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I try to think about reasons why Annie and Daniel wouldn’t work well together. “He doesn’t say much, so you’d probably have to start all of the conversations.”

She sucks in a breath. “Completely unacceptable. Next.”

“He likes to carry my bags.”

She shakes her head. “It’s the twenty-first century. I can carry my own bags, thank you very much.”

I laugh.

“Illusion broken,” she says.

Do I really think she’s moved on that fast? No, but I appreciate what she’s trying to do.

She stares at me for a minute, and then she says, “Did you know when you talk about him your face turns pink?”

I pull my bangs in front of my face, but they’re too short to hide my blushing.

“Does he make you happy?”

I lower my hands from my hair and nod.

“Then do me a favor: let yourself like him, and don’t feel guilty about it,” she says, eyes watering again. She bites her lip. “I want you to know what it’s like to fall in love. Everyone deserves that.” She takes a breath. “I don’t want you to miss your chance because of me.”

“Do you really mean that?” I ask.

“Yeah. Don’t hold back. If you’re only going to fall in love once, make sure you do it right. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get my own love story one day.”

“It’ll be like a movie,” I say.

“You know it. My standards are high after reading so many romance novels,” she teases.

I smile. “As they should be.”

She smiles back. “I missed you.”

My heart squeezes. “I missed you too.”

She sighs and reaches for the door. “Let’s go inside and get you changed before Mama sees you and goes ballistic.”

I’m sore and tired. Everything from my hands to legs ache, but I couldn’t be happier. I know Annie and I have a lot more to mend, but this is a start.

I check my phone. There are a few messages from Daniel asking how I am and how my conversation with Annie went.

“He wants to see you, doesn’t he?” Annie asks.

I don’t know how to respond. I’m not used to her talking about us so easily.

“Tell him to come over after school. We might as well get used to having him around,” she says as she wanders into the kitchen.

I freeze. “Really?” I squeak.

She grabs a bag of tortilla chips and pops one in her mouth. “I plan on spending the day with you. Don’t make us fight over you, Margo.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

DANIEL

I want to throw up. How am I supposed to go about my day like I didn’t just see Margo covered in blood? How am I supposed to sit at our lab table when she’s in the nurse’s office? I’m terrified of not being by her side if something happens. I know she wants to talk to Annie, but why does it have to be right now? Why does it have to be when she’s hurt?