Chapter 25

The four of them sat encircling a round iron table in the coffee shop section of the store and ate croissant sandwiches while laughing. Courtney smiled at Jake when he told a hilarious tale about Austin's date for prom and a disaster story about dancing. She thought it a nice reprieve that, for a moment, they could laugh and share without the world weighing in.

Courtney got an idea while they'd reminisced, several actually. When Austin got up to throw out his wrapper, she turned to Jake. "Can I talk with you about something back at the house later?"

"Sure." He grinned at Austin's warning glare, then back to her. He wondered if Austin knew how deeply he was already sunk. "But we'll have to stay out of bed this time."

Courtney raised her brows with understanding, seeing the jest for what it was.

Austin mumbled under his breath and leaned over to check out the paint cans on the floor.