The second he turns his back and is out of earshot, Cassie looks at me.
“You climbed out my window,” she says in a hushed whisper.
I shrug. “You shoved me in a closet.”
Her lips twitch. “You’re wearing my pants.”
“They’re unisex,” I wink.
She lets out a breath, somewhere between a laugh and a groan.
“You can’t do that again.”
I tilt my head. “Which part?”
She hesitates. “Just…maybe we should stay in separate rooms. For now.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Probably a good idea.”
And just like that, it’s not funny anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Four
CASSIE
The café is slammed today.
The line is out the door, every table full, June practically vibrating behind the counter kind of slammed.
“This is insane,” June says, grinning as she hands off a drink. “Do you see this? Do youseethis?”
“I see it,” I laugh, dodging around a customer. “I also see that we’re going to run out of oat milk in, like, twelve minutes.”
“I hired someone,” she says, eyes glimmering like she’s announcing she just bought a yacht.
“Seriously?”
“Part-time. Starts tomorrow. I told you—this is happening, Cassie. Your video? Viral. Like, actually viral. It got picked up by some of the Riverbend town pages. You saved the shop.”
My stomach flips a little.
“Don’t say it like that.”
“I’m saying it exactly like that. I just want to thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“No, seriously. I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“It’s not about the money.”
“Well,” June says, handing off another drink, “you have to make money somehow, right? Maybe this is a new gig for you. Social media consultant.”
I huff out a laugh. “Relax. It was one video.”
“One viral video,” she corrects. “I know at least three businesses that would pay you to do that for them. I’m happy to be your reference.”
I shake my head, but something about it sticks.
