He tasted like coffee and cinnamon rolls.I inhaled the scent of his skin and the honeysuckle-scented fresh air circling around us and knew I’d do anything he asked of me.
Anything.
“Set it up, and I’ll be there,” I whispered against his lips.
“Thank you.”He teased and tempted me with a hand on my cheek.He withdrew from our kiss, encouraging me to climb onto his lap.His hard length pressed against my hip.
We kissed like we had all the time in the world, but far too soon, he had to get ready for work.With a promise to be in touch about meeting Evie, he carried his tray home and left me to my thoughts and worries.
Josh showedup the following morning with a cup of coffee and a quick kiss, but disappeared almost as quickly.He told me Christy’s dad’s funeral was the next morning, and he wouldn’t be able to meet me for coffee.I already knew about the funeral, but I didn’t count on him being involved.It made sense, though.Christy was on her own, and Josh was her closest friend.He and Oscar, whom I still hadn’t met.
The morning of the funeral, Ashlyn led me to her closet to find something to wear.A funeral was another occasion I hadn’t packed for, and I needed to borrow something from Ashlyn.She had plenty of options, and I ended up choosing a lightweight charcoal dress with purple flowers trailing down the right hip.I added a pair of sandals in the same purple and simple silver jewelry to complete the outfit.I tied my hair up since we would be outside.Coach was so well-known and loved that the funeral was at the local high school.The entire town was shut down for the day.
“Are you ready to go?”Ashlyn asked an hour before the wake was supposed to start.Christy elected to do everything in one day with the wake at eleven, the funeral at noon, the burial right after, then a reception at an event space called Elle’s Place.
“I thought we didn’t have to be there for another hour.”
Ashlyn shook her head.“We don’t, but it’s going to be crowded.And I was planning to walk.”
“Walk?”
She nodded.“It’s about a mile, but parking is going to be a nightmare.”
“Okay.Let’s go.”
“I was thinking of stopping for a coffee, too.Maybe grab something for Christy.”
I smiled.“That sounds like a great idea.I’m sure she would appreciate it.”
“I didn’t eat much the day of my dad’s funeral.My mom ate even less.”
“I still can’t believe you and Christy never really talked before last weekend.”
“She’s a local, and I’m still a camper.It’s different.As much as I want to believe I’m a local now, I still feel like an outsider most of the time.”
“I didn’t know that.You always said how much you love it here.”
She nodded and led the way outside.“I do.It’s home.And I have no plans to leave.But you know how small towns can be.Sometimes it’s hard to break into the inner circle.”
“And you think Christy is in the inner circle.”
Ashlyn scoffed.“The entire town is shut down because of her dad’s funeral.You don’t get closer to the inner circle than Christy Ross.”
I couldn’t argue with that.“I don’t think she has any idea you ever thought she was hard to get to know.It seemed like you didn’t cross paths.”
“We didn’t.We don’t have a lot of opportunities to cross paths.I saw her dad in town sometimes, especially at Daily Ritual.He was usually holding court and talking to everyone who came in.When he got sicker, he stopped going.It was almost jarring to not see him.”
“I wish I’d met him.He sounds like he was a pretty great man.”
“He was,” Ashlyn said sadly.
We walked in silence for a bit.The town was quiet, but thankfully, Daily Ritual was still open.I smiled at Kannon when we walked in.
He smiled at me, then slid a look that looked like desire to Ashlyn before she noticed.He quickly schooled his features into a neutral expression before we moved to the counter to order.
“Roxy for me,” Ashlyn said.She looked at the glass case, nibbling her lip.“Can we get a few croissants, some muffins, and maybe those two danishes?”She turned to me.“What do you think?”
I shrugged.“If you’re right and Christy hasn’t eaten anything, it’ll be good to have options for her.”I looked up at Kannon.“Do you know what Christy Ross likes?We wanted to bring something for her to eat.”
