Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
NOAH BARRETT
I drive to Tobias’s house, my thoughts in a jumble. Savannah kissed me. No one else was watching. This has to mean she has feelings for me. Right? Does this mean we’re dating for real now?
I want to ask, but I’m afraid of the answer. Every time I get close, Savannah pulls away from me. I fear she’s going to tell me the kiss was a mistake. So, I grip my steering wheel and keep my thoughts to myself.
As we enter my brother’s house, Skyler comes running up to Savannah. “Guess what we get tonight?”
Savannah crouches down to her level. “What sweetie?”
“Pancakes! My favorite!”
Savannah laughs. “That sounds delicious.”
“Kiki’s going to put chocolate chips on mine in a smiley face!”
“Wow, cool.” Savannah stands up.
Skyler runs off, and she slips her hand back into mine. We’re alone in the foyer, and I so badly want to affirm that she’s okay with dating me for real now.
“About earlier…” I say, my throat tight.
Levi comes around the corner. “Hey, you two. Dinner’s already on the table. The ham is going to get cold.”
“Okay. We’re coming.” Savannah tugs my hand, and we walk through the house into the dining room.
Everyone is getting situated, and I pull out Savannah’s chair for her so she can sit. Skyler beams as Kiki dollops whipped cream for the nose on her happy face pancake. Keira sits next to Skyler, and I’m glad to see she looks good. I can tell she’s been eating regular meals. Everyone else takes a seat, and I notice an empty chair next to Levi.
Before I can ask about the empty chair, the doorbell rings and Kiki grins. “That must be Amelia. I invited her to join us.” She scurries off toward the door.
I raise an eyebrow. “Who’s Amelia?”
Tobias shakes his head. “Kiki met her at the gallery. She’s new in town.” He gives me a meaningful look and leans close. “Kiki’s playing matchmaker,” he whispers, and I wonder exactly what’s going on.
Kiki comes back with a woman who looks she walked off the cover of The Librarian’s Chronical: Reference and Beyond . She’s young, in her early twenties probably, has her dark hair pulled back into a severe bun, and she’s wearing a navy-blue pencil skirt with a suit jacket. The only thing missing are the thick glasses like Cricket wears. I pick up my glass of water.
Kiki puts her arm around the woman. “Everyone, this is Amelia Bishop. She just moved here from Kansas.”
A collective welcome comes from the table. I nod and take a drink.
Kiki points to the empty chair. “You can sit here. By Levi.”
I choke and slam my glass down on the table. Savannah pats my back as I try to get air into my lungs. Kiki’s trying to set Levi up with her? Under what circumstances does this even make sense?
Levi glances at Amelia and gives a polite nod. He grabs the plate of ham and hands it to her. “Would you like some ham?”
Kiki grins like Levi just proposed and all her plans are coming together. “Tell us what brought you to Willow Shade, Amelia.”
She stabs a slice of ham with the serving fork. “I needed a change. I was living in the city, and it was too high stress. My cousin moved here, so I decided to come too.”
“You and Levi are about the same age,” Kiki says. “Are you in college?”
Amelia shakes her head. “No, I graduated high school two years early and finished college at age eighteen.”
Levi shifts in his chair. “You did?”
“Yes. I’m a CPA.” Amelia passes the plate of ham on to Cricket.
“Did you get a job here, then?” Tobias asks.
Amelia presses her lips together and frowns. “Yes, but the company that hired me just had a shift in management, and unfortunately, they let me go. So, if you know of an opening, keep me posted.”
“I’ll keep my eye out,” Tobias says.
Levi turns to Amelia. “CPA. That sounds like so much fun. Doing math all day long.”
I cringe. Math is Levi’s kryptonite. He almost flunked pre-algebra, and I had to help him throughout geometry, and he still barely passed. He hates it with a passion. I’m sure he didn’t mean to be condescending about her work, but it sounded that way.
Amelia bristles. “I happen to like numbers. Math is reliable. It’s always the same.”
Levi quirks an eyebrow. “The same as what? Dry toast?”
Amelia picks up her knife and fork and starts sawing at her ham. “Numbers are consistent. I make a good living from being a CPA. At least I did before…” Her voice trails off. “What do you do?”
I feel bad for Levi. I know he’s sensitive about all the colleges he’s dropped out of, and his minimum wage job at the diner, but he did sort of ask for this with his comments. The whole table looks at Levi to see what he’ll say.
“I’m a sustenance consultant.” He scoops a large bite of pancake into his mouth as I try to hide my smile.
Micah doesn’t care and openly snorts. Cricket kicks him under the table.
Amelia blinks at Levi. “You’re a nutritionist?”
He shakes his head and swallows. “No. I’m more of a culinary logistics specialist. I expertly coordinate the timely distribution of comfort cuisine.” He grins, which is also his go-to. Usually, women swoon when he smiles.
Amelia doesn’t seem affected by his dimple. She squints at him. “You’re…a server? ”
Levi winks at Amelia, his smile widening. “Careful, sweetheart. You keep looking at me like that and I’m going to think you like me.”
I inwardly groan. Levi’s self-defense mechanism is to flirt or be sarcastic, and neither of them is making him look good right now.
Savannah motions between herself and Levi. “We both work at the local diner, Peachy Keen. But Levi’s really great with the customers.”
Levi leans back in his chair. “You know it.” Savannah didn’t mean it the way Levi’s making it sound.
Amelia slowly nods as she gives Levi the once-over. “Yeah. I bet,” she says under her breath.
Things are going from bad to worse, so I change the subject. “Is anyone planning on attending the Fourth of July festivities next Saturday?”
Skyler perks up. “Do we get to see the fireworks?”
Kiki grabs a napkin and wipes chocolate off Skyler’s mouth. “Yes, we’ll go see the fireworks together. I’ll be helping at the gallery this week to prepare. I hear this town goes all out.”
Tobias nods as he cuts a piece of ham. “Downtown Willow Shade becomes a massive street fair for the Fourth. They have a pie-eating contest, and live music on the square. The country club shoots off fireworks over the water. Are you going to attend, Amelia?”
“I didn’t know about it.” She dabs at her mouth with her napkin. “But I’ll ask if I can—” She stops and clears her throat. “I mean, I’ll talk my cousin into going with me.”
The conversation turns to the Fourth of July and all the things Willow Shade does for the holiday. Then Skyler announces that she’s going to tour the kindergarten next week, and the conversation goes on from there. The rest of the meal is uneventful, and soon it’s time for me to head to work.
Kiki stands and starts stacking plates. “Savannah, do you want to stay again for games? I can take you home later.”
Savannah brightens. “Sure.”
“Amelia, you’re welcome to stay, too,” Kiki says.
Amelia stands. “It’s okay. I should probably get going. My cousin is waiting for me.” She pulls her purse over her shoulder. “Thanks for inviting me, Kiki. It was nice meeting everyone.”
Kiki walks to her. “I’m happy you could come.” They leave the room together as Kiki shows her to the door.
Levi smirks. “She’s great,” he says under his breath. “I’d tell her to loosen up, but I think she’d need a formal invitation and three business days to process it.”
Micah laughs, but Cricket whacks his arm. “I thought she was nice.” Cricket turns to Levi. “You were rude to her.”
Levi’s jaw drops. “Rude? Me?” He points to himself.
“Yes, you,” Cricket says.
“She was the one bragging about finishing school early and her high-paying job.” Levi snorts and rolls his eyes. “I bet she writes business plans for fun.”
“You’re just intimidated by her and upset she didn’t swoon at you.” I stand and stack my plate on Savannah’s before taking them into the kitchen. I walk back into the dining room and slip my arm around Savannah. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, before my shift?”
“Sure. And I can walk you out.”
“Thanks.” We walk through the house and pass by Kiki before getting to the foyer. I open the door, and we step out on the stoop. I wave at Amelia as she gets in her car and leaves.
Savannah turns to me. “Hopefully she wasn’t offended by Levi. He takes some getting used to, doesn’t he?”
I laugh. “She was the first woman I’ve seen that didn’t fall to his feet. I think it was good for him.”
Savannah grins at me. The mood shifts, and my gaze dips to her lips. My heart pounds as I think about the kiss we shared, and I wonder if she regrets it.
Savannah looks down. “I hope I didn’t make things awkward between us. You know … earlier.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Awkward? No. I don’t think it’s awkward.” At least, it won’t be unless she tells me the kiss was a mistake. I pray that’s not what she’s going to say.
She raises up on her toes and gives me another quick kiss. I cup her cheeks, thrilled that she’s not taking it back. I want to tell her how much she means to me, but I can only guess that won’t go over well, so instead, I kiss her back, slower and with all the tenderness I’m feeling toward her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I whisper after pulling back.
She nods, and a smile creeps onto her lips. “See you.”
As I get into my squad car, my chest feels too full, like my heart has outgrown the space for it. Savannah kissed me for real. Not just once, but three times now. Our relationship is real. This is what I’ve been wanting for the last seven years.
And I can’t believe it’s finally happening.