“And don’t worry about getting out to the yoga studio, Avery will drive us,” Hazel continued.
As owner of the Midnight Blooms flower shop, Avery O’Neil was on the festival committee, but she hadn’t been too involved with this particular event. Beer and flowers weren’t typically paired together, so I supposed that made sense. I’d seen her scribbling in her notebook at the pub earlier, though, so maybe she was taking the opportunity to people-watch and gather ideas for the book she was rumored to be writing.
“That’s nice of her to offer,” I said, bracing myself so my head didn’t hit the window as Elwood sent us careening around another corner. Since I was moving here, I probably needed to think about getting my own vehicle soon. I couldn’t rely on someone else driving me around all the time–especially not Elwood.
“So how are you doing this morning?” Hazel asked. I could hear her knitting needles clacking in the background. “I heard all about your ‘cheers and spread cheer’ drinking spree last night. It’s the talk of the town.”
I knew by the fourth tent we visited that I should’ve stopped saying that when I ordered, but I was already committed by that point.
“Why are people talking about me?” I groaned.
“I heard Gideon was a darling with you,” she said. “Such a good mate.”
Mate. I’d heard a few of the others say that word since I’d moved to town, too. I got the sense it was similar to a boyfriend.
“I heard from Tulip before I rang you,” she continued. “She mentioned something about an investigation. Do you need us to join you?”
Elwood shook his head.
“We’re okay for now,” I said. “We’re just going to take a look at something. I should probably go, actually. We’re almost there. I’ll pay you for the Sip and Stretch thing when I see you.” I hoped this event wasn’t too expensive. I was currently living off my savings.
“There’s no hurry, dear. And keep us posted about the investigation. Toodles.” She ended the call.
“Why would anyone want to do yoga and drink beer at the same time?” I asked.
Elwood smiled and glanced at me like he was waiting for me to say something else. It felt like an invitation, so I opened my mouth and words fell out. “I wanted to talk to you about Gideon.”
“Oh?” He sounded pleased.
“Do you think we’re moving too fast? I just got out of a relationship and…”
Elwood shook his head. “You weren’t in a relationship with that ass in the city. You were roommates who had sex sometimes.”
I couldn’t argue with his definition, although I hadn’t known that’s what we were to one another until I’d found him cheating on me. I picked at a thread on my jeans. “I guess, but I haven’t really known Gideon long, and sometimes I feel like people think I should already be living with him. And that’s confusing me…” I shrugged.
“Is Gideon pressuring you?”
“No. Not him. Although I get the sense he wishes I’d stay over more often than I do. But I’ve also been thinking about the bakery. If I do open one, I could get one with an apartment attached.”
Elwood rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. I could tell that’s what he was doing based on the way his beard was moving. He only did that when he was choosing his words carefully.
Something about his hesitation made me anxious. I wiped my damp palms on my pants as Elwood stomped on the brakes, making the microbus sputter to a stop outside a house on the outskirts of town.
“Is that what you want?”
I wanted to tell him I wanted to move in with Gideon, but it was too soon, wasn’t it?
“No relationship has the same timeline,” he said, as if reading my mind. “There’s nothing that says you have to date for a particular amount of time before taking your relationship to the next stage. You need to do what feels right to you. Deep inside.”
I swallowed. My parents’ advice on dating was completely different. I knew because they’d been very vocal about it when I was a teenager. They had lists about what was to happen on first, second, and third dates. They also had detailed expectations about when people should get engaged and how long the engagement should last. I’d been working my way through those expectations with Josh before everything imploded. But something about Elwood’s words resonated with me.
“You think it’s that easy?”
“For some, yes, I do.” Elwood nodded. “Is that why you haven’t made a decision about the bakery yet?”
I stared out the window. Was that the reason?Huh. Maybe it was. “I’m not sure.”
“Trust yourself. You’ll figure it out,” he said, sounding way more sure about that than I felt. “Now then, we need to get to work.” He nodded toward the house we were parked in front of.
