I laughed, a little bubble of excitement building in my chest. “Yeah,” I said. “You know, I think… I think Daniela might have feelings for Jade, too. I was kind of getting that idea.” It wasn’t a breach of her privacy if I coached it like I didn’t really know, right?
Cat softened into a big smile. “So we’ve got a plan.”
“I’m in.” I signed yes, and she reached across the table with her hand out like she was going for a handshake. I reached to take it, but she shifted in the last second to a fist, and I tried to fist-bump her, but she moved her hand to dodge mine. “Um… what are we doing right now?” I said, waggling my hand around trying to match her, and she laughed.
“If we’re allies, we’ve gotta have a secret handshake. So I know it’s you.”
“You expect me to have impostors?”
“I can’t tell what you’re saying right now, I’m looking at your hand. C’mon, secret handshake.”
“Oh my god.” I laughed, but I went along with it. Secret handshake. I’d let Cat decide on the details of it.
Chapter 8
Alyssa
By the time we finished up at the café, I had a message from Daniela asking me if I wouldn’t mind grabbing some groceries on my way home, so I made a quick pit stop where I guess I wasn’t too surprised to run into Charlie, shopping after her work ran late. I knew Paxton Ridge was a small town, but I hadn’t expected it to be running into someone you know at the grocery store on your second day level of small-town vibes. But we had a nice chat, and as I was sorting through produce trying to find the best zucchini, she finished up her shop by putting a tomato in her cart and smiling warmly at me.
“You should come to the market on Sunday.”
“Oh. I mean, as far as I can tell, I’m already at the market.”
“There’s a small crafts fair and farmer’s market that happens every other Sunday. Linda and I don’t make crafts like basically everybody else in town does, but we always go to get some local produce and a little treat from one of the booths. Half our home is filled with Nayla’s woodworking sculptures.”
“Is that right,” I laughed. “I guess I can see her doing woodworking.”
“It’s the strong arms and serious gaze, right? Spending some time looking?”
“Oh—no, I wasn’t—” I laughed nervously, my hands up in front of me. I felt myself blushing—I mean—Nayla was pretty, but I wasn’t embarrassed because I was interested in her, just embarrassed because I was interested in… women, and I wasn’t used to talking about that. Charlie raised an eyebrow, a careful smile at me.
“Not your type?”
She was asking if I was queer. I laughed again, a little high-pitched this time. “She’s very pretty, but I… um… I’m not looking to get into something with someone here,” I said. “I mean, you know, I’m only visiting.”
She relaxed, giving me a sly wink. “Mm-hm. That’s what they all say.”
“Oh, let me buy a zucchini in peace.”
She laughed. “If you insist. Enjoy your zucchini. But seriously, consider the market. It’s a big part of the community.”
“I will. Thanks, Charlie. Tell Linda I said hi.”
I sent Daniela a text once I’d checked out and was carrying the bag to the car, and once I’d gotten in the car and started the engine, I assumed the text I got was a response from Daniela, so I checked it cursorily as I put the car in reverse, and when I saw the message, I sucked in a short breath and put the car back in park.
Hey. This is Jade. Sorry to bother you, I asked Cat for your number. You can ignore this if you want to.
Something about it gave me a flutter I wasn’t used to… she’d reached out to me. I could tell from the tone that she felt awkward about it, but she’d pushed through the discomfort to do it anyway, and… I didn’t know what it was, but that stuck with me like I never thought it could happen.
Maybe it was just that she was taking me seriously. I’d gotten it into my head that I was easy to overlook.
What a depressing thought. Was I going to blame that one on my ex, too?
I texted her back.Hey, Jade! I’m pretty sure it’s me who’s the one bothering you, up to and including slapping you in the face, but maybe that’s splitting hairs. Something on your mind, or did you just want to say hi?
That was definitely too forward, too friendly. Almost flirtatious. I didn’t even think it through until I’d sent it, and I winced, but she replied right away.Just wanted to make sure you weren’t driving into any trees.
I laughed, taking the phone off the dashboard mount and settling back in my seat. It was getting late, and I needed to get the groceries back to Daniela, but I just wanted to take one little minute to talk to her first.You tried telling Cat off for giving me a name sign about falling trees, but I think you might be worse than her.
