Page 19 of The Dangers of Daydreaming

“I was probably just teasing you because you liked it so much.”

“When were you not teasing me?” The comment was lighthearted, but the way she watched me was not. Her eyes flicked between both of mine as if looking for a specific response. It couldn’t be that serious, though; I was just reading too far into things.

“On February 30.”

She shook her head, the hint of an eye roll in that one expression. “You know your humor hasn’t changed since you were in junior high?”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I grinned at her, and to my utter shock, she actually smiled back.

But thenshe started up the stairs, veering to go around me. “I should get back to work.”

“You know, you missed our outing to the beach, and even if it doesn’t have to do withAnne of Green Gables, exactly, you should know the island to plan a travel itinerary here.”

She stopped on the stair just below mine, mouth pinched in thought. “Huh. That’s not a bad idea.” She looked shocked.

I smiled at that, but didn’t say anything, letting her finish her train of thought. It was the right move, because a moment later she nodded.

“Yep. You’re right, I have to factor in a beach trip during my time here.”

“I have an hour right now and there’s a path behind the B&B down to the beach, if you want to go.”

“You’re taking this personal tour guide thing a little seriously.” She sounded wary, as if she didn’t trust my motives.

I wouldn’t trust them either. “What’s wrong with wanting to help an old friend?”

“I’m not sure I would have called you so much a friend as a menace.”

“Aw, we’ve already reached the terms of endearment portion of our relationship? What should I call you? Pain in the—”

She cleared her throat.

“No?” I asked. “Maybe Carrots, then?”

“You know, Anne didn’t like that nickname.”

“Yeah, I know.” And before she could get too frustrated with me, I stepped down the stairs, gesturing her towards the back of the B&B. “Come on, I’ll show you the beach.”

Obviously, I had worn her down with my charisma, because she followed me without complaint. Soon we were walking side-by-side down the narrow dirt path to the beach. You had to walk through the orchard to get to it, which blocked this area from view, but we always told residents about the trail or showed them ourselves. The beach on the other side was small, but charming, and essentially unknown from the rest of the island.

When we came out of the tunnel of trees onto the pebbled shoreline, Lucy stopped and sighed.

“Pretty, huh?” I asked.

“Looks like it could come straight from a storybook page,” she said.

“Are you surprised? An entire series of classics was written based off of this island, of course we have our picturesque locations.”

Her lips together, she tilted her head to the side again. “I guess I never expected them to live up to the hype, you know?”

I didn’t know, really. But I did know that our little island was beautiful; it was one of the reasons I was so happy to have my job here, with no need for things to change. Every day was different; even the sights I’d seen hundreds of times could still be breathtaking and enjoyable to visit one hundred and one.

And now everything might change if Gram and Pops sold the business. I’d have to take a hard look at my future. My stomach twisted itself into knots.

Lucy was picking her way along the shore, just out of reach of the water's lapping edge, her head swiveling back and forth as she took in every inch of the place. As I watched, she pulled out her phone and typed something into it, looked up, then tapped again.

“What are you doing?”

She spun, as if surprised to see me there. Was I so forgettable?

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