She smiles, the tension immediately disappearing. “Race you upstairs.”
“What do I get if I win?”
“Me,” she says, snatching the bag of goodies and taking off running.
I catch her halfway up, spinning her around, kissing her against the wall. The market bags drop, and an apple rolls down the stairs, but neither of us cares.
“I already won,” I tell her.
“We both have,” she whispers.
And for now, we have apple cider doughnuts and each other.
It’s more than enough.
18
JULIE
Iwake up to find Nick already awake, propped against my headboard, scrolling through his phone in the early morning light.
“Morning,” I mumble into his chest.
“Morning, beautiful.” He sets his phone down, running his fingers through my hair. “Happy October.”
“Mmm.” I stretch against him, then freeze. “Wait. Do you hear that?”
There’s noise outside, like a small crowd has gathered.
I get up and move to the window, pulling back the curtain. My stomach drops. There are at least thirty photographers on the sidewalk. Some are sitting in lawn chairs with coffee from Cozy, like they’re camping out for the day.
“Oh my gosh.” A few of them snap pictures of me, and I step back and let the curtain fall. “Nick.”
He joins me at the window, wrapping his arms around me. “Shit. There’s more than yesterday.”
“Yesterday, there were five. This is …” I turn in his arms. “This is psycho level.”
For the past week, we’ve been followed anywhere we go. Atfirst, it was almost amusing how far they’d go. Several tried to catch us doing something scandalous, only to get pictures of us grocery shopping, holding hands, or trolling them. But each day, more arrived. I’ve been followed to work so much that Nick started walking with me. They’ve waited outside the coffee shop, taken pictures of me while I work, and even tried to interview my customers. Yesterday, one followed my mom to her book club meeting.
As soon as the thought leaves my mind, my phone buzzes.
Mom
DO NOT go to the shop today. I’ve taken you off the schedule for the rest of the month. This is too much, honey.
Julie
Mom, I can’t just NOT work. It’s October!
Mom
I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. Lie low until this dies down.
Julie
This is ridiculous. It’s the busiest time of year!
Mom
