Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
KRISTA
Wednesday
Krista leaned against the bathroom doorway, toothbrush in hand, listening to the conversation between Kit and Joe in the kitchen.
Every time she thought about last night, her cheeks warmed and her stomach flipped.
And not just because the sex had been earth-shattering—though, yes, that too—but because of the way Joe had looked at her through the camera, the way he’d held her after, the quiet weight of the trust that had settled between.
Laughter floated down the hall—Joe’s low and warm, Kit’s higher-pitched and animated, already halfway into a story.
Krista padded barefoot down the hall, ponytail messy, nightshirt hanging down to mid-thigh.
“So then,” Kit was saying, “she leans in and tells me—she kept my hoodie all these months because it still smelled like my shampoo.”
Joe’s laugh was a deep, delicious rumble. “Let me guess. You immediately forgave her.”
“I immediately took her shirt off.”
Krista snorted and stepped into the room. “Sounds like you had a good night.”
“That it was,” Kit said, sighing contentedly while going back to slicing strawberries.
Krista poured herself a cup of coffee and settled onto a stool at the counter while Joe and Kit worked together.
Joe moved around the kitchen like he’d always been there.
It did something to her chest, watching him use her spatula and her skillet while Kit moved on to the bacon, recounting every detail of her reunion hookup.
This was the dream.
And she didn’t want to blink and lose it.
Before she could spiral, a soft knock sounded at the door.
Krista slipped off the barstool, coffee in hand, and went to see who it was.
“Robyn,” she breathed, opening the door, a smile instantly blooming.
Her sister stood on the stoop, a weekend bag slung over one shoulder, hair pulled into a low knot, glasses slightly fogged from the humidity.
“Hey, stranger,” Robyn said.
Krista launched herself forward and pulled her into a hug. “You’re here.”
“Finally,” Robyn whispered into her shoulder.
Pulling back, she looked her over. “You look…good,” Robyn said slowly, eyes narrowing just a bit. “Suspiciously good. Glowy.”
Krista rolled her eyes and stepped aside. “Get in here.”
Breakfast was loud and cozy, filled with overlapping conversations. Kit peppered Robyn with questions about her semester as a lecturer at Yale and whether the food was Ivy League caliber.
“If not, I’d love to make some suggestions. Imagine a consulting gig like that. Or a trendy restaurant for academics. Challenging? Absolutely. But I’d be down.”
Robyn asked Joe about his favorite places he’d photographed. He regaled them with tales from the road.
Krista mostly soaked it in, filling plates, topping off coffee, feeling that fragile, greedy part of her stretch toward all of it.
She was grateful for this moment. And grateful it was Wednesday; the Hideaway was closed, and Joe had insisted on helping out at the campground today, which meant she didn’t have anywhere to be.
Joe checked his phone as if reading her mind. “I should head to the campground,” he said, setting his mug in the sink. “I told Walt I’d be there before ten and my editor is expecting a call.”
He grabbed his keys from the hook and came around the island to where Krista stood. For a second, the room faded—Kit rinsing plates, Robyn sipping coffee, Frankie sniffing hopefully at the floor.
“Text me if you need anything,” he said quietly. “I’ll swing by your grandparents’ cabin later, see if Gram needs anything.”
“Okay,” she said. She wanted to say more, something annoyingly big like I like this , I like you , but her throat felt thick.
He must have read it anyway. His hand brushed her hip, squeezing lightly, and he dipped in to kiss her, quick and warm and sure. This wasn’t a casual hookup kiss. Not something you gave someone you planned to forget.
“I’ll see you later, Queen Bee,” he murmured.
“See you,” she managed.
Then he was gone, the front door clicking shut behind him.
Silence stretched for three seconds.
Robyn rested her hip against the counter, mug cradled in both hands, eyes bright and amused.
“So,” she said. “That’s Joe. ”
Krista blew out a breath and pressed her palms to her cheeks. “That is Joe.”
Kit snickered. “You should’ve seen her face when he first walked into the Hideaway. She spilled her drink right in her lap.”
“Not true,” Krista said.
“Very true,” Kit shot back.
Robyn tilted her head. “He seems good for you.”
Krista’s chest pinched. “Yeah,” she admitted. “He is.”
“And you’re not even pretending to be embarrassed about that,” Robyn added, nodding toward the living room.
Krista frowned. “What do you mean?”
Robyn raised a brow. “When I walked in, there was a lens cap on the coffee table and what I am ninety percent sure was your underwear half-hidden under the couch cushion.”
Krista groaned and dropped her forehead to the counter with a thunk. “In my defense, my brain is still mush from the phenomenal sex.”
Kit whooped. “That’s my girl.”
Robyn laughed, soft and warm. “You’re happy,” she said matter-of-factly. “I haven’t seen you like this in…ever, maybe? I’m going to pretend not to be jealous.”
Krista lifted her head. “Robyn…”
“I’m kidding,” Robyn said quickly, though her smile didn’t quite stick. “Mostly.”
Krista’s eyes narrowed. “To be fair, your bar is pretty low. Don’t even get me started on Professor Beige Cardigan.”
Robyn barked a real laugh. “He wasn’t beige. He was…aggressively navy.”
“He was aggressively privileged,” Krista said. “And our parents were practically building a bridal registry the second they heard his last name.”
Krista’s stomach tightened remembering his smarmy smile, the way he talked over Robyn like she was an eager grad student instead of a brilliant professor. “You were always too good for him,” she said flatly. “And his family acted like you should be grateful he noticed you, which is…insane.”
“Yeah, I spent too much time with that man-child.” Robyn’s gaze flicked toward the living room again, toward the lens cap like it was proof of a different universe. “Maybe I should find my own travel journalist?”
Krista straightened, Robyn’s words landing somewhere tender. “It might not last,” she said automatically. “He leaves in two days. We’re going to try the long-distance thing, but who knows…”
“Mhm,” Robyn said, unconvinced. “And until then, your underwear will keep lighting up whenever you hear his voice.”
“I hate you,” Krista said without heat.
“No, you don’t,” Robyn replied. “You’re not even embarrassed, and you shouldn’t be. It’s okay to want something that isn’t on your to-do list.”
That shut her up.
Because Robyn was right. She wasn’t embarrassed. Not about the lens cap, or the beard burn on her neck, or the way her heart had leapt when Joe kissed her in front of her sister like it was the most natural thing in the world.
But she was terrified.
And for once, it wasn’t because she was failing someone.
It was because, sitting here in her tiny kitchen with her best friend rinsing plates and her little sister watching her like a particularly interesting case study, Krista had to admit she wanted something just for her. Something that didn’t make sense.
She wanted this. Joe in her kitchen. Joe at the campground. Joe in her bed, her life, her future.
She only prayed that he’d come back to her after his next assignment, which he would be leaving for any day now .
And she just prayed that he wanted her enough to make this work even when he was halfway around the world.
Robyn bumped her shoulder again, gentler this time. “Hey,” she said. “It’ll work out. You don’t have to figure it out this second.”
Krista huffed out a breath. “I know.”
“Good,” Robyn said. “Because I fully intend to drag you to the bookshop in an hour and interrogate you about everything. I can’t do that if you’re busy spiraling.”
Kit pointed a spatula at her. “And I fully intend to get more details about this phenomenal sex later, so hydrate.” Kit gestured to Krista’s coffee cup.
“Fine,” Krista said. “Bookshop. Interrogation. Maybe a honey latte on the way. And Robyn, just so you know, it was the best I’ve ever had. I’m allowed to glow about that.”
Robyn clinked her mug lightly against Krista’s. “Then glow away, big sister,” she said. “We’ll figure out the rest later.”