“You wouldn’t be intruding.” She smiles and rocks slowly from side to side. “I’m inviting you, remember?”
And that’s how I end up saying yes.
Chrissy’s house is warm and inviting…and full of several fosters as well as a few permanent critters—Joan of Freaking Arc, her spicy senior cat, a fluffy younger cat named Petal, and a corgi whose name is Athena.
Adorable, the lot of them.
“Chrissy mentioned you were planning a trip for when the season is over?” Rory asks, sinking down next to me.
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Where are you going?”
My lips twitch. “A better question may be where am Inotgoing. I’ve been planning my trip for almost a decade now.”
Ever since I saw a picture of the Acropolis and knew I had to visit Greece.
And the Taj Mahal. And the Great Pyramids. And the canals of Venice, the streets of Paris, the gorgeous fjords of Norway.
Rory grins. “How about where you’re starting then?”
“Switzerland.” I feel that familiar thrill of excitement slide through me, though it’s not quite as all-encompassing as usual. And it has me pausing for a second before I add, “I’m going to do some hikes there.”
She wrinkles her nose.
That makes me laugh. “You don’t like to hike?”
“Nope.” She pops the p and smiles at me. “I like my air conditioning and bug-free spaces, thank you very much. And I’ve never seen the appeal of walking uphill for fun.” Her eyes go wide, worry drifting across her face. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, of course. Just that it’s not for me.”
“Uh-oh,” I hear as Chrissy plops down next to her bestie. “What are you lecturing poor Finn about now?”
“I’mnot lecturing anyone,” she protests.
“Sure.”
“I was just telling Rory about my trip,” I say, wading in. “And my plans to hike in the Swiss Alps.”
Chrissy’s nose wrinkles.
And I smother a grin, suddenly understanding why these two get along so well.
“Where else are you going?” Chrissy asks.
I start listing off my plans, and for the first time, I feel a little pang when I mention leaving at the end of the season.
What will Chloe do?
And Rhodes?
And Olive and Pear?
And me?
What will I do if I’m not cuddled up next to Chloe, making blankets, or sitting with her at the table, coloring? What will I do if I don’t get to see Rhodes walking through the door, a smile on his face as Chloe runs toward him?
Don’t get to see that smile turning toward me?
Don’t ever get to feel his lips on mine?
