Page 48 of Dear Adam
“You’re a good girl,” I tell her and am rewarded with a few affectionate licks.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Emma asks.
“I think we are putting the finishing touches on Aly’s kitchen,” I tell her.
“You’re welcome to come help if you want,” Aly suggests.
“As fun as that sounds, no thanks,” she says. “I’ve got a hot date with my couch and Netflix.”
“When my cottage is officially done, and it looks fabulous, I just want you to remember you had no part in it,” Aly tells her.
“I’m okay with that,” Emma replies.
I let out a small chuckle and take Aly’s hand as I walk her around the passenger door of her Bronco. She slides in, and I take my spot behind the wheel.
“I can’t believe you’re already driving my car and we’ve only been on what? Two dates?” Aly jokes.
“You have to admit, it’s a much more comfortable ride than the Teenie Mobile,” I say and ease out of the parking space. The Bronco suddenly backfires and I look around, stunned for a moment.
“That happens a lot,” she says with a wave of her hand, as if it’s no big deal.
I get it restarted and navigate out of the parking lot.
“Aly, you really need to get that fixed.” I flip my blinker on to turn left onto the highway.
“I need to get a lot of things fixed with this car,” she tells me. “But with what time and honestly, what cash? Every last dollar I have goes into the cottage or the store. No one prepares you for how expensive being a small business owner is, especially in the early years.”
“I can maybe try to fix it for you, but I don’t know how much I can get done since, you know…I’m leaving soon.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I want to shove them back in. I should’ve known now was not the time or place, especially after just visiting her brother.
“No, it’s fine,” she tells me. “Honestly, after a few YouTube videos, I can probably fix it myself.”
“Aly—” I start.
“Seriously, it’s fine,” she says, cutting me off. She looks out the window, her shoulders sagging.
“When is Glenda going back?” she asks, fogging up the glass with her breath and tracing frowny faces into it.
“She leaves tomorrow.” I hesitate before adding, “She’s actually got a few calls since your last post. She’s putting together quotes for them.”
“Oh,” is all she says, and my heart sinks lower than I thought possible. I reach for her hand. Thankfully, she doesn’t pull away. Pretzel—who’s sitting on her lap—growls, however, which leaves me wondering: am I making the right decision by leaving?
Chapter twenty-two
Aly
“YouknowI’vealwayshad a crush on you, right?” I nearly spit out my sweet tea at Levi’s confession. He whacks me in the back, which only makes me sputter more.
“You have?” I finally manage to wheeze out. We’re sitting on the back porch of my cottage, watching the sun go down, reminiscing on high school and watching Pretzel boss Hank around out in the yard.
“Mhm,” he nods. “I realized you were the girl for me during the soccer game against East, when that girl kept kicking you in the shin so you tripped her during the handshake line.”
“I had no idea it was going to have a domino effect and the whole team was going to fall,” I justify. “How did you know it was me?”
“You were the only one who watched it all go down with your arms crossed and a smug smile,” he laughs. “All your teammates were helping them up but not you.”
“I asked her politely to stop, and she just kept doing it!” I throw my hands up, defensive, but I still don’t regret a single thing.
“That’s when I realized it, though,” he says. “That’s when I realized there was no one else like Aly Bloomington.”
