Page 48

“What about you? Where did you grow up?”

“Just this small town in Montana. We have a population of barely three hundred people.”

“Sounds cute.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to look at it. I always wanted to live in the city, though.”

I love my roots and my family, but my hometown really is tiny. There were no opportunities there unless you wanted to work in ranch life, and I’d always wanted more than that. I’d wanted to be the girl in the big city, making waves and chasing her dreams. The one who comes home one Christmas in her fancy car and tells her parents she is able to help them pay off their mortgage. I want to be seen as the girl who made it.

“Does the city live up to your expectations?”

“One hundred percent. It might eat up my paycheck every month, but it’s worth it. There’s just something different about living here. It’s like the world is always moving.”

“I get that. What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“Oh, God. I mean, it’s going to sound pretty basic, but Hannah and I love trying new bakeries and bagel shops. It feels like there are new ones popping up every week. Otherwise, my life is kinda boring.”

“I doubt that.”

“Really, I’m not that riveting. I work, sleep, eat, and watch reality TV—nothing special.”

“Nope. Come on, tell me about a time you did something exciting. I refuse to believe you don’t have some crazy story tucked away in your past.”

I guess I do have a couple from college. Most of them involve Hannah because that girl is always the leader of the spontaneity train.

“Well, there was this one time sophomore year that Hannah and I got drunk after finals and decided it would be a fantasticidea to climb the statue in the fountain outside the university library.”

“What kind of statue?”

“Some dude riding a horse.”

“Always is.”

“It didn’t exactly go according to plan. It was super wet, which made the statue all slippery. I managed to get up on the horse and Hannah was right behind me, but then we saw a flashlight in the distance and I freaked out. We both fell into the water and Hannah dislocated her thumb.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup. And she refused to go to the hospital, so we went to the frat house this pre-med student guy she was kinda seeing lived at, and she had him set it.”

“Why would a college pre-med student be qualified to do that?”

“Oh, he absolutely wasn’t. He pulled up a video tutorial and everything. It was a total mess.”

Our server returns with our main courses, and Cullen and I continue to swap stories as we dig in. It’s easy talking with him. He gets me to let down my guard with the way he hangs on to my every word. He treats me like there’s nothing else in the world going on around us, and I feel special having his undivided attention.

“Could we get the check?” Cullen asks as our server comes back to clear our plates.

“Your bill has already been settled.”

“What do you mean?”

“That man paid.”

The server nods over to the bar, where Jace is leaning on the dark counter, chatting up a pretty redhead.

“That little—” Cullen grits his teeth, cutting off the rest of his complaint.

“I hope you have a nice rest of your evening.”