Page 47 of As They Are
“Keep your eyes on the library,” I replied, shaking my head. “It’s perfect for just me.”
“Come on. You have a house. A good job. What don’t you have?”
Confidence. The ability to be the center of the room and not know it. Things she had. She was a powerhouse, and so out of my league that it hurt.
“I could probably use more sweaters.”
She eyed me. “Something tells me that’s a lie.”
She was right.
After an awkward pause, she said, “Well, I have to go figure out all the legal stuff, but I wanted you to be one of the first to know.”
“Because I broke in with you.”
“Yes, but also because you love it.” She gripped my shoulders tightly. “I can’t wait to see yourfacewhen you get in there. You’re the only one who’ll get to see it from beginning to end.”
“It’s an honor.”
“So, you’re glad you broke the law with me?”
“I am. And I’d do it again.”
Her eyes widened and I realized she was still touching me. She must have realized it too, but she didn’t let go.
I needed to move away, but I couldn’t. We were far too close for friends, yet neither of us made a move to step back into the place we belonged.
“One hundred bucks on this happening in a week!” a male voice yelled. Wren and I sprung apart, only to see Dale had stepped outside of Food ‘n’ Things.
“Two hundred on it already being a thing!” Jade yelled back.
“A hundred bucks on this being a slow burn!” Kerry added. “We can’t forget about Jude!”
“What’re they doing?” Wren asked.
I scrubbed a hand across my face. “Betting on when we’ll get together.”
Her eyes bugged out. “What? But that’s ... not happening. For many reasons.”
“You can’t stop them once they start.”
More people came outside to join the bet. I’d never seen them do all of this in person, and I wasn’t sure whether to be honored or mortified.
“Should I have Mollie say it’ll never happen and become rich?”
I thought of the way Mollie looked between us. “Do you think she’d take that bet?”
“Probably not. What if I created a secret identity and did it?”
“Split the winnings with me, and I’ll add fake-you to the clinic roster to give you believability.”
10
WREN
RWLSuperfan Discussion Central
Neve Bullock:Does anyone have any info on Wren? No one’s spotted her recently and she hasn’t been active on her socials.
