“You and Andrew looked really cozy on the porch.”
“You were watching us?”
“I wasn’twatchingyou. I saw you when I came back from my walk.”
“Our little adventure earlier today wasn’t enough exercise for you?”
“I went to buy an Ace bandage for your foot. But the stores were all closed.”
A strange kind of warmth seeped through her chest. She wasn’t used to people going out of their way to care for her like that. “Yeah, everything in town shuts down at eight. That was really nice of you, though.” She imagined Zack wandering from store to store, squinting at the locked doors through the storm.
He didn’t answer, and for a second, she thought he’d fallen asleep, but then he said, “What happened to Emerson?”
“Andrew said she was out with friends who live on the island.”
“I guess that answers the girlfriend question.”
“Couples don’t have to spend every second of the day together.”
“No, but they don’t canoodle in the dark with other people unless they’re total shitheads.”
“Do you really think that counted as canoodling?” Olivia’s skin tingled at the memory of Andrew’s hand on her arm.
“Seemed like it, though it was hard to tell in the dark.” A smile crept into his voice. “But, of course, it depends on whether you’re measuring it on the American or European scale.”
“I didn’t realize you could measure canoodling with both the imperial and metric systems.”
“Oh yes. What I saw seemed like a three in European canoodling, and an eight on the American scale.”
“It’s really hard to scandalize Europeans, isn’t it? Especially the Germans. They’re so muchfreerthan us, aren’t they?”
“That Liesl is something else. I’m glad Jonathan warned me about her.”
“Really? What’d he say?”
“Just that she’d probably hit on me, not because she was actually interested, but because she needed assurance that every man around wanted her.”
“He nailed that one on the head,” Olivia said. “It’s fascinating—she’s been like that since she was twelve.”
“Kind of sad, isn’t it?”
“That’s one word for it.”
“I’m a little disappointed I cut her off so quickly. I mean, how far does it go?”
“Dunno. You should call her bluff and tell her you want to try some move you learned in a German sex club. A kaiserschnoodle or something.”
Zack laughed. “A king poodle?”
“Don’t laugh at my sexual proclivities. I thought you were supposed to be the open-minded one.”
“Oh, I am. It’s just that the kaiserschnoodle is too tame for me. I prefer a glockenspieltergeist.”
“So… a glockenspiel ghost?”
“There’s no English word for it. But trust me, your boy Andrew wouldn’t be able to pull it off.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
