Page 65 of Promise Me

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

HUDSON

Tourist season is always good for the bar. It’s busy from opening until closing, and I like being busy. I like not having time to dwell on the things I can’t change. I’m fully aware of my obsession with things not turning out the way I thought they would. It’s a great reminder of why I take things day by day.

Although this past week has been interesting, to say the least.

“How is your day going, Boss?” Betty asks as soon as I step behind the counter of the bar to help her with the lunch rush. I’m going to man the bar while she waits tables with Shelly.

“Good.”

“It's just good? I feel like this past week has been overly eventful for you.” She tilts her head to the corner.

The prime spot for sunlight, so I’ve been told recently.

The day after Sadie and I made lemon bars in the bakery, she came down here to the bar, moved a couple of chairs around, and put what she calls her reading chair right where the windows meet in the south and east corners of the building. She’s got a little table next to it with flowers, and there’s a second chairacross from her in case someone wants to join her. I won’t lie, when she isn’t using it, people flock to it. I’ve always had a basic industrial-looking bar. Chairs, tables, longer high-top tables, and the bar top. But her little seating area has been a nice place for those who want to just enjoy a beer without taking up an entire table.

Adding more areas like that wouldn't be a bad idea. More comfortable chairs and possibly even a few couches. Fill the place with more homey vibes.

But I also love that Sadie’s made herself at home here and in my apartment.

It’s a feeling I never thought I'd have again. The ease of living with someone. Going home at night and knowing she’s there makes me feel lighter. Relaxed. The last girlfriend I lived with was nice enough, but Sadie is one of a kind. She doesn’t expect anything from me the moment I step through the door—she just enjoys being around me.

Which is mind-blowing.

Sadie’s officially been crashing in my room for the last week. Every morning, she wakes up early and heads to the bakery. I didn’t follow her today. At some point, everyone needs to give her space to be her again, and right now, as she holds a book in one hand while sipping her iced tea, I can’t help but think the smile on her face means that she’s starting to feel more like herself than she has in a while.

Hell, maybe even before the accident. The fact I’m noticing this is also astonishing.

Maybe it’s the dinners we have cooked together or the fact that she’s just as obsessed withWheel of Fortuneas I am. Hell, these are the most mundane things, but with her … it’s better.

I blow out a breath as I turn my focus back to Betty.

“Things are good.”

“Oh man,” she says with a click of her tongue.

“What?”

“You like her.Like her, like her.”

“I …”

My answer stalls because the Sadie I’ve been hanging out with and the Sadie I grew up with are two different people. This one makes me feel something, yes, but I’m not an idiot. Her memory will come back, and it’s in my best interest not to get attached to this version of her.

I choose to go with “It’s just nice to see a different side of her.”

“Okay. I won’t press the topic.”

Betty moves out from the bar to greet a new table, leaving me with my thoughts as I wipe down the counters.

Sadie and I haven’t done much to help her memory since we made our little agreement. She’s been doing her own thing, which, in my head, is just as important. So, I guess, in a way, I am helping by letting her lead. She’s not stressed when she’s just being her.

That’s the best approach. One that isn’t forced. Then again, maybe I should recommend a few ideas. Her brother and her dad have stopped by. She always seems irritated when Linc leaves, but the look she gives her dad is gentler.

I have no doubt that she cares for her brother, but he can be a bit overprotective. I know that they invited her home for dinner this weekend, but she didn’t give them an answer yet. She’s avoiding her own house because she’s not ready to see how it moved on, and she didn’t. That should be what I help her with next. I just need to find a way to do it.

“I think we need to go to Wind Valley,” Sadie says, startling me and pulling up a seat at the bar with a sigh.

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