Daydream (Maple Hills, #3)(128)

“That was a really long-winded way to say what you meant. You spend too much time with Aurora.”

Russ laughs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know. I’m sorry, I’ll leave the motivational speeches to Nate.”

“Is Aurora mad at me?” The question’s been playing on my mind because Aurora, who normally spends a lot of time at this house, has hardly been here. “I’d understand if she was.”

He thinks about it for a minute, mouth pinching while he considers what he wants to say. “No, is the easy answer. Rory gets that how we would deal with something together is not how everyone else would. I think she just feels very protective of Halle, and maybe a bit guilty? They’ve been in the same classes for two years, and it took you befriending her for her to realize that she called her a friend, but she wasn’t really her friend, I guess?”

“Halle didn’t think she had friends when we met. She told me,” I say, thinking back to when I asked her why she lived alone.

“Yeah. Acquaintances was probably a better word, but Rory borrowed her notes and went to her book club and sat next to her in class, and that’s as far as it went. So yeah, I don’t know if guilt is the right word, but I think she thinks she could have done more before now. So she isn’t mad at you; she just wants the best for Halle. And you, obviously.”

“Is it weird that I miss her?”

“Who? Halle?”

I grimace. “No… Aurora.”

Russ laughs so hard the bed shakes beneath him. “I’m not telling her you said that. She’ll be unbearable. She’s leaving for her girls’ trip in an hour, but I’ll get her to come over when she comes back next week.”

As I reach for my cup of tea, Russ stands from the bed and heads toward the door. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. Not sure what I’d do without you on the team.”

“You made it weird.”

He sighs. “Get over it. I’m going to watch TV downstairs if you want to hang out.”

“I’ll come down after I’ve finished this sketch. Hey, Russ…” Russ stops, holding my bedroom door open. “Not sure what I’d do without you, either.”

“Am I interrupting a special moment?” We both look into the hallway outside my room. “I can leave if you two need privacy.”

Halle’s smiling face is the last thing I was expecting to see today. “I think we’re all special-momented out, actually. It’s really good to see you, Halle,” Russ says, immediately moving out of her way so she can walk into my bedroom. The door closes behind her and I climb off the bed.

Her eyes are bright but puffy. I see the black marks beneath them where her eye makeup has smudged. “What are you doing here? Why do you look like a panda?”

Of all the things I want to say to her and to ask, that’s the first one that comes out of my mouth.

“I’m here for the board meeting.” Her hand reaches into her bag and pulls out the book that I spent hours working on. “I think we need to discuss all the rule breaking that’s been happening. You read my book.”

“There wasn’t a rule about not reading your book,” I say, taking a step toward her. “But I would have broken it if there was. I want to read every word you ever write from now on.”

“There was a huge mistake in the book. Massive one, in fact.”

My heart sinks. I checked it so many times. “What was it?”

She grins. “It said I have a boyfriend. And as far as I can remember, nobody has asked me to be their girlfriend.”

“Hmm. You sure?”

“I can’t believe you made my book a book, Henry.” She holds up the bound novel, taking a small step in my direction. “And you made me an audiobook.”

I nod because yeah, I fucking did, and it was hard as hell. It’s given me a whole new appreciation for all the narrators Halle listens to. I remember the one thing I’ve been impatiently waiting to ask her. “You switched the ending. I knew my guy would come through. But why didn’t you stick to what you planned?”

Halle holds the book to her chest, every emotion I felt reading the book written on her face. “I couldn’t stomach the thought that two people in love might not get to live happily ever after. They deserved a chance.”

I close the gap between us, pulling her mouth to mine. It’s crazed and desperate, the excitement tainted by how long it’s been since we last kissed. Breaking us apart, I rest my forehead against hers while she directs me backward toward the bed, climbing into my lap as my ass hits the mattress. “I love you, Halle.”

“I love you, too. Please don’t break my heart.”

Relief is my dominant emotion right now, because after a month apart I worried if she’d still feel the same way about me. “Never.”

I drag her mouth back to mine, slow and controlled. Patient, as much as I don’t want to be anything close to patient. I want to enjoy that she’s here with me when I thought I wouldn’t see her for a week.

Wait.

Leaning back, I furrow my brows. “What about your flight?”

“I called my mom and told her I don’t want to go. She thought something might have happened, but I was honest and said being there with the Ellingtons will really impact me negatively, and I’m choosing not to put myself through it just to make everyone else happy.”