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My jaw dropped as he kept strolling forward like all of this was no big deal.

My own pace slowed as I stared after him. He wasjoking?

Now?

Damn it.

As I hustled to catch up, every wrong assumption I'd ever made came rushing back, like an overdue bill I'd been too distracted to pay. I hadn't been fair, not even close. And now I felt desperate to make things right. "Screw the weather. I don't care if it rains all day." My voice softened. "I just don't want you mad at me."

He kept his eyes trained ahead. "Why not?"

Because I like you.But I was too embarrassed to say it. I'd made a fool of myself already with that self-invite up to his room. So instead, I replied, "Because I'm really sorry…and well…" The second half, I didn't want to say.

"Well, what?" he asked.

Forget what I wanted.If this was an overdue bill, he deserved some explanation, even if itdidmake me sound pathetic. "Everything's a mess already, okay?"

Finally, his gaze slid in my direction. "You mean with Evan?"

"Yeah, but notjusthim." I took a deep breath, and when I exhaled, all of it came tumbling out. "Maisie's stressed, I'm a disaster at work. And my boss is asleep half the time and riding me the other half. And I completely ruined the only bubble bath Maisie likes…"

Ryder's expression shifted – just a flicker – but enough to make my throat go tight as the world's longest confession kept pouring out. "And my sister's not talking to me, my mom's super-difficult, and I've just insulted the only guy I've liked in forever. So I guess, yeah, I don't always see things clearly, but you can see why, right? I mean…I feel like I'm barely holding it together, and the last thing I want is for you to be mad at me on top of it."

He stopped walking.

So did I.

Slowly, he turned to stare.

So of course I stared back. Softly, I said, "And I reallyamsorry."

Finally, a slow grin spread across his face. "So I'm the first guy you've liked in forever, huh?"

"What?" As relief coursed through me, I gave him a light swat to the shoulder. "Of everything I just said,that'swhat you remember?"

He was still grinning. "Yup."

I groaned. "You really are shameless. You know that, right?"

"Yup."

"Oh, great," I teased. "Is yup the new nope?"

He waited for a long, intense beat before saying exactly what I knew he would. "Yup."

He reallywasimpossible. And me? I was in all kinds of trouble. And I didn't mean because of all those problems I'd just recited like a lunatic.

No, I was in trouble because of the guy standing right here in the moonlight. If I wasn't careful, I'd be falling for him.

Hard.

45

Afterglow Meets Aftershock

Tessa

After letting myself in through the front door, I didn't even try to sleep. Instead, in the quiet of Maisie's house, I relived my time with Ryder on a non-stop loop, beginning with me calling up to him on his balcony and ending with kiss number-three on Maisie's front porch.