him or even get serious. But he made it clear on Halloween that he wants to take whatever this is between you two to the next level. Go on one date with him. Give him—and yourself—a chance to get to know each other better. The fact that you’ve maintained a friendship all this time tells me how compatible you are.”
“Like I said, I was really close to saying I’d go out with him.”
Angela motioned toward Roni’s phone and said, “And yet you haven’t even read his text. Don’t you think you should?”
“Might as well. My body is already throwing a party.” She opened his text, and they both read it. Hey, beautiful. Missed you last weekend. I’ve got a few nights this week with your name on them. Hit me up so we can connect. She melted a little inside every time he called her beautiful.
Angela sighed. “He asked you out last weekend? What was your excuse? Cleaning your grout with a toothbrush?”
“He texted over the weekend and asked me to go for a ride on his motorcycle. But I’ve never been on a motorcycle, which made me nervous to start with, and the idea of holding on to him for dear life was too much to handle. I said I had to shampoo my carpets.”
Angela gave her a deadpan look. “Seriously? You don’t even have carpets.” She grabbed Roni by the shoulders and said, “Where is that fearless girl who worked her ass off and went off to Juilliard like nothing could break her?”
“She got hit by a car.” A pang of sadness moved through her.
The sounds of girls giggling trickled down the hall, soothing that longing and filling Roni with happiness.
Another text from Quincy rolled in, and they both read it. Time’s running out to make your move.
Angela lifted her eyes to Roni’s and said, “You’re not going to let him get away, are you?”
Roni’s chest constricted at the thought of losing their connection. “I don’t want him to go away, but I’m too nervous to go out with him. Can’t we just be texting friends forever?”
Angela’s face contorted in confusion. “Let me get this straight. You want to be friends without benefits, and you don’t want to really get to know him? Like acquaintances who text silly pictures and ask about each other’s days?”
“Suits me perfectly! I have to go teach my class.” Roni hurried out of the room, trying to ignore the sour aftertaste of her lie.
QUINCY LEANED ON the counter at Luscious Licks, his friend Penny’s ice cream shop, staring at his phone.
“A watched pot never boils,” Penny said as she wiped down the counter, eyeing him curiously. Her hair was piled on her head in a messy bun, held in place with a straw and a tiny clip, as per usual.
“Trust me, this pot is burning like an inferno.” He shoved his phone in his pocket as amusement rose in Penny’s big blue eyes. People thought Penny looked like a lighter-haired Zooey Deschanel, but when Quincy looked at her, he saw a treasured friend he’d protect with his life, the girl who had taught him everything he knew about friendship. “I just can’t figure out why she’ll text at all hours, but she won’t go out with me.”
“Ah, we’re talking about Roni, the only other girl in Peaceful Harbor besides me who doesn’t want to go out with you, aren’t we?”
Quincy wasn’t immune to the single moms and young women at Between the Pages, the bookstore where he worked, or half of the other women he saw around town, vying for his attention. He just didn’t give a shit about them. At six foot three with a hard body and a face that was easy on the eyes, he was going to have women chasing him whether he wanted them to or not. But as a person in recovery from a drug addiction and someone who ran Narcotics Anonymous meetings, Quincy knew the importance of self-care and surrounding himself with the people who supported his recovery. Fucking random women wouldn’t do a damn thing for the man he strove to be besides reminding him of the guy, and the life, he’d left behind. Roni was a whole different story. She was the only woman he’d ever felt a connection with that ran deeper than friendship, and it wasn’t even something he could pinpoint or explain. He felt it in his bones, as if they were meant to be together.
“She wants to,” he said confidently.