Page 3 of Forty, Flirty & Fall Inn

“Yeah,” Grayson agrees.“My wife calls me a sexy Mister Robot.She says she likes watching me debug my feelings.”

I ignore them as the trees thin and the glow of the inn comes into view.

Ahead, nestled into the slope of the mountain, is a wooden structure with wraparound balconies and golden windows glowing like they’re trying to seduce me.

A sign swings gently from an old post.

CASCADE VIEW INN – EST.1952

“Okay.I see it,” I mutter.“The inn.”

“Please tell me it’s a little murdery,” Grayson says.

“Nope.It looks like a Hallmark movie and an Airbnb had a baby.Porch swing.Hanging mums.Probably a hot cider bar inside.”

“Oh yeah,” Connor says.“Definitely where the killer hides the bodies.”

I pull into the gravel lot under a timber awning.Rain drums the hood of my car like sarcastic applause.

“I never told her I was coming,” I say.

Another dangling pause.

Connor scoffs.“Dude, you didn’t book a room?”

“Nope.”

“And this Sage chick sent you a message saying she’s looking forward to meeting you?”

“Yep.”

Another beat of silence.

“Okay,” Grayson says, voice more serious now.“That’s not just weird—it’s NSA weird.”

“She said the inn’s open for late arrivals.Like she’s been waiting for me.”

“Well, shit, that’s not a coincidence,” Connor says.“That’s surveillance.Maybe you’re right about this being a basement-dweller bot.”

“Right?Maybe this catfish has been monitoring something.Location data, app activity, maybe my cookies.”

“Cookies?”Grayson says.“What are you, eighty?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Or,” Connor offers, “you could just ask the weird catfishing perv living in his parents’ house to the engagement party.Better than nothing.”

“I’m not bringing a potential cybercriminal to a black-tie event.”

“But what if she’s real?”Grayson asks.“If she’s just a woman who’s into emotional puzzles with great bone structure?”

I grab my laptop bag from the passenger side and stare at the building.

Outside, the inn looms like something out of a fairytale.Gabled roofs.Antique lanterns.Soft music drifting through the air.

I stare at the last message on my phone.

Can’t wait to finally meet you in person.