Eliana chewed her lip, drawing Milo’s gaze to her mouth, then she straightened, and his eyes snapped back up.
“Alright. There’s no way I’m finding a better offer right now. But if it’s not working out, if I suck, you have to tell me. Don’t let me make your life harder, please.”
As much as he wanted to argue, Milo nodded. “Agreed.”
“Now I just have to figure out how to tell Jesse about this,” Eliana mused. “Though, I wonder how long it would take him to notice if I simplydidn’t.”
Empathy flared on her behalf, knowing Bea only caredabout his career to the extent of how much she received from his check, but he took a page from Eliana’s book and shoved the emotion down, covering it with an evil smirk. “Well . . . if you’re open to suggestions . . .” Milo hedged, “I’ve got an idea.”
13
BUGS
Jesse was all smiles as he drove them into town for the fall festival Saturday morning, singing along toGoldenat the girls’ demand—though, Eliana acknowledged, the K-Pop soundtrack was certainly a step up from their recent obsession with the Backstreet Boys.
Eliana wasn’t about to pretend that she wasn’t a diehard BSB fan, with an eternal soft spot for AJ, but after Zoey had excitedly turned onI Want it That Way, and told her mom that she just had to listen to thisold classicfrom thenineteen hundreds—Eliana simply couldn’t enjoy the music any longer without becoming annoyingly conscious of the chronic ache in her right knee.
And yet, she’d caught herself hummingSoda Popwhile washing dishes just that morning. It was catchy.
Giggles filled the car while Jesse attempted to hit the high notes. Eliana plastered on a forced smile, shaking her head ruefully at the girls’ hilarity as they begged him to stop. His caterwauling did bear a remarkable resemblance to a dying cat.
“Fine. Not a single one of you appreciates true talent.” Jesse laughed, turning the volume down with a pout as he parked. “We’re here anyway.”
“Thank God!” Zoey cried, leaping out of the car, Abby close on her heels. Eliana didn’t hang around for discussion, leaving Jesse looking around in confusion at the suddenly vacant vehicle.
He caught up with them at the fairground entrance, muttering as they handed over their tickets for admittance. The line was long, but moving efficiently. Beyond the entrance, there were three separate paths, diverging at ninety-degree angles from one another, before curving into the distance with booth after booth lining the sides. There were clothing, jewelry, and craft vendors. Soaps and flowers and farm stands with fresh vegetables and baked goods. The pavilions at the back were surrounded by food trucks, and beyond the noise of the crowd, Eliana couldjustmake out the sound of an ice cream truck singing the song of its people.
It would’ve been a perfect day if Eliana weren’t conscious of the fact that somewhere within the crowd, Bea was stationed with a selection of her most popular honey products. Last year, she’d set up shop towards the south end of the field.
They’d need to cross paths at some point if Milo’s plan was going to work, but when Eliana stepped out onto the path, she turned north. There was no rush.
Once they joined the flow of the crowd, Jesse moved to walk beside Eliana, extending an arm to wrap around her shoulders, but she skirted the touch. She jogged forward to stand between Abby and Zoey and ask what they wanted to do first.
The girls made a beeline for the mechanicalbull at the center of the grounds, then they strolled around for hours, perusing booths and snacking on treats. For the most part, Eliana was able to avoid Jesse, putting all of her focus into the girls; that is, until her phone dinged and she pulled it out of her pocket, smiling when she saw it was Milo.
Milo
Are you still coming by? Almost out of honeycomb.
Abby was the only one interested in honeycomb—but Eliana could read between the lines. A warning that once their booth ran out, they’d be packing up and clearing out.
“Elly, why are you smiling? Who’s texting you?” Jesse asked, bending his head sideways to see over her shoulder.
The message was innocent enough—they’d agreed to keep any of their . . .side projectreferences out of their phones. And yet, her fingers were quick to turn the screen off before she slipped the phone back into her pocket with a shrug of utter nonchalance.
“Milo.”
“Milo?” Jesse repeated, his nose wrinkling like he’d smelled something sour. “Ourneighbor,Milo?”
“That’s the one,” she said before turning to Abby. “Hey, the Busy Bea shop is almost out of honeycomb. We need to get moving if you want some.”
“Ah!” Abby gasped, grabbing Zoey’s hand and dragging her down the path.
“Wait, why would Milo be messagingyou?” Jesse continued, his voice tight with frustration. “Where’s Bea?”
“I’m sure Bea is busy running the booth.” Eliana shrugged, fighting the urge to snort, knowing that Bea would surely be socializing while Milo did all the actual work.
“It just seems odd.”
