Chapter 20 #2
Bloom leans back, fanning herself, and I’m pretty sure I’m in The Twilight Zone. “Well. My oh my.”
“Dibs,” Paris growls at her. “My muse.” She flicks her straw at Bloom, flinging tequila all over us.
“Seraphina already called dibs.” Autumn pouts. “He’s my new bestie though.”
Robin chuckles, his freckled face turning scarlet.
I shove my fingers in my ears, singing some rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle.” “Can’t hear you.” I can, in fact, hear them, and no amount of pretending I can’t hear them is going to work in this situation.
Robin tugs my hands free. “Relax, Wren.”
“Ugh, they are all fawning over you like you’re a Chippendale.”
“Tried it once.” Mirth dances in his eyes.
I stand far too fast, knocking my chair down as I march over to the bar and swipe the extra bottle of tequila.
“Now you know what it’s like for me watching you and Arlo make googly eyes at each other.” Autumn puts a finger in her mouth, mocking a gag reflex.
To spite her, I don’t use a shot glass and eye her while taking a swig from the bottle.
“Oh no! Why?” Autumn hops up, runs over to me, and swipes the bottle from my hands, spilling tequila everywhere. “That’s the good bottle.”
“You are trying to torture me,” I point out, while I shudder as the tequila makes a slow path to my stomach. I need a lime.
“Of course I am.” She pushes me back to the table, where I slouch in my chair and give my brother the evil eye.
“How long are you staying?” I ask, shutting everyone up.
I should have known better. Bad Wren.
“I don’t know. How long are you staying?”
If looks could kill, my brother would be ash.
“There is a lovely little apartment over by the pond,” Bloom inserts, but it doesn’t help, and not for the reasons she would think.
It isn’t the B&B. There’s no graveyard over there.
“You can move in with Arlo above the garage,” Autumn chimes in.
I throw a nacho at her, which she expertly dodges.
“Yeah, sis, what’s the plan?” Robin shovels a whole nacho in his mouth, then crunches down, scattering bits of chip everywhere.
“I feel attacked,” I grumble, sipping my drink, though the shot warms my blood. It’s a good thing one can only walk in this town.
“That’s because we are attacking you,” Autumn reasons without an ounce of shame, making my brother’s eyes dance in delight.
Yeah, I need to separate those two.
Bloom, ever the peacekeeper, rubs my shoulders. “Don’t mind them, honey, we just adore you and want to keep you.”
“I like story time,” Paris chimes in, slurring her words a little, her pitcher almost empty.
“You are about to get cut off.” Kenzie moves the pitcher out of the way. “Now, Wren. Sure, you ended up here by accident, and it’s been three entire weeks. You have a job, one you can keep, and I’m sure you can find an apartment. Plus, we’ve already accepted you as one of our own.”
“Not to mention your car—” Robin elbows Autumn so hard, she doubles over in pain.
“I think I’m going to stay,” Robin announces.
“Can we make him a statue for the asparagus festival?” Paris asks over the cloud of stunned silence.
“What?” I turn to Robin, my stomach bottoming out. It isn’t like him. Okay, that’s a lie—he’s insane and spontaneous, and this is absolutely like him.
But here? Now?
“I like it here. Feels right.”
“Bestie!” Autumn coos in such a fake saccharine sweet voice, it makes me gag all while she hugs Robin fiercely.
“Yeah, I think I’m going to go apartment hunting tomorrow. Kenzie, any bachelor pads available?”
I rub my temples. “When did you even meet Kenzie?”
“Earlier when I went job hunting.”
“How did I miss this?” I screech. It’s too much, it’s all too much.
“Aww, you were at work, and Lark and I went for a walk.” Robin shrugs like it’s no big deal. It’s a lie—it is a big deal.
“The resort.” I’m grasping at straws, but I know he already made up his mind.
“I have a plan for that.”
“No.” I point to him. “Your plans are always dramatic, and you always get hurt.”
“Aww, don’t worry, sis.” He side hugs me. “I won’t break a single bone this time.” He turns to Autumn. “Need a gym teacher?”
“Seraphina would love that.” Autumn rolls her eyes. “Right now, there isn’t a single gym teacher. Do you have a degree?” From her tone, it’s obvious she doesn’t really care about the degree, she just wants to hassle him.
“He does actually,” I grumble. How is this my life right now? “Robin, can we talk for a moment?” I’m already standing and walking across the bar to the opposite side of the U.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he says, and I swear they all swoon.
I flop into a booth, banging my head against the back of a vinyl seat. I don’t even give Robin a second to sit before I’m hissing, “What are you doing, Robin?”
“I’m sitting in the bar. What does it look like I’m doing, Wren?” Though his body language is casual, there is a stiffness to him that wasn’t there before.
“Robin, you can’t just move here.” I rub my temples, regretting the sugar in my drink already.
“Wren, look at me.” I gaze up at my baby brother, my eyes pleading for him to give me something truthful, something real. His announcement is too much of a shock for my overstimulated system. “I miss you, okay? I should have stayed after Eric died. You needed me, and I wasn’t there.”
I go to open my mouth, but he shakes his head.
“Let me finish.” He darts his eyes over at the ladies in the corner. “Despite what you think, it isn’t about the attention. This is about you and Lark.”
“Robin, we aren’t staying.” But even as I say the words, I feel the lie on my tongue.
“I know you, Wren. E ven the parts you don’t want to admit exist. I know you.
” He grabs my hands, giving them a gentle squeeze.
“This town could be your new beginning. Don’t stay for a guy.
Don’t let Arlo be that deciding factor. Let your heart judge.
Look at apartments with me after story time on Wednesday. Explore with me and see how you feel.”
“But Maine…”
“Will always be there. I can see it in your eyes, Wren. This town calls to you, but you, my dear sister, just have to listen.” He lets go of my hands and leans back in his seat. “You are my home, Wren, you and Lark, and it’s past time I remedy our distance. Where you go, I go.”
“That’s a lot of pressure to put on me, Robin.” Again, my fingers find the grooves in the wood, broken and splintered like me. Yet this table found a home in this bar.
“No Wren, the decision is simple, you just have to make it.” He knocks on the wood a few times before getting up. “Come on, I’m not done crashing ladies’ night.”
“I swear if you dance, I’m out.” I let my little brother pull me from the booth and drag me back to the girls, where we laugh and carry on like teens.
Robin wasn’t wrong—I feel like this is home. Now, the question is, will I allow myself to look past my fear?