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Maya sighed and kicked a small rock down a gutter. “About the cost of a new car.”

Sophie slow whistled. “Yikes.” She propped the phone up on the desk and reached to tie her hiking boots. “You moved back home for the summer to save on rent, so that should help, right?”

That’s what Maya told everyone. She loved her family. She loved her friend. But she wasn’t ready to share the real reason why she returned to Seattle with them, yet. “Yeah, it does. A little.”

“And I hate to point this out, but there’s the money your dad?—”

“No.” Maya already knew what Sophie was going to say, and she refused to even entertain the idea. When her father passed, he left everything to Maya’s mom, sister, and her. The money for her and Harper was supposed to go into a college fund, but Maya refused to touch hers and instead bequeathed it to Harper. The medical bills and insulin costs Harper would have for the rest of her life were beyond unfair, and Maya needed to level out the playing field.

“Okay.” Sophie shook her head. “Sorry. It’s a ton of money, but we can do this. Didn’t you meet with Gabriella about the bar job today? That pays really well, right?”

Maya exhaled. “Yes, it does. And she told me and the other bartender there’s a cash bonus at the end of the month for the top employee.”

“What? That’s awesome. See! You got this.” Sophie threw a jacket on and grabbed her keys. “There’s hope on the muddy, gray horizon. You’re an amazing bartender.”

“You’ve never once seen me bartend.”

Sophie laughed. “Well, that’s because you left me in Seattle and moved to the frozen abyss of Minnesota. Seriously, besides being close to your grandparents, why would anyone want to live there?”

She dug the heel of her magenta Converse into the brick. “Because people are nice, the lakes are beautiful, the cost of living is cheaper, and I like having more seasons than just rain and wildfire smoke.”

“Fair.” Sophie grabbed the phone from the counter and walked out her apartment door. “How are you doing with everything else?”

The metro bus Maya was supposed to hop on zoomed past.Crap.She walked to the edge of the alley and slumped down on the green recycled-plastic bus stop bench to wait for the next one. “I don’t want to be here.”

Maya peeked up to make sure her mother hadn’t somehow appeared in the alley and overheard her gut-punching revelation.

Sophie’s lip piercing dipped as she frowned. “I know, but it’s nice having you back in the city, and you know your mom loves having you home.”

“That’s not what I meant. Of course it’s good to be home, but I want to be back in school. I’m already so delayed.”

“Why do you do this to yourself?”

Maya rested her arms on her leg. “Because I was in college for five years and only have a four-year degree.”

Sophie’s eyes narrowed. “You know that happens to a ton of people, right?”

Of course she knew this. She had to lighten up on her credit load for a few semesters because of her bar shifts, and now she was behind. Every day she was a hamster on a wheel, running, chasing, flailing, and never catching up.

The phone bounced as Sophie walked down the stairs. “How’s Harper today?”

“Surprised I’m not asking you with how much time you spend with them.” Maya’s tone was sarcastic, but she was deeply grateful Sophie had stayed close to her family all these years.

Sophie shrugged. “Whatever. Your mom hooks me up with food.”

Maya grinned. Her mom was, in fact, the queen of comfort casserole. “My sister’s a freaking champ. How does a kid her age manage her diabetes and still succeed in annoying me within my first week back home? If I was a quarter as tough as her, I’d take over the world.”

Half of Maya’s heart was left in Minnesota. Half had always been in Seattle. And she knew she’d end up back here. But not like this, not just waiting for time to pass so she could continue her studies.

Harper and her mom welcomed her back with open, squishy bear hugs, but the reality was Maya living here severely broke Harper’s routine. She had been a day over seven years old when Maya left for college, and most of Harper’s life comprised of just her and their mom. And Maya came back and screwed it up. No matter how excited her mom claimed to be to have Maya home for the summer, her presence was a burden.

She said goodbye to Sophie, watched a sea of luxury electric cars silently drive by, and cranked her neck to check if the approaching bus was hers.

Three months. Ninety days. Then she could return to U of M for her master’s degree. Prove herself worthy and receive a spirit wink from her dad. She could do anything for three months—joining a traveling circus act, working on a farm in eastern Minnesota, or a repeat of her last, disastrous relationship.

When Gabriella told her about this summer bartending gig, she failed to mention Maya would be working next to a smoke show with the darkest, most sultry eyes she’d seen in forever. No matter how irritated the words flying from her soft, pouty mouth were, nor how much Maya wanted to crouch under the table and hide from her invasive stare, Remi reeked of womanhood and sexiness.Damn.She shook her head to remove the thought.

This was business. She may be a pushover in certain aspects of her life, but when it came to her degree and family, she took no prisoners. No way would she let smokey eyes, a raspy voice, and killer curves knock her off her game.

The bonus was hers. She needed this money for grad school, or she couldn’t go. And not going was not an option.

Ms. Soft Pouty Mouth had better prepare herself.

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