“I told her no.”
“For an hour.”
“Yes.”
“And what happens at the end of the hour?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then answer her.”
“I’d rather talk to you.”
“That’s not romantic right now.”
“I wasn’t trying to be romantic.”
“You’re wearing a woven bracelet and looking emotionally inconvenienced. It’s confusing.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Ellie looked down at her own bracelet.
She did not laugh with me.
But she did not take it off.
I answered the phone.
“Hi.”
“Finally,” Rachel said. “Are you still at the shop?”
“Yes.”
“Stay there. I’m turning into the marina.”
I looked toward the road.
“You’re here?”
“I told you I could have a car at the cottage.”
“That did not imply you were inside it.”
“I left Nashville when you missed your third check-in.”
“You flew to Florida because I slept late?”
“You do not sleep late. You ignore sleep with the same commitment you apply to vegetables.”
“That’s unfair.”
“You had nine missed calls.”
“I was busy.”
Rachel went silent.
