19. Skylar
Chapter Nineteen
SKYLAR
I was silently mortified. There we were, talking about mac and cheese out of the box with ketchup.
Even though I’d never had it, that would’ve been the equivalent of a gourmet meal for me growing up.
When I was a kid, condiments could make something crappy taste better.
Not that mac and cheese out of the box was crappy.
The meals Daphne made were out of this world for me. I didn’t even know how she did it.
“This is amazing,” I said between bites once we were eating.
Daphne smiled over at me. “Thank you. Cat did most of the work tonight.”
“Thank you,” I offered to Cat.
She cast me a quick smile. “Everything I know in the kitchen Daphne taught me, except the basics.”
Nora chimed in, “None of us are that great at cooking.”
“At least I’m not alone in that,” I said lightly.
“None of us can meet Daphne’s standards except for Cat now,” Elias said with a grin. “We’re all just grateful.”
“I’m surprised you moved out and don’t come for dinner every night,” I said.
“It’s a drive and—” He cast a quick glance at Cammi, the look in his eyes intense and intimate. “I had my reasons for moving, and they were worth it.”
Cammi blushed slightly before leaning over and pressing a kiss on his cheek. “I’m grateful I’m worth more than Daphne’s food, but I understand,” she teased.
“It’s close,” Elias teased in return before taking a bite when she nudged him with her elbow.
I couldn’t help but experience a pang of envy.
This was a kind of envy where I wished I had that.
Somehow maybe someday I would. Of course, that brought to mind that I’d said yes to having dinner with Tucker.
That was only two days away with tonight being Wednesday.
I wasn’t counting. Okay, maybe I was. I’d been worrying over it ever since I’d said yes.
Between stressing about that and trying to forget the kiss and the way more than a kiss, I had too many things to think about when it came to Tucker.
My thoughts bounced against each other, jostling my anxiety.
I recalled the thing Jolene had on her desk.
It held a row of hanging silver balls. They would bounce against each other quietly.
That was how my thoughts felt when it came to Tucker.
They repeated themselves, bouncing from one to the next, leaving me unsettled, flustered, worried, anxious, and so many things. All the things.
“Have you seen Risa recently?” Cammi’s voice reached me.
I glanced her way. “I run into her here and there. Our schedules don’t align, except when she has evening events at the gallery.”
“Have you been to any of those?” Daphne prompted.
I shook my head quickly.
“You should go. She has hors d’oeuvres and drinks. It’s nice,” Cammi added.
“Doesn’t it cost money to go?” I asked. I was forever counting pennies and dollars. The lifelong habit of avoiding anything that cost money was deeply ingrained in me.
Daphne and Cammi replied simultaneously, “No.”
Cammi looked puzzled, and I felt foolish. “Oh, I assumed it would.”
“The event is free, but the goal is for her to sell artwork to everyone who’s enjoying their free food and drinks,” Cammi said matter-of-factly.
“Go if you can. She has them once a week. Sometimes, she does it over at Misty Mountain Café, and we do an extra art display. All of the art on the walls there is for sale.”
“It is?”
Cammi nodded as she smiled. “Yep. Tell you what. Let’s meet at the gallery. Not this week, but next week.”
“We could have girls’ night after,” Daphne interjected. “We’ll all come down. It’s not the same night as yoga, right?” She looked over toward Gemma, who shook her head.
“Those gallery events are late enough that you could come over too,” Daphne added.
“Absolutely, I don’t offer late yoga classes,” Gemma replied. “I’d love to do that.”
I was surrounded by women who ran their own businesses—Gemma with her yoga studio, Cammi with her two businesses, and everyone at the lodge here. It made me wonder about my conversation with Ludie. I really needed to scramble up the nerve to talk to Susie.
“Well?” Cammi prompted.
“I’d love to go. Seeing as I live above the gallery, it’s easy,” I replied.
“You can meet us downstairs as soon as the art night starts,” Daphne offered.
“What exactly happens at art nights?” I asked.
“People walk around and look at the art, and it’s an excuse for them to drink, eat, and gossip,” Daphne said with a grin.
“Do the guys go?” Cat asked.
“No,” Flynn and Elias said while Grant shook his head.
“I’ve never been,” Tucker offered.
“The guys could go, but that would kind of ruin the girls’ night thing,” Cammi said.
“What if we want to go?” Diego teased.
Gemma nudged him with her elbow. “You can’t.”
“I feel left out,” Grant said.
“Can I come?” Cat asked.
“Of course, but you can’t drink,” Daphne replied.
“I’ll be the designated driver,” Cat offered.
“Freaking perfect,” Gemma announced. “You can drive all of us.”
“I won’t need a ride because I live upstairs,” I said.
Just then, I felt Tucker’s eyes on me and glanced over. Heat was banked in his gaze, and it felt as if electricity crackled in the air across the table. I looked down at my lap and wondered.