Page 40 of Hang the Moon
Then she slipped inside the apartment and shut the door, the crestfallen expression on his face more than she could stomach.
Chapter Eight
Monday, May 31
The sudden scrape of the dead bolt caused Annie to jerk her head in the direction of the front door. For a split second, her whole body froze, save for the rapid pitter-patter of her heart.Someonewas at the door. Then the time and place caught up with her.
Darcy was home.
Annie vaulted over the arm of the couch, stumbling on the slightly curled edge of the rug in her haste to make it to the front door. She righted herself against the wall, cringing when her bare toes bumped Darcy’s entry table.Ouch.
The pain in her foot was all but forgotten when the door opened and a slightly windswept-looking Darcy wheeled her suitcase over the threshold.
“Oof.” Darcy froze with her arms at her sides when Annie launched herself at her. She laughed sharply and returned the hug, squeezing Annie back just as tight, so tight Annie ached.But then the ugly, melancholic pressure in her chest let up, because Darcy washere.
She buried her face in Darcy’s shoulder and inhaled the crisp, clean lavender and bergamot scent of Darcy’s shampoo. “I missed you.”
For a split second, she felt like a total loser, getting choked up after sniffing her best friend’s hair, but when she drew back—Darcy’s strong hold, while totally appreciated, made it hard for Annie’s lungs to function—Darcy’s eyes were glassy and her lips were pursed tight, like she was trying not to cry.
Darcy sniffed and tossed her head, flipping her long, coppery hair over her shoulder. “Thirteen months is entirely too long to go without seeing each other.” She lifted her chin up in the air. “Too long.This is my official complaint on the matter. Visit me sooner, next time.”
“I’m not the only one who can hop on a plane, you know.”
Or call, or text, or FaceTime first.
Darcy’s smile slipped, a line appearing between her expertly arched brows. “Annie—”
“I’m teasing,” she blurted, pasting on a smile to soften the bite of her earlier words. “I know you’ve been busy.”
Darcy had had a whirlwind of a year. Packing up her life in Philadelphia, starting over in Seattle. Working her way up the ranks at her new job. Meeting Elle.
Elle had changed Darcy’s life for the better, so Annie wasn’t about to begrudge her best friend’s being busy. Her being happy.
Annie just wished she’d call sometimes instead of Annie’s being the one to initiate nine times out of ten. That was all.
“Busy withElle,” she added, bumping Darcy’s hip with hers.
A hint of color rose to the surface of Darcy’s cheeks. Oh, she had itbad.
Darcy cleared her throat. “I—well.” She dropped her head and laughed, pressing her palm to her forehead. “Yeah.”
Annie’s smiled widened. “Oh my God. You’resmitten.”
Darcy scoffed. “I hate that word.” She lifted her eyes, one brow ticking higher. “That’sBrendon’sword.”
Annie curled her toes in the plush carpet and shrugged. Brendon didn’t own a word. So, maybe it had rubbed off on her. Big whoop. “It’s fitting.”
Darcy made a soft, curioushmm, her brown eyes flitting over Annie’s face.
She fought against the squirmy urge to blurt out that she’d kissed Darcy’s brother. Unnecessary information. Irrelevant.Moving on.
“How was Vancouver?” She wrapped her hand around Darcy’s wrist and tugged her across the room, stopping when they reached the couch. She took a seat, tucking her legs under her. “Come on, spill.”
Darcy joined her, leaning back and crossing her legs demurely at the ankle. “Beautiful. We had a lot of fun exploring. Elle wanted to go see the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre, which is an astronomy museum. They have an observatory and”—she chuckled—“theCosmic Courtyard. They do live demonstrations and you can touch one of the only five touchable moon rocks on the planet. It’s mostly for kids, field trips, that sort of thing, but you should’ve seen Elle’s face.”
Darcy should’ve seen her own face. When she talked about Elle, her eyes turned soft and her mouth curled fondly, her voice taking on this incredibly sweet tone Annie had never heard from her before.
She shoved Darcy lightly. “You’re inlove.”
