Page 22 of Markets & Mooncakes

"Well we were in the kitchen..."

"Naturally."

"Do you want me to tell you or not?"

"Sorry, go on." She cuts herself a piece of cake and starts to pull it apart with her fingers while she waits for me to go on.

"I got a feeling."

"What kind of feeling?"

I consider back to the kitchen. "I think it kind of felt like feelings rushed down to my stomach," I say. "And when I thought about it later, it happened again, but I think it felt like it went...elsewhere."

"I'm not sure I want the answer to this, but what caused it?"

My cheeks heat. "Just, something."

"Mysterious."

"But I didn't think that I felt like that," I say. "I mean, I don't most of the time."

"Was it something you thought about? Something you did? Something Nate did?" The way she looks at me makes me think that she's hearing the most interesting thing imaginable right now.

"I suppose it was something Nate did, but not on purpose. He wasn't trying to do anything."

She shrugs. "I don't think it really matters. It sounds like your body was just responding."

"Oh. That makes sense." I frown. "What do I do about it?"

"What do you want to do about it?" Veronica asks.

"I don't know. Should I tell Nate?"

"If you want to," she responds. "And if you don't want to, then you don't have to."

"That's not your usual advice. You normally tell me to talk to him about things." I pick up a piece of cake and eat it while I think about what she's saying.

"Then what do you need me for?" Veronica jokes.

"I'm serious about needing help," I respond firmly.

She picks up her wine glass and takes a sip before setting it back down. "And my answer is serious. But you're right, I do think you should talk to Nate about it. You should decide how you feel about it first though. Do you want to act on the feeling? Or do you not want to act on it? He deserves to know where he stands when it comes to the two of you...well, you know."

"I don't know," I say, trying my best to keep a straight face.

Veronica's eyes widen. "Don't make me say it here, Evie. You know what I'm talking about, you..."

I burst out laughing, causing more confusion to rush over her face.

"You're so mean," she murmurs.

"I couldn't help it. I don't normally get to fluster you." Amusement is dancing around within me. I know it's silly for me to tease her like that, but she gets to do the same thing to me all the time, it feels right to give some of it back on the rare occasion that I can.

"Well, consider me flustered." She takes another drink of wine. "And you're not getting any more advice tonight. You're going to have to make do with what you've had already."

I don't think that's true, mostly because she does seem somewhat amused by my problems half the time. "I appreciate your advice," I promise. "But you've successfully distracted me."

She laughs. "Not on purpose. There's just not much to say. Sometimes people just catch my attention in a way most people don't. I suppose that's what happened with Lady Sun Jinglan."