After a shower that had the sad side effect of washing Fern’s smell from his skin, Elliott moped around until he found his phone by the bed. He must’ve left it there Sunday morning—as evidenced by the seven thousand missed messages and calls. Mom, Dad, Danielle, and her family wanted to come visit before tourist season, but it was looking like they’d wait until November. Sure, that was fine with him.
His friend group chat was blowing up with texts flying through.Skimming to get the gist of it, Elliott deduced that he was the drama, again. They all knew something was up because Able got concerned yesterday when Fern didn’t return from her jaunt downriver, and he found her kayak near Elliott’s house.
Even though Adam had scented Fern with Elliott, that hadn’t placated Olivia until she heard from Fern several hours later. Elliott smirked, entering the foray with:
Elliott
I’m back.
Beck
Did you tell her you’re potential mates?
Liv
I’m coming down to look at your collection with Noa
Ren needs to pick new favors, we need your help
Do you have time to make something?
Elliott
Ben, no. Liv, sure, how many?
Able
You really should
Noa
Agree w/ Able. Tell her dude
Liv
Not positive, we’ll get Ren on a call
Sighing, he set down his phone. Making favors for Renata’s wedding would be a nice distraction from whatever the hell he’d gotten tangled upin with Fern Walsh.
He wasn’treadyto tell her, not yet. Things were definitely headed in a direction where he thought he could probably tell her, but... not yet. Definitely not yet.
Olivia and Noa showed up not much later, rolling down the driveway in Liv’s Subaru with some throwback-to-their-youth song playing out of the open windows.
He waited on the front porch, sitting in his favorite oak rocker, trying to enjoy a cup of coffee while lamenting that he had nothing to wear that smelled like Fern. It was probably for the best; he didn’t need Liv and Noa making fun of him. At least he’d sent Fern home in his clothes. Would it be weird if he asked her to wear them a ton before giving them back? Probably.
“Ready for action?” Noa called, hopping out and slamming the passenger door.
“What type of action?”
Olivia closed her door and walked around the front of her car. “Ren needs new favors.”
“You said that. Why? I thought they were doing some sort of keychain thing? They only hired me for vases and oil diffusers.”
“Theywere.” Sighing, she sat on the non-rocking chair opposite him, while Noa claimed the top step and leaned against the pillar. “Scott didn’t like the floral keychains Ren already picked. He said they were tacky and clashed with the rustic vibes.”
“Scott told his fiancée thistwo weeksbefore their wedding?”
Noa side-eyed the story, and Liv pressed her lips into a flat line before saying, “I just want to help her fix it. She doesn’t need the extra stress after her original venue canceled. Do you remember that? What do you say?”
