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“You’re not a part of our book club.”

“Sure I am. Your grandma said I could come.”

I shot a scowl in Grandma’s direction, but she must have sensed the annoyance in my look because she refused to meet my eyes. We’d be talking about this betrayal later, that was for sure.

“Chase, you don’t want to join book club.”

“Of course, I do.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to do anything you’re doing.”

His words chiseled a small crack into my heart, and I swear I caught Bart giving him a wink.

“Don’t be childish, Ally, let him join the book club,” Cora said, looking Chase up and down. “He can sit next to me.” She patted the free chair at her side.

“Yes, Ally, don’t be childish,” Chase said in the irritating tone that had always made me want to punch his beautiful face.

I let out a breath. “Fine, you can stay.” It didn’t really feel like I had much choice though. Grandma had already said it was okay, and with his grandpa sitting here, I’d have to be a pretty horrible person to send him away.

Chase grinned in response and made himself at home next to Cora. His butt was barely on the seat when she started talking.

“My, you’re a handsome boy,” Cora said. “Is this your grandson, Bart?”

“The one and only.” Bart’s voice was filled with love and pride. It was sweet how much he cared about Chase, and it killed me that I couldn’t feel that way about him too. The Chase I’d come to know had a big heart, but I could never lay claim to any part of it.

“We should get back to the book,” I said, but my words fell on deaf ears. Now that Chase was here, book club was completely derailed, and all attention was on our newest arrival.

“Do you go to school with Ally?” Cora asked him.

“I do.” Chase smiled widely. “Her family has also kindly taken me in for senior year while my parents are away working.”

“Oh, so you live together.” Cora could barely keep the excitement out of her voice. “Are you two friends?”

Chase laughed. “Not really.”

I struggled to stop myself from smiling too. As much as it irritated me having him here, it was cute how flustered he was getting by Cora’s questions.

“Wait,” Cora said, turning her attention on me. “This isn’t the boy youhate, is it?”

Now it was my turn to get flustered, and I started blushing, wishing I’d never opened my stupid mouth about Chase to The Three C’s. Old people couldn’t be trusted, it seemed.

“Itisthe boy you hate,” she quickly inferred.

“The one she wanted to kiss?” Connie asked. My cheeks might have been warm before, but now, they were burning hot. I wanted to crawl under my chair and slowly die. I was never telling these people anything ever again.

“I’m guessing so,” Grandma replied. She was watching me closely, and it felt like she could tell exactly what I was thinking. She knew me too well.

“Did you go through with it?” Connie asked.

“Look, we may have kissed one time,” I grumbled. “But that was it.”

“No, it was more like two times,” Chase said.

“Two times!” Cora squealed.

“Yep,” Chase said with a nod. “And she’s been ignoring me ever since.”