlighter.”
Chloe stared at him, ice cream slowly dripping from her spoon, unable to tell in the slightest if he was being serious or not.
Is he joking? I think he might actually not be joking.
… And why is that not the deal-breaker it should be?!
“Well, you shouldn’t be in need of highlighters,” she shot back unthinkingly. “Because you’re already the highlight of my day.”
Her brain caught up with her mouth, and her jaw dropped, her mouth desperately trying to swallow back thestupendously stupidline she’d just used.
Ethan, too, seemed taken aback by her words, his perfect lips opening to form a question – but no question was forthcoming.
Not that she could blame him. What would anyone say in response to something so asinine?
She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Curtis. Poor guy – as if being recalled from a feast-filled afterlife wasn’t bad enough, now he was being forced to be an unwilling observer to the cut-rate romcom that was Chloe’s life. She had never been a believer in the concept of purgatory, but now, stealing a glance at Curtis as he slid down self-consciously into his seat, she wasn’t quite so sure.
To fill the void left in both the conversation and her dignity, she swallowed the enormous mouthful of ice cream that had been balancing, forgotten, on her spoon. It tasted good enough to distract her from her soul-crushing embarrassment for a moment – even half-melted, it was amazingly creamy, the lavender giving it a delicate floral flavor that seemed to cut through the richness and keep it from feeling too heavy.
“Try the ice cream,” she said, still not looking either of the others in the eye, and decided to try the pie together with the ice cream, as Sylvie had obviously intended.
Mmm. Maybe I am in heaven, after all.
Across the table, Ethan appeared to be having his own rapturous experience with the ice cream. Chloe sipped at her tea and watched him over the rim of her cup, simply enjoying the view.
Between the two of them the pie was quickly demolished, and Chloe had to admit that she was tempted to wait the extra time for the next batch of pies to come out the oven, even though she didnotneed it at all.
Chasing the last of the melted ice cream around the plate with her spoon, she contemplated their plans for the day, turning pensive. As much as she was enjoying the mystery – and the pie! – shewasgetting concerned about how they were going to get Curtis back to the afterlife.
And, despite the fact that she’d been blowing off non-essential tasks since yesterday, shedidneed to make sure that she was ready to open her clinic on Monday. Getting her business up and running successfully was absolutely non-negotiable, and she’d have to put aside the mystery of Curtis’s appearance pretty soon.
How long did Ethan even have available to spend in Girdwood Springs? Did he have to be back in wherever he was from by Monday morning? Would he and Curtis just be stuck in each other’s company indefinitely if they couldn’t get this sorted in the next day or two?
She opened her mouth to ask Ethan what his work situation was, but then a familiar voice cut in from across the bakery.
“You’ll tell that handsome husband of yours that I said hello, won’t you?”
It was Eula – ol’ Eula, from the diner – talking to Sylvie. There was clearly some kind of exchange of goods going on – a very tall, very good-looking, kind of rough-around-the-edges man was picking up some extremely large boxes of… well,vegetable content, lifting them like they weighed nothing at all. He was a bit too rugged to be quite Chloe’s type, but she could tell that the engagement ring on his finger had definitely broken a few hearts.
So Eula was getting the vegetables for her diner via Sylvie, then. It made sense that all the delicious food in this town was apparently being made from produce from the same grower. Chloe was getting pretty curious to know what their secretwas! Maybe Margot had cast a spell over the town’s crops or something.
Sylvie laughed, “Of course I will – I know that you’d hunt me down if I forgot to pass on your greetings!”
“I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding,” Eula said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I would hate for Gale to think that I’d forgotten my manners.”
“All set,” said the man, who at this point was so piled high with boxes that Chloe could barely see any of him except for his eyes, his scruffy hair, and his flannel-clad, extremely muscular arms.
“Thanks, Henry,” said Sylvie gratefully.
“No, thankyou,” said Eula. “That Gale of yours sells me the best tomatoes I’ve ever tasted in my life, and at a fraction of the price I’d pay elsewhere. I’d gladly pay five times the price for them… though maybe we should keep that a secret amongst us girls, eh?”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Sylvie said with a chuckle. “Now, we should really let Henry get going before he topples over!”
“I’m fine,” the tower of boxes said in a muffled voice. He started toward the door, bringing him closer to where Chloe and the others were sitting, and as he approached, Chloe was suddenly hit with the strangest feeling of…unease.
Her brow furrowed. The box man, Henry, had seemed perfectly friendly in his interaction with Sylvie and Eula, and she had no reason to distrust him… but there was something about him that was setting her more and more on edge the closer he got to her.
Across from her, she noticed Ethan suddenly stiffening, going on his guard.
