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“The electric kind?”
“They might have some, if you want.”
I sigh dramatically. “Fine. I’ll pedal.”
“I didn’t know pedaling was such a burden.” He smiles, and even if it’s not the huge one that makes my chest go light and fluttery, it’s something. He nods at the door. “I’ll wait for you to go in.”
Right. No going inside with me, no goodnight kiss. Just areminder I’m getting things confused and the promise of an outdoor activity I haven’t done in at least fifteen years.
Go, me.
TWENTY-EIGHT
GRANT
I have never staredat a text message so hard in my life. I’m not even trying to decipher an emoji code—the message is loud and clear. It just so happens that I hate the message.
Lila: Would it be too much to ask my fake boyfriend to come help me set up decorations in the department store window? I have tiny arms that can’t reach
She included one all-important word in that sentence. Probably because I’m the idiot who brought it up over the weekend. Now she’s drawing a line in the sand to prove there’s no confusion over what I am to her.
I haven’t seen her in two days. Haven’t spoken to her in the morning or read to her at night. She’s sent the occasional text to check in on my plans around town, but she hasn’t indulged in long exchanges. The result is, I miss her more each hour, my mistake when I dropped her off clanging louder in my mind until it throws me off balance.
Seems like it’s time to start wearing the shirt Rhettsent.
Grant: I’m good at reaching things
She sends a bunch of heart emojis I don’t read into, along with the address, but I know the place she means. Five minutes later, I’m in my rental, slowly winding between the wooded cabins. I pass the lot for the main lodge, and a guy in a suit catches my eye. Josh. If I never see him again, I’ll be a happy man.
I’m not entirely sure his business deal is the real reason he’s here. Not that I want to think about his motives much, but it’s fair to say I don’t trust him. Worse, I don’t entirely trust myself. If he makes one more snarky comment to Lila, I’ll be throwing punches.
When I roll up to the empty department store, the front doors are propped open and jarring rock music drifts out onto the sidewalk. The front window is still papered over, but shadows move just behind it. My heart kicks up in time with the thrumming song.
Stepping over the threshold, I peer inside. Lila’s wrist-deep in American flag decor, arranging patriotic plates and napkins next to teddy bears holding tiny flags. The window space is awash in red, white, and blue, everything from wood block firecrackers to patchwork pillows to gnome-like Uncle Sams.
At least, I assume they’re Uncle Sams. They could be painfully American Gandalf dolls, for all I know.
“I feel like I should salute the window.”
Lila jumps, knocking a stubby Uncle Sam onto the floor. When her gaze hits mine, her fear dissolves into a little scowl. “You could have said something!”
“I did. Sorry, princess, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“I wasn’tscared.” She rights the gnome, patting his head. “I get into a zone when I’m working, and you startled me out of it.”
“It looks good.”
“Yeah? It’s overkill up close, but that will really make it pop from the street.”
I move closer, but not nearly as much as I want to. Her pale teal one-piece shorts outfit—Is it a jumper? Romper? I don’t know the right name—reveals toned legs I shouldn’t eye the way I am. My fingers ache to run through her hair, and I bet her tomato perfume swirls around her like an airborne drug. Basically, I’m a mess, and if I get any nearer to her, I’ll prove it.
She smiles too bright as silence worms in between us. Silence I put there. It’s clear she’s still thinking about that conversation. She has a loud face—she couldn’t conceal all the emotions coursing through her if she tried.
I don’t want her to try.
“Now.” I saunter closer because I must love punishment. “What did you need these arms for?”
I flex a bicep and slap it with my other hand like some kind of gym bro. Her eyes go wide, her mouth does the same, then laughter spills out of her.
