“Meanwhile, you might as well kiss Josie. You know you want to,” Janet teased.
Josie blushed, which only made me want to kiss her more. I waited, though. She needed to be comfortable with us being public.
“Janet!” she hissed. Although her cheeks were getting pinker by the second, she was smiling.
Janet gestured her hand around the mostly empty café. I didn’t recognize the family sitting in the corner, so I presumed they were tourists. Although Alaska’s tourist season was primarily in the summer, it certainly didn’t end in the winter.
“Oh my God,” Josie murmured.
I leaned across the counter, holding her gaze, to give her the kiss my body demanded. When my lips met hers, the bell on the door chimed. When I straightened and glanced over my shoulder, Lyle and Kayla were walking in, of all people. They appeared to be in the middle of an argument, and I heard the tail end of Kayla saying, “Shut up, Lyle.”
Josie flushed even harder, but she didn’t look like she wanted to hide what had just happened.
Kayla stopped beside me, letting out a huff as she glanced between us. It was obvious she had seen what happened. She rolled her eyes. “Nice.”
Janet tipped her head to the side. “Really, Kayla? You know better.”
Kayla had the decency to look chastised.
“You ready to go?” I asked Josie.
“Yeah, let me get my things.” She spun around, walking swiftly through the swinging half door into the back.
Kayla met my eyes. She had tried to get back together with me more than once. I’d been blunt. I wasn’t interested, not even a little. It wasn’t about making a point to hurt her, and I told her as much. She’d taught me an important lesson and showed me who she really was. While I did believe people could grow and change, that didn’t mean those they hurt had to carry on as if nothing had happened. I actually felt for her, and we were on civil terms, just as I was with Lyle.
I still thought he was a jerk. He’d also taught me an important lesson. The ones who mattered were decent to you. I’d forgiven both of them, but we’d never be friends the way we were before. They had to deal with one of the downsides of living in a small town. Your actions tended to follow you. I was just a detail in their story.
“How’s it going?” I asked them both.
Lyle shrugged. “We’re going to marriage counseling. It’s not going well.” Kayla rolled her eyes.
I simply nodded. “Well, take care.”
Josie came out, slipping into a puffy down coat and looping her purse over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow,” she called to Janet as she rounded the counter.
I reached for her hand when I released the door behind us. She laced her fingers with mine and smiled up at me. “Well, we did that,” she said dryly.
“Did what?” I asked as our steps crunched on the packed snow of the parking area.
