"Josh..." she started, suddenly lost for words. The silence stretched.
"I'm sorry," he finally mumbled, letting go of the bottle.
Oh great. She had somehow managed to make it sound like she was telling him off. She had to do something.
But sadly, she didn't get the chance. The front door swung open. "Hey! I'm here!" Emily hollered enthusiastically.
Grumbling inwardly, Hannah put the bottle back on the table. She desperately sought Josh's eyes, but he'd turned away from her and was making his way to the living room door. "I'm going to get your guitar, okay?" he muttered, disappearing through it.
Hannah shot her friend a bashful look. "Hi, Em."
Emily let her eyes drift over the puddles on the floor and the crumbs on the table. "Okay, what happened here?"
"Accident." Hannah practically ran to the sink to get a rag. "I'll clean it up." She started scrubbing the table and only stopped her maniacal cleaning attack when she noticed Emily was watching her from a corner of the kitchen with amusement in her eyes. Emily cleared her throat. "Let me rephrase that," she said with a chuckle. "What happened here?"
"Nothing."
"Yeah, sure. I was just imagining all that awkwardness when I came in a minute ago."
"Yeah, you were. There's nothing wrong." Josh could be stepping into the kitchen at any moment, and she wished Em would shut up.
Emily looked sideways to the living room door and raised her eyebrows. "O-kayy," she drew out. "Whatever you say. Where do you want me to put the dessert?" She pointed at the plastic bag on the kitchen table.
"What is it?"
"Apple pie."
"Sounds good," Josh said, walking into the kitchen. He was carrying Hannah's guitar in one hand and caught her eye. "Do you mind?" he asked, holding it up.
"No, of course not. I've been told you play well."
Emily smiled. "Don't get me started. I'm chairwoman of the fan club." She padded toward the fridge. "Shall I put it in here?"
Hannah looked nonplussed. "What… the guitar?"
"No, you idiot, the apple pie. Not the sharpest tool today, are you?"
"Here comes today's chef," Ben announced, appearing in the doorway with two bulging grocery bags in his hands. He put the bags on the floor and hugged Emily. "Hi Em! Are you going to join Hannah and be my kitchen assistant?"