608 Alpha Avenue (Cherry Falls)

“You’re a kid. You better check that.”

Her giggle turns into a laugh. “I know how old I am. Thank you for noticing too. That’s very mature of you.”

“Pizza. Go get it.”

She grips the windowsill with both hands. “Wanna know where my mom is right now?”

“No.”

“She’s at Haley Morgan’s house.”

I lean forward and peer into Cherry Pie Pizza and look for someone to help me.

“Mom is helping Haley get ready for her date,” she says, her voice chirpy.

My gaze whips to hers. She seems to find joy in my reaction.

“Haley has this hot guy from the town next door coming to take her out to eat.” She smiles mischievously. “Isn’t that fun?”

I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.

“I don’t think Haley is really into him, though,” she says.

I shouldn’t bite. I shouldn’t get into this conversation with Anna.

“Why do you say that?” I ask in a rush as if I’m afraid I’ll not have the nerve to ask it in another two seconds.

Her eyes light up. “Because Haley was going to cancel because she’s in love with someone else.” She pauses. “Mom convinced her to go because she said Haley was too amazing to sit at home and bemoan a man who doesn’t love her back.”

Love her back?

Haley doesn’t love me. She couldn’t.

I roll my tongue around my mouth and try to decide what to do.

This isn’t a conversation for me to have with a child. I also can’t leave without paying for the pizza I ordered.

“Yeah,” Anna says, flipping a long strand of hair over her shoulder. “I guess she’s downright smitten over this guy, and he just blew her off. Isn’t that rude? I mean, have you even met Haley? She’s the best. The absolute best. So gorgeous with her long legs and her—”

“Pizza.”

She rolls her eyes and heads to the back with a sigh that was custom-made for me.

A bubble of energy builds in my gut. I adjust in my seat. My credit card tap, tap, taps against the side of my truck as I await Anna’s return.

“That’ll be fourteen dollars and twenty-five cents,” she says, setting the pizza on a table inside the restaurant.

I hand her my card.

“I think you should know,” she says, swiping the plastic through a little device, “that if you miss out on Haley, it’s the worst thing you could ever do.”

“How do you even know anything about this?” I ask her.

She looks at me like I’m stupid. “It’s Cherry Falls. It would be more shocking if I didn’t know.” She hands me my card back. “Also, I heard Mom and Haley talking about it the other night. I can’t help they talk loud and that I’m drawn to the sound of sobs.”

Sobs?

My jaw clenches as I imagine Haley sobbing over me.

Is that even possible?

“She’s going out with some other dude tonight,” Anna says, handing me my pizza, “and if you don’t figure out a way to stop that, you’ll miss your shot.”

“It’s not my shot to take.”

She snorts. “Please. It’s so your shot to take. And, if you don’t, one of these days—probably soon, you’re going to look up and see her with someone else. I hope you can take that.”

I put my pizza on the passenger’s seat and look back to the child therapist at the window. I grab a five out of my wallet as I slide my card back in.

“Here,” I tell her, handing her the cash. “Save this for your doctorate in psychology someday.”

She grins. “Thank you. And please don’t mention to anyone that we had this little convo. It probably won’t go over well with my mother.”

“I might tell her so that you’ll stay out of my damn business.”

“And I might tell Haley that you were here, and you were sad.”

“I’m not sad,” I lie.

“Whatever. Have a good night, Mr. Blake.” She shuts the window right in my face.

Haley

“I don’t wanna go,” I whine at my reflection.

The outfit that Kaylee helped me put together is cute. A midnight-blue romper with frilly sleeves and the tiniest pink and white flowers dotting the fabric is very flirty and fun.

It’s absolutely not what I’m feeling today.

Kaylee pulled my hair back into a low ponytail and then somehow flipped it through itself to create some chic and sophisticated ’do.

Chic and sophisticated are also two words I wouldn’t use to describe myself today.

My conversation with Grayson from this morning continues to plague me.

I hate it.

I loathe arguing with anyone, really, but I especially dislike feeling that a friendship I had is ruined because I caught a case of the feels.

I knew better and I did it anyway.

Story of my damn life.

“I shouldn’t have touched you. I shouldn’t have even met you out there.”

That sums it up for me. That was the nugget of truth that I needed to hear to know, without a shadow of a doubt, how Grayson Blake feels about me.