Chapter 195: Third Wheel Situation
** Eli **
Speaking of the trip coming to an end, it wasn’t long into the week before Eli got a straightforward reminder of the undesirable fact.
Two days after the scrumptious dinner night, he was sitting in his last budget meeting, halfheartedly listening to the various reports and proposals — none of which sounded good enough for Harper’s project — when his phone buzzed with a text message:
[ Tyler: Sent you my flight info. I’m getting there next Wednesday evening and leaving late Sunday night. ]
Ugh. That was a discussion Eli wasn’t ready for yet. Not when he was counting every second of his last couple of nights alone with Harper, occupying all their remaining time together by trying out his favorite recipes, and too swept away by the precious feasts to want to think about anything else.
Tyler wouldn’t have liked to hear just what types of recipes they were.
Keeping the unholy thoughts to himself, Eli ignored the uninspiring budget presentations and turned his attention to his phone. [ Sounds good. Four full days, huh? ]
That was longer than he expected, to be honest. A bit of a misfortune that his potentially hostile once-best-friend-turned-girlfriend’s-brother was actually staying over for half a week, making Harper’s sparse company even more sparse upon their return to Davenshire.
But wait, there’s more.
[ Tyler: Yeah, my boss might get suspicious if it’s just one day off. Might as well take a mini vacation. ]
[ Tyler: What’s your plan next weekend btw? Harper said we can go camping if you’re up for it. ]