My confusion deepened. "Know what?"
Kendra’s voice cracked. "That’s... Elon’s favorite cookie." She swallowed hard, tears forming in her eyes. "My late husband’s..."
The car fell silent. Jake’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, both of us now utterly stunned.
Elon. That name hit me like a ton of bricks.
Jake and I had a best friend named Elon who disappeared years ago, back in high school. It couldn’t be the same Elon, right? But what were the odds that her husband shared his name and favorite cookie?
Jake, stuttering, asked the question I couldn't bring myself to ask. "Your husband, Elon... did he, by chance, have gray, almost cat-like eyes, midnight-black hair... and is the ‘Ryan’ in your name his last name?"
Kendra nodded, and tears spilled freely down her cheeks.
My heart sank. "Elon? As in... you were married toourElon?
And he's... dead?!"
Chapter Thirteen
Kendra
It had been weeks since Kendra learned that her late husband, Elon, and her next-door neighbor, Antonio Michaelson, had once been the best of friends.
Yet, despite the passage of time, she still couldn’t wrap her head around why Elon never mentioned it.
Why had her husband kept such important parts of his life from her? And why was she only now discovering that Antonio and Jake, their mutual friend, cared so much about her wellbeing?
Both men had begun treating her like fragile glass since the revelation. At first, the attention was comforting, but now, Kendra found herself growing more anxious. Especially whenever Antonio was nearby.
His very presence wreaked havoc on her thoughts, stirring emotions she tried so hard to bury. Every glance, every brief touch, sent sparks through her body, making it harder and harder to purge him from under her skin.
She clicked away at her keyboard, trying to lose herself in the story she was working on, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Antonio.Why is this happening?She shook her head, frustrated at her wandering mind.
“Hey, Kendra, Mr. Thompson wants you in his office,” Anne's voice broke through her reverie.
Kendra looked up, noticing Anne's furrowed brow as she settled into her desk. “Is there a problem?” Kendra asked, sensing an edge in her coworker’s tone.
Anne shrugged dismissively. “Why don’t you go find out for yourself?”
The snap in Anne's voice made Kendra pause, but before she could respond, she heard Peter chuckle from across the room.
“Is something funny, Peter?” Anne asked, her voice hardening.
“Yeah, the look on your face is. You do this all the time.” Peter leaned back, a grin on his face.
“Do what?” Kendra asked, glancing between them.
“Don’t worry about it, Kendra,” Peter replied, waving her off. “Just go see Mr. Thompson and let Miss Grumpy keep being grumpy.”
Anne shot Peter a scathing look. “Go to hell, Peter,” she hissed.
“No thanks.” Peter laughed, popping in his air pods and ignoring her.
I blinked, bewildered by the exchange. Anne and Peter always had a tense dynamic, but today it felt off. Anne wasn’t usually this prickly.
Shaking it off, I got up from my desk and made my way to Mr. Thompson’s office. Whatever was bothering Anne, I didn’t want to get involved.
I knocked twice before letting myself in. “Good afternoon, sir. You asked to see me?”
