Eat Crow (Cheap Thrills 6)

The smile on Ava’s face dropped. “What are you going to do if you don’t get the job?”

I’d thought long and hard about this before making the call to the school in Boston and the company moving my things. “If I don’t get it, I’ll set up a business as a tutor while I help Dad out with the business.”

The smile on her face this time was immense. “So we get you back no matter what.”

“Looks like it.”

Squealing, she clapped her hands together, then gave Logan a gentle shove. “We’re getting her back.”

“‘Bout fucking time.”

There was a chorus of chuckles from behind us again, only this time it looked like the whole department was there, watching the show playing out in front of them.

“That was eloquently put,” a guy I recognized as Garrett snickered. I’d met his girlfriend Tamsin, who worked at Piersville High, yesterday when Tabby had invited me out for coffee during their lunch break, and he’d been in the area and dropped in to join us. Then, looking at me, he added, “He’s a man of so many words. I don’t know how you can resist.”

Logan shifting beside me, brought my attention back to where he was glaring at them all.

“So, that’s the update,” I said lamely, figuring now was the best time to remove myself from the awkwardness of it all. Then, remembering the other thing I was here to do, I dug around in my bag until I found the clump of keys he needed. “Here’s the spare set of keys for the house because your one is only for the front door. I marked the front door with red nail polish, the back door with green, the garage with pink…” I trailed off when he started laughing as he inspected them.

“I’ll figure it out, but thank you for narrowing it down. Jesus, how many keys did Lawrence need?”

The answer was: fourteen, that’s how many were on the keyring I’d given him.

“If it makes you feel any better, the one I’m carrying around has six more than yours.”

“What the hell are they for?”

“My best guess is windows, doors, old door locks, probably a couple of the boxes in the loft, drawers—”

“He’s got a spare for my grandpa’s place,” he interrupted. “I couldn’t tell you which one it is, though, but just in case you get a call one day saying he’s locked himself out and no one with a key is nearby.”

“I’ll be ready and waiting for that call, but warn him I won’t be around until Tuesday, so not to do it before then, or he’s kind of screwed.”

Chuckling again, he tossed the mass of keys in the air and caught them, wincing as they hit his palm.

Checking my watch, I realized time was getting on, and I had to go through the final instructions if I wanted to get any sleep before the flight.

“You guys are taking the furniture out over the weekend, right?”

“Right. We’re going to put as much in the garage as possible, then we’ll store the rest of it at Ren’s place. He doesn’t have plans for the space for a good five months, so he said not to panic about sorting it out. Did you put the Post-It notes on the stuff you wanted to stay in your bedroom?”

“It’s only the bed, side table, and the drawer unit that needs to stay, but just in case you develop amnesia between now and then, I stuck pink ones on them.”

“I’ll make sure they’re left behind. If you need anything else, though, just call or text, and I’ll get it sorted out,” he promised, taking a step closer.

It felt awkward with all of the eyes on us as he leaned in to hug me, watching us like we were the best entertainment since the television was invented.

And then it got more awkward.

Just as I leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, he turned his head to do the same, meaning that our lips pressed against each other instead of hitting our intended targets.

I’d been mid-blink when it happened, and when my eyes shot open, I was looking straight into his shocked blue ones. No doubt our expressions were identical, and if you couldn’t guess what that looked like, imagine a total what the fuck one, times two.

I didn’t know what to do, but later on when I was on the plane, I’d smack myself on the forehead and wonder why I hadn’t pulled away immediately. On the tail end of that, I’d wonder why he hadn’t pulled away immediately either.

But, at that moment, we stood there for a good minute, neither of us pulling back.

That was until choking noises from the peanut gallery reached us, and like a fool, I pressed my lips harder against his and made an exaggerated “mwwwah” noise.