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She looked away with a sigh, a soft flush tinting her cheeks. “Maybe I am. Or maybe I want to make sure I get a perfect, clear vision of how obnoxious you are, so I don’t end up accidentally missing you once I’m gone. Who knows?”

I felt my stomach swoop, my heartrate picking up. I didn’t know why, just—it felt like I’d just been pushed off an edge and was gliding, not knowing if I’d drop.

But Harper wasn’t going to issue a challenge to me and escape unscathed.

I sat back in my chair, crossing my legs, and I said, “Please. I know you’re going to miss me so much you’ll be staring longingly at my picture all day every day.”

“I don’t plan on even having a picture of you.”

“I’ll send you one. And you can pine over it.”

She furrowed her brows. Come to think of it, maybepinewasn’t the right word. I didn’t want to imply there was anything romantic between us, even after—well, things. But whatever. I’d never bothered with getting the words right.

“Forget that,” I said, waving her off. “We’re starting the bucket journey. Tell me something you’ve always wanted to do in Bayview.”

She looked away, frustration and relief in equal measures on her face at the change of subject. “Get some peace and quiet.”

“Great! Where should we get some peace and quiet?”

She put a hand to her forehead. “I was referring to… never mind. Hell, I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.”

“What? Oh my god.” I pushed the dishes away from her place and I sat on the table facing her. “I gave you all of yesterday to think about it!”

“I was avoiding facing reality.”

“Well, reality’s knocking, and her name is Paisley! C’mon, give me something.”

She shrugged wildly. “Shit, I don’t know. Floating campers? Like the kind Ms. Connelly rents out?”

“Great!” I jumped down from the table, taking her hand and tugging her out of her chair. “It’s a date. Let’s go right now.”

“Pais—for crying out loud, I got about two bites of my food!”

“I forgot about the food.” I dropped her hand, sitting back on my side of the table.

Chapter 9

Harper

Ms. Connelly gave me a warm smile, standing up from the rocking chair she had by the window in the colonial-style bungalow shop and heading over to the register.

“Harper,” she said. “Getting out of the house a bit, are you?”

“Yeah, well… it’s spring, so you know. Starting to come alive a bit more.”

She hummed, waking up the tablet the register was on. Ms. Connelly was a woman in her late seventies, with the most adorable perfect old-lady perm, straight out of Golden Girls. She’d had a divorce just four years ago with the man she’d been with all her life and had just resigned herself to being with, talking herself down for the longest time that she was too old to start over, but she’d been pure sunshine ever since. She’d bought this cozy little house by the water and set up the sunroom as a rental shopfront for water equipment, although it was usually quiet here—I think she liked it that way, just getting to sit under the hanging baskets of flowers and read her mystery novels.She always outpaced Nancy on reading goals, and I knew from Anders that Nancy had an eternal grudge against her for it.

“Well, it’s good to see you,” she finally settled for saying. “Oh, I forgot to mention—the strawberries and cream cake, it was delicious. Nick loved it.”

“Your son was in Bayview?”

“Just for that weekend. You know, I keep trying to convince him to live here full-time, but he’s on about his nice house in DC… always trying to one-up the neighbors. Well, if I can get him to keep trying your cakes, that might just do the trick.”

Well, that would hardly work when I had one foot out the door, but… Ms. Connelly didn’t need to know that. Or—she kind of did, because she was a pretty regular customer too, but it was so much easier to tell myself I’d take care of it another day. “I’ll keep an eye out for nice houses that are up for sale. Then he can impress his neighbors here.”

“You’re a peach. What can I get for you, then?”

“Oh, er.” I scratched my head. “I’m looking to rent a floating camper.”