“No. I was reading. Are you making a midnight picnic?”
“I am.”
“I’ll help.” She slides right in, picking a paring knife for the fruit. “It’ll be nice to have you back in the house tomorrow.”
Vega’s still working in a quiet room. The crew will be back to spend their final night here, so I’ve got one more night in a cottage full of memories. Wanda is in the house tonight, like she’s been since she took over for me, but I’ve never really needed close protection here on the farm. Tomorrow, when the film crew departs, she’ll take off, too, and my bodyguard days will be behind me.
So it goes.
“I’m looking forward to my own room,” I say, but there’s wistfulness in my tone too. Yes, I can’t wait to return, but I did love sharing that small space and that one bed with Banks.
“But it’ll feel odd with everyone gone.” Grandma studies the big kitchen. It’s clean and neat, like it was when Banks would stroll by in the morning. He must have cleaned up this afternoon. The thought makes my chest hurt.
“I’ll miss the coffee cup fairy,” she says, then turns to me. “And you?”
There’s no point in denying it after I told her everything that happened in the last few days. “I will.”
She sighs thoughtfully. “Maybe tell him before he goes.”
I scoff. “But he made it clear it was over.”
She lifts a questioning brow. “Did he though?”
“Um. Yes.”
She sets down the knife. “Or did you do it for him so he wouldn’t have to?”
“Six of one. Half a dozen of the other,” I say as I set Marcona almonds on the plate.
“Is it though? He told you he fell in love with you. Did you tell him the same?”
I freeze. She’s right. I didn’t say I loved him. And now I wonder if I should have.
49
AN EXTRA PASSENGER
BANKS
Emily helps me, so we’re done awfully fast. I say goodbye to Mom and my sister, then hop in my car and turn up Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The second movement is fast and furious, and with that adrenaline boost, I drive to Prohibition Spirit.
The scene of my big mistake.
Or maybe it’s an opportunity. A do-over. A chance to write my future, moving on from the past.
Inside the club, I quickly find Haven. Marcus too. I head over to the former Marine and clap him on the sturdy shoulder. “Thanks, man. I’ll take over now.”
“You sure?” he asks, his tone serious since he takes his job seriously. “You need me for anything?”
That’s a good question, but I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. “I’ll let you know if I do.”
“You know where to find me,” he says, giving a crisp nod. It’sgood to see he’s not treating me any differently now than he has in the past.
I turn to Haven. “I can’t thank you enough.”
She rubs her palms excitedly, her blue eyes twinkling. “Do I get to plot now? Should we grab a booth in the corner and come up with all the plans?”
“Actually, I have one already.”
