“Tell her yourself.” I stick out my tongue at him teasingly just before I leave. He smiles, rolling his eyes.
Not too long after, I’m at the cafe with Callie. Apparently, when she suggested meeting up for tea, she meant actual tea and not, like, the inside scoop on the local goss. Which is a huge letdown, not gonna lie. We get seated, and the waitress takes our order. I get chamomile, and Callie gets oolong.
“Is Gavin coming?” Callie asks.
I shake my head. “He’s making kimchi with my mom.”
“Oh, okay.” Callie tries to pretend she’s not disappointed, but the frown on her face tells me otherwise.
Neither of us has addressed the elephant in the room, so I decideto rip the Band-Aid off. “I know he’s my brother and all,” I start slowly, “but I’m also your friend, so I hope that whatever happens between you two doesn’t make things weird between us.”
She sighs, relieved. “I’m so glad you said something. I didn’t know how you’d feel about me and, you know, your brother.” She peers up at me shyly.
“Are you kidding? I wanted this to happen.”
“What a relief. I was worried I’d have to choose between you two, which would be impossible because I like you both so much.”
“But, like, in different ways, right?” I wiggle my brows suggestively.
Her face grows a darker shade right before my eyes. “Elena!” She slaps me playfully. We laugh.
“Of course I’d never make you choose between us. That would hurt me as much as it would the both of you,” I explain. “Gavin and I have never had mutual friends before.”
“Really?” The pitch in her tone is one of genuine surprise. “You two get along so well when we’re together, like it’s natural to be in the same social circle.”
Thinking back, I realize she’s right. “I guess we do get along.”Now.
The teas arrive, and while we wait for them to cool down, we go over the new products we’ll be bringing with us to the farmer’s market next Saturday. After the rave review I gave Jean on her lavender bath salts and sachets, she’s working on making a small batch to take with us. Dr.Blaire can make a big tub of honeycomb ice cream but is still working on the lavender-honey combination, since Jean was tied up concocting the other items.
“Maybe we can bring your mom’s kimchi with us instead. Gavin told me she’s made more than your family can eat.”
“What a great idea. I’ll tell her. She’ll be so thrilled.”
“It’s so exciting to see our booth expanding.”
I see this as a segue to suggest my other idea of selling my gently used, name-brand clothes.
“I love the idea of having a section for clothes.”
“Really?” Callie’s enthusiasm for my idea exceeds my expectations. “I’d rather have the profits go to the beautification fund rather than a consignment store. But if it’s okay with you, would it be possible to split it fifty-fifty? It’s just that I want to buy my parents an anniversary gift, and I want to surprise them with something nice,” I add, feeling the need to come up with an explanation.
“Of course you can,” Callie says. “And that’s sweet that you want to surprise them.”
“Er, yeah.” I shift uncomfortably at the lie.
“How long have they been together?”
“Twenty-five years strong,” I say. Although, after last night, I’m not so sure how strong they are.
“Speaking of relationships, that reminds me.” Her expression changes. “Last week at the lab, Brennan mentioned there’s someone he’s interested in.” She presses her lips together, arching her brows high.
I gasp. “Who, me?”
“No, Gavin,” she deadpans, then slaps my shoulder playfully. “Of course you!”
“Do you really think Brennan has a crush on me?” I ask skeptically. “I mean, there was a time I thought he might have been flirting with me,” I admit to Callie. “But when I noticed that Brennan acts that way with everyone, not just me, I realized it must be his personality to be overly friendly. If anything, I thought he was interested in you more than in me.”
“There’s no way,” Callie says, not entertaining the thought for a second. “We’re like family. Besides, Brennan said it was someonenew to the town. I checked the county registrar’s office. Your family is the only one that moved here in the past three months, so it can’t be anyone else.”
