He looked embarrassed to have admitted so much, but they hadn’t talked like this since the night she chased Babbity into his yard, and she didn’t want him to stop now.
“What did you talk about the last time you called Hannah?”
He laughed. “Lucy. Hannah thinks she’s a loose cannon. She’ll be thrilled to find out the wedding is off.”
“Really?”
“Hannah is hyper-vigilant about anything that might cause her husband bad publicity. She’d hand-pick a wife for me if I’d let her.”
“And what kind of wife would she pick for you?”
“Someone who’s proper, I guess. Someone who looks the part and has the right connections. Someone my parents approve of. Love would definitely be an afterthought.”
“Is your brother married? He’s the oldest, right?”
“He is the oldest. And no, Robert’s not married.” He smiled. “I don’t think he’ll marry until it’s the opportune time and will help his career in some way.” He must have realized how that sounded because he added, “I love my family, I just… I don’t see the world the way they do. I don’t value the same things.” He turned red. “The fact that I almost married someone just like them… It’s made me take a long hard look at myself.”
Elinor wanted to reassure him in some way; to let him know his struggle was something she understood all too well. She’d made a similar mess of her life so far, but there was nothing for it but to keep going and keep trying.
The car ahead of them slowed down to turn up ahead, and Edward moved to the left lane and passed them. “Your turn. Tell me something I don’t know about you.”
“Um,” Elinor tried to think, but her mind went blank. “My favorite color is yellow.”
“You gotta do better than that, Elinor.”
“Okay, well, help me out here. Narrow it down.”
“Your most embarrassing moment.”
She could fill the next three hours with those. “Nope. New category.”
“Who’s making the rules around here, anyway?”
“We could always go back to talking about you.”
He shook his head. “No, thank you. Fine. Secret talent.”
“My secret talent?” She stretched the words out, stalling for time while she tried to think. “I never get carsick.”
“That’s your secret talent?” He shook his head. “That’s like saying, burritos never make me gassy.”
Elinor burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you just said that. It’s totally not the same thing.”
“It’s close.”
“Well, I’m not secretly a ninja and I can’t sing or dance. So, that’s what came to mind.”
“Your iron stomach.”
“My iron stomach, jerk. What’s your secret talent?”
“Making you angry, apparently.” He looked over at her with his twinkling blue eyes, his laughter absolutely contagious.
She hadn’t laughed this freely in weeks, and it felt so good. “We’ve become too comfortable with each other.”
“That’s not a thing.” He sobered up a little as he looked ahead, watching the road. Maybe he was right. They didn’t laugh enough or let their guard down enough. Despite everything, nobody had banned them from being friends.
Edward smiled. “My real secret talent is that I’ve managed to keep the same pen for five years. And now that I’ve said that, I’m totally going to have someone steal it off my desk today.”
