Page 53 of Must Love Bees
“Nova,” Halley whispered, grabbing her little sister’s arm before facing him. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” He answered quickly. “Fine.”
“What are we cooking today?” Nova skipped across the room to take Astrid’s hand.
Cooking? She shook her head, still lost in a fog of Charlie. What would have happened if the girls hadn’t come in? But the girlshadcome in. And Nova was waiting for an answer. Astrid smiled. “First, pancakes.”
“Yay!” Nova’s excitement was contagious.
Charlie cleared his throat. “You look pretty, Halley.”
Astrid noticed the sundress the girl wore—so different from the too-adult clothes the teen normally favored.Prettywas the exact right word.
But Halley was staring at Charlie. Her shock would have been comical if it wasn’t so sad.
“You do,” he pushed. Poor Charlie, he wanted Halley to believe him. “I’ll see you at dinner.” His glance darted her way. “Thank you. Again.”
It was hard not to hug him then. He was trying. Which, for Charlie, was a lot. “Of course.” She swung Nova’s arm. “Oatmeal wanted me to come even earlier but I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“He did?” Nova bounced on her toes, then began tugging her to the door. “Bye, Charlie.”
“Have fun,” he murmured.
Neither one of the girls heard him, but Astrid did. She turned back and smiled. “Have a good day, Charlie.”
His dark eyes were pinned on her face. He didn’t frown or smile, he just stood there.
“Let’s go.” Halley pulled the door shut. “Man, it is hot.”
“It is.” Astrid opened the front door. “Here they are, Oatmeal.”
The walk home was eventful. Nova decided to hop from stone to stone all the way back to her house. She hopped, Oatmeal bounding along beside her, while Halley told Astrid about the kind of music she liked. It was almost enough to keep Astrid from thinking about the way Charlie had looked at her when she’d left—almost like he didn’t want her to go.Wishful thinking.
The cold, hard truth was she wanted Charlie Driver to... No, that was it. She wanted him. She wanted his time and his smiles and whatever else he’d give her. She wanted it—him—very much.
“At least I can listen to music on my phone.” Halley paused, pointing. “Who’s here?”
Astrid’s gaze swept over the small group of vehicles. “Dane, of course. Probably Leif and Benji. You’ll like Benji. He’s about your age—super sweet. Maybe Felix. There’s always some Junior Beekeepers underfoot.” The kitchen table was pretty crowded for breakfast.
“Dane’s brother, Leif?” Halley perked up at this.
“Yep. His girlfriend, Kerrielynn, might be here. Where there is one, the other’s not far behind.” Astrid approved.
“I know how that is.” Halley sighed. “I miss Sean.”
“Who is Sean?” This was the first Astrid had heard of Sean.
“He’s my...friend.” Halley glanced up at her. “Charlie freaked out over him.”
“’Cause you were kissing.” Nova had hopped back and was standing on one leg.
“We were not.” Halley shook her head. “We weren’t. He was hugging me.”
Astrid was beginning to understand Charlie’s freak-out. “And Charlie didn’t approve?”
Halley’s look said it all. “Charlie doesn’t get it. He’s not... He’s weird. He’s not into hugging and touching and holding hands or stuff.”
“Mommy said Charlie didn’t grow up with lots of ’fection so that stuff is hard for him.” Nova hopped to her other leg. “It’s not his fault, Halley.”
