waist. We trudge back up to the house through the snow, with Tess rattling on and on excitedly about how pretty the fire was, so at least I gave her some kind of fun story to brag to everyone she knows about. I always do like to look on the bright side of things.
After we read our bedtime story and Tess falls asleep, I’ll come up with something even bigger and better that will definitely convince her to say yes.
CHAPTER 8
Tess
“Don’t be elfish.”
“Glad to see I’m not the only one who snorted too much Adderall too close to bedtime.”
My eyes fly up to the doorway of the kitchen when Millie walks in, and I set down the book of matches I’ve been lighting, watching them burn down to my fingers before dropping them into the bowl of water I grabbed when I came in here.
“Uh, no. Just can’t seem to fall asleep.”
“Tess, love of my life, will you marry me?”
Shaking my head to get rid of one of the reasons why I can’t sleep tonight, I see Millie walk the rest of the way into the big farmhouse-style kitchen and take a seat on one of the stools across the island from me.
“One time, I didn’t sleep for six days straight, but I was in a South Korean jail at the time, and it’s impossible to get a good night of rest with all that screaming.”
I just blink a few times at Millie, not sure why I’m even shocked by the things that come out of her mouth. Bodhi has told me plenty of stories about his oldest friend, as well as his own crazy stories from when he was traveling the world. Nothing should surprise me at this point between the two of them, and yet, it still does.
“Why don’t I get us some tea, and you can tell me all about why you’re in here alone at three in the morning huffing sulfur without inviting me.” Millie smiles, making me laugh for the first time since I realized that glorious fire outside earlier was actually supposed to be part of a fucking marriage proposal, and not just for funsies.
A fucking marriage proposal I am really regretting not saying yes to. Oh my God, what is happening to me? For fuck’s sake, Tiny Tim!
“Well, for starters, I’m pretty sure I’m dying of a brain tumor, so that’s been fun.” I shrug, wondering why Bodhi hasn’t pushed me out of a window every time I start humming Chopin’s “Death March” whenever his phone rings.
“I thought I had one of those once.” Millie nods, turning to the side on her stool and crossing her legs. “Turns out it was just a really bad three-day acid trip. But it was super scary there for a little while. We’d like two hot teas with honey, please!”
Slowly glancing back over my shoulder where Millie is currently staring off into space after requesting tea and seeing nothing but the sink area behind me, I turn back around and look at Millie with a tilt of my head. Clearly, she snorted more than Adderall, and now she’s seeing people that aren’t there.
“Millie? What are you doing?” I ask gently in case she’s having some sort of breakdown, which now makes my stupid freak-out seem silly.
“I’m ordering our tea.” She rolls her eyes at me. “I don’t know how it works this late at night when everyone is asleep. I always just ask for things, and people bring them to me. Should I ask louder in case whoever makes the tea can’t hear me?”
It takes thirty seconds and Millie opening her mouth to most likely shout her order this time, before my spinning, sleep-deprived head catches up.
“How about I just make us the tea?”
Turning away from her with a sigh, I walk over to the sink and grab two tea bags out of the basket next to it. Not wanting to dig around in all the cabinets looking for a tea pot, I cheat and use the method I do at SIG when someone wants tea. I run the Keurig machine through two cycles without putting in a pod, and in less than a minute, I have two steaming cups of hot water with tea bags steeping in them. Grabbing the bear-shaped bottle of honey from the counter and two spoons sitting in a jar next to it, I turn and set everything down in the middle of the island between me and Millie.
“Do I tip you,