Page 39 of Downfall

Allie responds immediately and tells us to come to her restaurant so we can chat while she preps for lunch service. Emory offers to pick me up when I tell them about my car situation. I take one last look at Declan and decide to sneak around him to the bathroom. By the time I’m showered and back in my room, he’s gone, and once again I find myself breathing a sigh simultaneously filled with relief and disappointment.

An hour later, Emory and I are sitting at the counter in the kitchen of Daffodil Provisions while Allie expertly debones a fish. Allie is laser-focused, and Emory looks like she’s going to lose her breakfast at any moment.

“You’re really good at that,” I note.

“Thanks.” Allie looks up and notices Emory’s green hue. “Oh no, girl. You are not puking in my restaurant.” Her eyes widen. “Shit. You’re pregnant again, aren't you?”

“Why does your mind immediately go to that?” Emory asks. “You’re literally picking bones out of a fish that still has a head!”

“I don’t know, maybe because you tend to randomly get pregnant.”

“It happened one time!”

“Yeah, and all it took was Luke looking at you the wrong way.”

“Trust me, it took more than that.” Emory smirks, clearly reliving a memory while Allie stabs the fish with her knife.

“Can we focus for a second here?” I interject.

Both their heads swivel to me. Emory looks apologetic while Allie still has a disapproving scowl etched on her face. “What’s going on with you, Sky? You seem…”

“Stressed?” Emory finishes for her.

“I was going to say ‘not like yourself,’” Allie says.

“I’ve had better days,” I admit.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain old flame you accidentally married, would it?”

Emory’s eyes widen. I was right about Allie knowing, but it doesn’t look like she told Em.

“Ash told you?” I guess.

Allie blows out a breath. “Please. I can read that man like a book. Once I knew he had some tea, it was just a matter of getting it out of him.” She slices the head clean off the fish. “Five minutes, and he was singing like a canary.”

If the restaurant business doesn’t work out, Allie would do great in the mafia.

Emory gags, and Allie points the knife in her direction. “Don’t do it, Em.”

“I’m fine.” She waves a hand in front of her face. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on, though? You got married? To who?”

“Declan,” I say, to which Allie adds, “asshole extraordinaire.”

“Oh.” Emory still looks confused. “Ohhhhh.” There it is.

“Ash said you were dead-set on an annulment then suddenly decided to ‘give it a go.’” Allie quirks an incredulous eyebrow at the last word.

“It’s complicated.”

“What isn’t when it comes to men?”

We all sigh collectively as if we’re jaded women well beyond our twenties.

“I’m still confused,” Emory interjects as she slides her hand down to sneak a crostini sitting on a cooling rack on the other side of Allie’s workstation. “How did you accidentally get married?”

I attempt to take a calming breath as Allie slaps her hand away. “We ran into each other at the wedding after-party. One thing led to another…and…you know.”

Emory blinks. “Well that’s vague.”