Page 26 of If It's You

“I guess that could be fun.” Maizie stared at a freckle on her arm. Or was it a fleck of poop?

“Sweet. I’ll head home and invite everyone. I’ll see you at seven?”

She took a deep breath. It would be fun to swim in the pond again. And maybe it was time. “Seven works.”

Turner dropped a kiss on her lips and disappeared out the door.

She caught Christian’s amused eyes. “What? Why are you smiling?”

“I’m not smiling.”

“Your eyes are,” Maizie said, folding her arms across her chest. Every time she tried to annoy him, it seemed to have the opposite effect because now she was annoyed. What did he find so funny?

He took a step closer, and Maizie backed into the cement wall, her heart beating in time with the pumping machines. “What else are my eyes saying?”

They were intense but also intrigued. “You’re jealous.” She gave him a smug smile.

His eyes went from intense to surprised instantaneously. “Of your boyfriend?” He said it with such disdain, Maizie forced herself not to wring his neck. Which she could totally do if she wanted to. “He doesn’t have anything I want.”

Maizie’s face burned so hot she was afraid she might combust.

I will kill him if it’s the last thing I do.

“Do you still need help?” Mason came swinging into the barn still on his bike.

Christian jumped back, and Maizie faced her little brother, biting back the retort brimming at her lips. “Sure do, buddy. Christian doesn’t know a thing about milking cows. I need you to teach him everything you know. Don’t leaveanythingout.”

“I can do that. Christian, come on.” Mason beamed, and Maizie smiled despite Christian’s dagger to her heart. She didn’t want him either. But that only reinforced it.

* * *

“We are totally going,”Jayce said.

“Uh, no we’re not. We weren’t invited.” It had been a mistake for Christian to tell Jayce about the party.

He had started by telling him what a loser Turner was. The guy had shown up for forty-five minutes and hadn’t done a thing besides get handsy with Maizie. Or maybe she was the one who had been handsy with him. It was all an uncomfortable blur. Then he’d invited himself and his friends to a party Maizie didn’t know she was throwing.

Maizie wasn’t into Turner. It was evident in the way she’d flirted so overtly with him in front of Christian. She’d been trying to make Christian jealous or annoyed—or both. Either way, it had worked, and she’d called him out on it. He was so surprised he’d said the first thing that came to his mind. Which had also conveniently made him sound like the biggest jerk alive.

“Come on, man. Maiz won’t care.”

“Actually, I think she would.” Christian ripped off his dirty shirt. There should never be that much poop on a shirt.

“We have to go. I’ve got to get Lindsay to fall in love with me somehow. . .” His voice trailed off, and he dropped to the floor and began doing pushups.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ve got two hours to get a six-pack.” Jayce’s breath was already heavy.

“I think you’d have better luck with a sharpie.”

“Shut it,” Jayce grunted, struggling to push himself up for push-up number fifteen. It’s not that Jayce wasn’t fit, he just had a hard time motivating himself to do things he didn’t find important. Their whole first year of college together had been Christian reminding him to go to class. If he didn’t, Jayce probably would have failed.

“You have fun with that.”

Christian traded his pants for shorts and took off on a run. He ran to the old barn again, but there was no music inside today. He stepped in and was overcome with the peace of the old place. The middle of the floor had been swept clean, and only a few bales of hay lingered in the far corner. On the opposite corner was a single stable that probably used to keep the baby animals warm in the winter. One single lantern stood in the corner, probably brought here by Maizie. The tall ceilings were begging for some lights. He wondered what this building had looked like when it wasn’t so weathered.

Heck, what had his life looked like before his own storm had blown in? Where were the beams that were supposed to be keeping him upright?