Eliana sighed loudly. “Our neighbor texting me about their booth almost running out of product seems odd?”
“Well . . .” Jesse huffed. “When you put it that way–”
“Bugs!” Milo’s voice rang out, cutting through their hushed conversation as he waved them in towards the Busy Bea booth. Zoey and Abby ran forward to consider the options, but Eliana approached at a slower pace, her warm smile stretching further when Jesse stepped forward into her line of sight, his expression furious. Even Bea broke her conversation with a customer to take in the scene, her eyes narrowed.
“Bugs?” Jesse repeated, his tone flat.
Milo laughed, stepping around the booth. “Did you not tell him the story already?” Milo asked in a faux whisper before dropping a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “I was out doing maintenance with the bees Monday when Eliana discovered thebedbugsituation.” He lowered his voice as he continued, “Don’t be embarrassed, it’s super common to pick up parasites in hotels. But you certainly don’t want to keep the bloodsuckers around once you discover them. I helped Bugs here drag out the mattress to burn.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jesse said, staring down at the hand on his shoulder. Eliana bit back a smile, suddenly unsure why she’d ever wanted to put this off.
“Oh yeah.” Milo nodded. “It was a great time. We never really had the chance to chat before. Turns out we have a lot in common.”
“Like what?” Bea asked, incredulous, abandoning her customer entirely.
“Oh, you know . . . a shared distaste for vermin in our bed.” He winked at Eliana. “And similar career interests.”
“Career . . . interests?” Jesse repeated, his gaze jumping between the two of them. “Elly doesn’t work.”
“Well, I do now.” Eliana smiled. “Thanks to Milo. We got to talking about jobs, and I was telling him how much I’dalways wanted to work and, lo and behold, he had a position available as a personal assistant. I’m starting Tuesday,” she said, turning her grin to Jesse, letting her genuine excitement bleed through into her expression. “Isn’t that awesome?”
“I— That’s— Well, are you qualified to be a personal assistant?” Jesse asked.
“Bugs is perfect for the role,” Milo answered, an edge to his voice. “We already talked through her resume. I would’ve thought ahusbandwould be more supportive.”
“Of course I am,” Jesse frowned, his gaze returning to Milo. “A nickname is not very professional, though, is it? I would’ve thought a businessman would know better.”
“Well, given how close our families are, I think we’ll be okay.”
“Not sure it’sappropriate, man,” Jesse responded, quickly losing any pretense of civility.
“You call my wife by a nickname,” Milo answered, one eyebrow high on his forehead. “Should I be worried?”
“Bea isn’t a nickname.” Jesse glanced at the woman in question. “Is it?”
“Obviously.” Milo rolled his eyes. “Her name is Beatrice. Would you rather I call Eliana, Elly?”
“Th— That’sdifferent.”
“In what way? It’s exactly the same thing.”
Abby chose that moment to interrupt, running up in front of Eliana with all the remaining honeycomb bars stacked in her hands. “Mooooom, can I please get them all? There’s only six packs left,please. I’ll pay you back, Iswear.”
Milo laughed, waving Jesse off when he pulled out his wallet. “No worries, we were about to closeup shop anyway. Consider it a signing bonus.” Then he turned back toward the booth as Abby squealed, bypassing a befuddled Bea to lift a giant stack of crates. “Always great to see you guys!” Milo tossed over his shoulder, a moment before he rounded the back of the booth towards the parking lot. “Catch you Tuesday, Bugs.”
14
MAKE A CALL
Omg Mitch—love the jabs, love the nickname, love the energy.
Does thou project too much, Josh?
The AUDACITY. Can’t wait to see these two get what’s coming to them.
Mitch and Bugs <3
The drive home was tense. There was no music. No laughter. It was a complete one-eighty from the ride they’d experienced just a few hours prior.
