Ellie blinked.
“For the two of us?”
“The woman at the store was persuasive.”
“What did she say?”
“Sweetheart.”
“Brutal.”
“I didn’t stand a chance.”
She walked into the kitchen and placed the bag on the counter.
Her gaze moved over the cheese board.
“Wow.”
“That sounded judgmental.”
“No. I’m impressed.”
“You’re lying.”
“You’ve created a small dairy monument.”
“I didn’t know what you liked.”
“So you bought everything?”
“That seemed safest.”
Ellie picked up an olive.
“You know dinner didn’t need to be impressive.”
“It isn’t.”
“There are folded napkins.”
“They came like that.”
“They’re cloth.”
“The cottage is very aggressive about hospitality.”
She ate the olive.
I watched her mouth.
This was a mistake because Ellie noticed things, and now Ellie noticed me noticing her.
Her eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Good olive?” I asked.
“Excellent.”
