Page 89 of Merry Mayhem
I look across the café to where Josh and Violet are sitting.
They’re getting up. Together. Just them.
And my first thought isn’t that they’re leaving together because he’s chosen her.Instead, it’she’s going to see if she has a grocery cart we can use to get through this.
“Maybe your metaphor isn’t terrible,” I tell Nora.
She gives me a bright smile. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 18
JOSH
It’s veryeasy to get Violet alone since everyone assumes that I’m her boyfriend and haven’t seen her since her car accident.
I cringe, but I use it.
We need to talk.
As soon as she puts her hand on my thigh under the table at Perks and Rec, I push my chair back and say, with a sweet smile, “Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?”
Violet seems to think that’s a great idea and readily agrees. She leads me over to an area of the café that is all bookcases and armchairs gathered around coffee tables.
There are still too many people, though.
“How about outside?” I ask.
“Sure.” She slips her hand in mine, and I let her lead me out the front door.
I don’t look around to see where Thea is or if she’s watching. It’s been hard enough watching her wait tables, acting as if she barely knows me. We haven’t made eye contact or spoken direct words to one another since we left the football field.
I don’t know what she said to her friends, but I have been getting death glares from Andi. The looks from Nora are more sympathetic, which maybe makes me even more nervous.
“Sorry, I need these,” Violet says, slipping her sunglasses on as we stop on the sidewalk.
“Of course.” I’m aware that we are right in front of the window of Perks and Rec, and everyone inside can see us. But at least they can’t hear us. “I am really glad to see you and that you’re doing well,” I start.
She steps forward and takes my hand again. “Thank you. I can’t believe you’re the one who saved me. That’s amazing.”
I don’t pull my hand away, knowing those optics would be terrible. “I’m glad I was on that same road. But there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Okay.”
“I have had a great time with Merry Mayhem, and I love your family and your town.”
Her smile is wide and bright. “I’m so glad. They love you, too. They can’t quit talking about you. When Harley told me that you’re the one who was there when he had his stroke and that he’s been in touch with you all these months, I just knew this was meant to be.”
I shake my head. “That’s the thing.” I take a breath. “I can’t date you for real. There’s someone else.”
I see her brows lift over the top of the sunglasses. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry. The night we decided to do this, it was really about Sam, and you not wanting to face him alone. We didn’t really talk about what would happen after Merry Mayhem.”
She slips her hand out of mine and tucks both hands in the front pocket of the hoodie she is wearing. “You’re right. We didn’t. I was so focused on the fact that Chad was ditching me, and that this was coming up, that I just wanted to get through the weekend.”
“Yeah, and then when you had your accident, I didn’t want to make any decisions about what I told people or did without you,” I say honestly.
“That’s really decent of you,” she says. “What does your girlfriend think about all of this, though? You helping me out by pretending to be my boyfriend?”
