“Of course!” she echoed, her tone so bright that everyone in the room knew she was overcompensating, even her. “We’ll plan a whole day together soon, after you’ve rested. We’ll figure out things that everyone will like. It will be so, so, so much fun!”
That was at least one “so” too many. Eleanor didn’t know what was worse: keeping smiling like she was doing or giving up and melting through the floor.
“That sounds great, Mom,” Jeremy said, stepping forward to brush a kiss over her cheek. “Is it okay if I go upstairs and grab a shower and a nap? I feel like I’m all gross from the plane.”
“Yeah, of course,” Eleanor said in that same goofy, cheerful tone. Goodness gracious. “It’s right up the stairs. Bathroom is the first door on the left, guest room is right across the hall.”
“Great, thanks,” he said, lifting his duffel and slinging it back over his shoulder. “Garrett, nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Garrett said. Did he sound gruffer than usual, or was it just his regular gruffness? Eleanor couldn’t tell. She’d lost all perspective on this thing.
Jeremy went upstairs, and Eleanor felt herself deflate.
“Was that terrible?” she asked her boyfriend, leaning back more heavily against him now that her son was out of the room. “I feel like I was acting so weird.”
“It wasn’t the most normal I’ve ever seen you,” Garrett admitted, his tone tinged with fondness as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “But it’s okay. He’ll understand.”
“Ugh,” Eleanor said. Then, she leaned her head back so she could look at him upside down. “Any chance you want to go grab lunch even if Jeremy is out of commission?”
He gave her a rueful look. “I really should make some more progress on that barn door,” he said. “Sorry, babe. I’ll see you later, though?”
“Yeah, yeah, go,” Eleanor said, trying to hide her disappointment. It wasn’t either Garrett or Jeremy’s fault that she had cleared her schedule without consulting them first. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Probably late,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t plan on me for dinner. Just have a nice time with your son.”
She forced a smile. That was all that she wanted, but this first meeting hadn’t gone exactly the way she’d hoped, and that made it tough to be optimistic.
“We will,” she reassured him anyway. “Good luck with your carving.”
He gave her one last absent wave as he headed out the door, leaving Eleanor standing all alone in her immaculate bookshop. There wasn’t even cleaning for her to do to distract herself, and there wasalwayscleaning to do.
She decided to take one last pass at the shelves, just to be extra certain… and to distract herself from the disappointment that rose inside her like the tide.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Levi had spent so much time thinking about June over the past few days since their date that, when she appeared before him on the sidewalk, he halfway wondered if he had conjured her on sheer wishful thinking.
“Oh, June! Hi!” he exclaimed.
Wow, Hawkins, he thought to himself.That’s the kind of charm that’s made you a heartthrob on the country music scene, huh?
But nothing about June had made him feel suave or calm, the way he’d felt in all his previous relationships. And that cool had really been tested in these past few days, when he’d been tempted to reach out to her… oh, maybe a billion times.
Still, she had been pretty clear about needing some space the other evening at their dinner. And he wanted to respect that boundary, no matter how much he wanted to know how she was doing. To know how Benjamin was doing. To talk to her. To hear her laugh.
You know, totally normal things to think and feel after going on a handful of dates.
He’d given in to temptation just afewtimes, once to ask how Benjamin was feeling and whether he was still good after hisscare, once because he’d seen a cool train that reminded him of one of the toys Benjamin had shown him. Then, he’d spent about twelve hours panicking that she would think he wasn’t interested in howshewas doing, since both those texts had been about her son, and he had, inanely, texted,Hey, what’s your favorite color?
The whole thing was pretty embarrassing, as far as flirtation went.
And now?Oh, June! Hi!
It was a wonder that he’d ever gotten a date before in his life. With anyone, let alone someone as pretty and interesting as June Caldwell.
June paused right in the middle of shaking out a rug, which she’d brought out the front door to rid of its dust and crumbs.
“Oh, Levi. Hi,” she said. It was basically the exact same thing that he had said, but she sounded really different when she said it. He’d sounded like an eager puppy. She sounded… reserved.
