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“You don’t wanna come home tonight?”

Was that disappointment in his voice?

“No. I don’t wanna be near you after that.”

“You mad at me because your date dressed like Beetlejuice and his card declined?” He laughed dryly. “That shit didn’t give you a headache?”

“I’m sorry everybody can’t be a pretty boy in a suit like you.”

“You think I’m pretty, Red?”

Conveniently, I skipped over the reminder about my date’s card declining. I never did get his name. I’m sure he would have told me if I asked, but I’d been too busy ignoring Greyson once we got back to the table to care. I’d finished three-fourths of a bottle of wine by myself.

A few minutes later, Greyson turned on my grandparents’ street and an audible sigh left me.

“Why are you mad that we kissed and you liked it?” His question was valid but irrationality was the only thing flowing through me right now, so I refrained from answering.

I was mad because it was one of the best kisses of my life.

I was mad because I liked him. So fucking much.

I was mad because he made me feel adored with everything he’d done tonight, even when he was getting on my nerves.

“Goodnight, Greyson.” I jumped out of the truck with my clutch as soon as he pulled to a stop behind my car.

“True, wait. Your leftov—” I slammed the door shut and ran on my tiptoes to the front porch, practicing what I would say in case I met resistance.

Hey grandma, can I sleep here tonight?

Why, you ask?

Well because I was being grown.

How grown, you ask?

I just rode my neighbor’s thigh in the back of a restaurant while my date waited for us to come back to the table. And if I don’t stay here tonight I’m not sure I won’t knock on his door tonight and ask if I can sit on his…

Barking on the other side of the door interrupted my hypothetical conversation and silenced the panic dredging through my bloodstream.

The porch light flickered and a noisy exhale left me.

“Hey, ladybug. How was your date?” Ruby Jean clasped her hands and beamed at me while Lady sauntered up to the door behind her. “Come on in here, your granddaddy just poured up some spiked cider, and I’m getting my table favors set up for the Fall Festival. These hands ain’t what they used to be, come help me tie these ribbons.”

I walked in the house, thankful for the reprieve and pretended I didn’t see the headlights just now backing out of their driveway. He’d been waiting for me, just in case. And my heart couldn’t take another beating tonight.

“I helped your grandma roll her hair tonight while we watched reruns of MASH. It reminded me of the summers we used to spend up here. You were on Blue Magic duty and I was in charge of handing off the rollers. God, I can’t believe that was 20 years ago. And I can’t believe you’ve already been gone for one of those years.”

I sighed, trying not to jump straight into my feelings.

“We talked about my fail of a date and grandad tried to get us drunk. Not that I needed much help. I nearly finished a bottle of wine at the restaurant by myself.”I snorted, still a little tipsy.“Can you believe that man had the nerve to ask me why I was leaving with Greyson after his card declined?”

I sat in silence, smiling into the darkness of the room as if she would say something. But that wasn’t how these voicemails worked. They would forever be one-sided.

“In totally unrelated news, I wrote a chapter before I picked up this phone to call you. It had nothing to do with what happened in the hallway of that restaurant.”

I dropped my voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

“But just between me and you, mama was right. Maybe. Ok, definitely. Onereleaseand I was able to type more in my notes app tonight than I have since I got to Bliss Peak. Ain’t that some shit? I guess with some of my tension gone, the words had no choice but to flow.”