9. Rosie

Chapter 9

Rosie

Besties Chat

Charlie : Did you finish the book?

Rosie : Last night.

Charlie : And …

Rosie : A guy has an existential crisis, so he leaves his entire family to explore a new life in New York City, falls in love with a selfish woman he cheats on (she dies), makes connections with an old college frenemy who he betrays for a promotion (frenemy also dies). And finally after a natural disaster leaves our hero powerless in this world of money and prestige he’s created for himself, he finally recognizes the futility of finding meaning in life, accepts that he feels no regret for his life’s decisions, and swears to the absolute necessity of stepping on people in the grand pursuit of self. (And then he dies.) The end.

Charlie : So pretty much the same plot as last month’s book?

Rosie : Hey. That one was about a woman, not a man.

Charlie : You’re right. So, so different.

Charlie : Why do we go to this book club again?

Rosie : The grand pursuit of self, of course. And Max Eriksson.

Charlie : *eye roll emoji*

Rosie : He can’t help it that he’s brilliant and sensitive and handsome and that he’s stuck here in Winterhaven.

Charlie: Gag. I love you. But gag.

Charlie : Hey, can you tell Dylan to answer my text.

Rosie : Yeah, no. That’s not going to happen.

Charlie : I can’t believe he didn’t tell me he was moving back home. What about cousin code???

Rosie : I have no cousins, and know nothing about this code of which you speak.

Rosie : Speaking of cousins, though, I finished Pride and Prejudice last night. I’ll bring it for you tonight.

Charlie : First, HOW is that speaking of cousins? And second, better put it in a brown paper bag so Max doesn’t see that you read romance.

Rosie : It’s a CLASSIC. (And didn’t they marry their cousins back then?)

Charlie : It’s still ROMANCE. (And I think they did, but GROSS.)

Rosie : I’ll come by your house before book club. I have a plan. (Dylan might be cousin-marriage worthy.)

Charlie : *groan* I don’t know if I should be scared or excited. (I’m going to pretend I never read that last part, you sicko.)

Rosie : Both. (hehe)

Sleeping on the futon had been less than ideal.

Dylan finding me asleep on the chair downstairs (wearing one of Bennett’s fishing excursion company’s fishing shirts, crumpled and unwashed) … I’d rather not think about that.

Falling when I was trying to make my escape, and having Dylan spy my Great Works of Art underwear? The sooner all the parties concerned could scrub that from their memories, the better.

I breathed in the scent of my familiar apartment. Though the scent wasn’t so familiar anymore. A deep, masculine not altogether unpleasant smell (like pine mixed with roses), filled the space now.

Lizzy was asleep on her bed in the corner, curled under her heated blanket. I’d meant to grab it last night before I left Dylan to my apartment, but he’d looked so tired (and okay, cranky, and I knew from years of brothers in that mood that it was best to just leave him be until he got some good sleep) that I’d kept my mouth shut.

She must have sneaked in while I was showing him the apartment, and he let her stay all night. I knew he secretly liked her. The Beast had a soft heart after all.

I went into my room first to get my suitcase and packed it full of all of my clothes. I packed my Kindle, so my books could stay, except for Pride and Prejudice . I had plans for that book. I grabbed my favorite pillow from the bed—leaving my full body pillow for Dylan—and snatched the only-one-in-existence, softest blanket in the world, which I’d stolen from my brothers’ cabin last time I was there.

One step into the bathroom made me realize that the Great Works of Art underwear flashing incident was the least of my problems. My bras dangled like pink and nude party banners from the door handle and towel hook, a pair of full-cheek coverage silk panties was crumpled in the corner, and an open, super-size box of tampons sat on the counter right next to the half-eaten bar of dark chocolate with almonds.

At least he couldn’t see my “Make Me Sob” playlist on my phone, or he’d have a real good idea of how my day was going before he showed up yesterday.

It took a few trips, but I moved most of my things to the evil-twin version of this apartment next door. I hadn’t given Dad my tips from last week yet, which meant I had a little extra money for a bed. I’d decided sometime last night while trying to fall asleep on a chair that the right thing to do was allow Dylan to stay in my nicer apartment until his lease was up.

I texted my brothers for some suggestions for mattresses and was inundated with links. Everything from Haydn recommending the bed he and Lia used (which was a fifteen-thousand dollar mattress. I’m sure it was like sleeping on a cloud of money) to Jules reminding me that I had a futon, and hadn’t I just claimed that futons were the best invention in the world?

Bennett came through for me, as usual, and I ordered the bed he linked.

The town was beginning to stir, and I needed to get the shop open before the cruise ships docked.

Charlie and I hid in her bedroom, avoiding Lily-livered, who had just come home from work. Well, I was avoiding her. Charlie loved her cousin and wished we could just get along, but in Charlie’s perfect world, everyone got along.

Lily was singing Lia Halifax’s latest song at the top of her lungs as she got into their shared shower. Who had confidence like that? Really. I’d love her if I didn’t hate her so much.

“Did you kick my mailbox down again?” Charlie called to where I stood in her closet, debating on a suit coat or not. One of Charlie’s newest foster dogs was sprawled out on the rug by my feet. This one looked like a mix between a husky and a wolf.

“I kicked down Lily’s mailbox.” Satisfaction rippled through me. It really was the little things.

“It’s my mailbox too.”

“There are consequences to rooming with a bad person.” Besides, I knew for a fact that Charlie had her mail sent to the post office, so it didn’t affect her in the slightest. “Someone keeps fixing it.”

“Yeah. Me.”

I cringed. “Sorry,” I said, opting on not wearing the coat. It might look professional, but sweat stains were not sexy.

Charlie eyed me as I turned back and forth to recheck my appearance in the mirror on the closet door. “Is dressing like this necessary?” Gone were the cut-off shorts and hoodie I usually lived in.

Instead, I’d pulled together an outfit perfect for an intellectual night. And an intellectual guy. Which required me to raid Charlie’s closet, since she had all the professional and boring clothes a gal could want.

She tilted her head at me. “Don’t change yourself for him.”

“I’m not. This is just a more polished version.”

Black slacks with pleats. A black and white striped silk shirt that wrapped around my waist and tied in the front. A pair of black pumps. Tiny pearl studs in my ears. And my hair slicked back into a respectable bun. I’d even borrowed a pair of Charlie’s computer glasses and perched them on my nose.

I looked at least ten years older, in a good way.

“Remind me again why you like Max?” Charlie asked as if reaching deep for patience.

I held up a finger to tick off each point. “His good looks, his deep thinking, his generous soul, and his amazing curveball. Plus, he’s not going anywhere.” Maybe the biggest point in his favor. People couldn’t wait to leave Winterhaven behind, but Max’s family was generational. The thought of being with someone so stable was more attractive than I could explain (without looking like more of a weirdo than was readily noticeable already.)

Max was the exact kind of guy no one expected someone like me to get. Where I was artistic, he was bookish. Where I was late and scrambling all the time, he was early and overly prepared. Where I accidentally broke the law here and there, he was straight as an arrow. But opposites attract all the time. And if Max and I got together, it would prove to the whole town (and my brothers) that I was more than the quirky Rosie-shaped box they’d put me in. Being with Max would legitimize me—as a true Winterhavenian and as an actual, responsible adult.

Plus, I can’t overemphasize how cute his half smile is.

“All things he knows about himself too,” Charlie muttered. I pretended not to hear; I liked confidence in a guy. She took a deep, fortifying breath and rallied. “I’m afraid to ask, but what’s the plan?”

I sat beside her on the bed and took Pride and Prejudice from my purse. It had been tabbed and highlighted over the last few weeks—which was a large part of the reason the apartment hadn’t been ready for Dylan. Priorities, and all that.

“Jane Austen was a genius.”

“Okay …”

“There’s a reason her books have remained popular for so long and have been adapted into some of my favorite movies. Clueless, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Austenland, Bride and Prejudice —” I could keep going, but a glance at the clock told me that we were running low on time. Making myself look like Max’s English professor dream-girl took much longer than I’d anticipated.

“I love those movies too,” Charlie said, her eyes alight with hope. “We should skip book club and rewatch Clueless .”

For a split-second, I was tempted, but I shook my head. “No, we have to focus on the big picture. Project: Ardent Adoration.” The idea had come to me when I’d fallen head-over-heels, instantly in love with cat-Lizzy. I’d pulled out the book that night and started reading as if Pride and Prejudice were a textbook on how to make a guy fall in love with you. I was Elizabeth—the free spirit who spoke her mind and adored her family even when they drove her crazy. And Max was Mr. Darcy—the intelligent, aloof man who didn’t always fit in with the local community because he was meant for greater things.

Would Elizabeth change how she dressed for a man? Probably not. The metaphor wasn’t perfect, but close enough.

“What is Project: Ardent Adoration?”

“I am so glad you asked.” I opened the novel. “It’s a series of steps one must take to guarantee someone of a certain personality falls in love with you. Specifically, to help Max recognize his love for me.”

“So what’s step one?” Charlie not-so-discreetly rolled her eyes, but they glittered with excitement too. There was a reason we became best friends right after I moved to Winterhaven. Charlie was up for almost anything, even if we disagreed on my determination to get with Max. She said he was a snob, but I suspected that he was just reserved. Which was why he required a bit of a push.

“Are you willing to pretend to be sick so we have to remain at the bookstore for a few days?” I asked.

“I live less than a mile from the bookstore. We have cars.”

“I’ll name our first child Chuck after you.”

She leveled me with a stare. “Someone could literally carry me home if I got sick. This isn’t regency England, and I’m not Jane.”

“How committed to this plan are you?”

“Zero percent.”

“Fine.” I huffed, even though it had been a long shot that she’d agree. “I have a back-up plan.”

“I’m afraid to ask.”

I grinned. “Oh, you’ll see.” But I was getting ahead of myself. The back-up plan was step two. Step one, like all good plans, was all about reading.