Page 37 of Cru's Crush

“I don’t know how to be anything but myself, especially with you.”

“Why do you feel like you can’t be yourself?”

“I tease you.”

“Yeah?”

“And I flirt.”

“There’s nothing wrong with either of those things, sweetheart.”

“Earlier, you said…Never mind. You know what you said.”

“If I hadn’t, what would you do right now?”

“Tell you I miss you already,” she whispered, but I could still hear her.

“I miss you too.”

“Good night, Cru.”

“Hey, Daph? Before you hang up…”

“What?”

“Can you please come home tomorrow?”

I couldn’t see her, but I knew she was smiling.

“I can dothat.”

“Good.”

I was in the vineyard,checking to see if anything else needed to be pruned, when I saw the car Daph’s parents were driving the night before pull in through the gate. I walked toward the house when they parked in front of it.

Noah had almost unloaded everything by the time I reached them.

“I didn’t expect you so early,” I said, taking some of the bags from his hands.

“Daph didn’t feel right about missing a full day of work.”

I cocked my head. “She didn’t have to worry about it. Now, I feel bad.”

“Don’t. Her mum and I raised her to have a strong work ethic. We shouldn’t have asked her to stay with us last night. I don’t think she got much sleep.”

I looked up at her when Daphne came out the front door. When our eyes met, I saw what led to her dad’s assumption. She didn’t look like she’d slept at all.

“Let me get those,” I said to Noah. He handed me the bags he’d been carrying, and I met her on the porch.

“Hey,” I said when we were face-to-face.

“Hi, Cru.”

I motioned for her to go back inside. “What’s going on?”

Her eyes filled with tears, and I set the bags on the floor. “Daph?” I asked, pulling her into an embrace. “Talk to me.”

She buried her face in my shoulder. “I couldn’t sleep.”