Page 91 of That Friendzone Feeling

And“plus one.”Isthat some sort of joke?

Oh, but what ifChasewould come?Thethought lifts my spirits.Thatwould blow their minds.

Iclose my eyes for a second and imagine walking into the concert hall, my hand resting in the crook ofChase’selbow, andMomturning to look at us.Therealization of who my “plus one” is would slowly dawn on her, her eyes getting wider, her mouth dropping slightly open.Thenshe’d teeter over to us in her fancy high heels, an amazed smile on her face, and gush all over us while also somehow trying to act like her daughter waltzing into rooms with aHollywoodmegastar is an everyday occurrence she is perfectly used to.Butshe’d be overjoyed.Iwould have delighted her.Andshe’d be proud of me.

IswitchChaseforWalkerand run the same scenario.Thistime when she turns, she gives us a smile that doesn’treach her eyes, manages a halfhearted wave, then turns back to her conversation.

Ifthat doesn’t give me yet another reasonI’mright about not being able to be withWalker, nothing does.

Ihave to giveChasea chance.Ihave to try.

Thesound of a text ping comes from my bedroom, jolting me out of myCarnegieHallentrance fantasies and back to the reality of a missingWalker.

Awarm flush of relief washes over me.Thishas to be him.ThankGod.

Itrot toward my room, fling myself on the bed, and grab my phone from the nightstand.

CHASE (02:52 AM)

Hope you had a good flight. Don’t forget to think about what you’d like to do next week. Looking forward to seeing you again x

Shit.

Myheart comes to a crashing halt and drops to my stomach, the hole it leaves behind instantly filling with gnawing concern forWalker.

Icollapse backward onto the pillows and drop the phone beside me.

NotthatI’mnot delighted to hear fromChase.It’sgreat.He’sgreat.Howcould he not be great?

ButWalkernever vanishes like this.Thismight be the first timeI’veever been truly worried about him.

Whatdo you do when one man is perfect in your head, the other in your heart?

26

WALKER

“L

ook,”Maggiesays, thrusting her phone in my face. “Itisdeer.Iknew it.”

Thephoto from the deer cam shows one of the critters with its mouth clamped around a bunch of leaves.

“Iwoke up to this picture.Amazing.”Sheturns toElliot, who’s finishing the last of his breakfast while scrolling through something on his tablet that looks like a bunch of random letters, numbers, and symbols. “Thankyou, darling.”

Hismouth full,Elliotjust nods.

“It’spretty cute,”ItellMaggie.

“Very.”Shesmiles at the picture. “I’mnot going to do anything about them.Poorthings must be starving in the winter.Ijust wanted to be sure what was going on out there.”

Elliotlooks up from whatever that thing is he’s reading. “Forthe other two cameras, you’ll have to take the cards out of them and load the pictures to your laptop,”Elliotsays. “They’retoo far out of range of yourWi-Fito send photos directly to the app.”

“Soundstricky,” she says. “Wecan do that next time you’re here.”

Jimpicks up his empty plate, thenElliot’s. “See, she has a hobby, and no one thinks it’s weird.”Hewanders to the dishwasher and stacks the dishes.

“I’lldefinitely investigate the wine-making stuff,”Itell him.AndIgenuinely can’t wait.Itshould be fun. “I’llgive you a call.ButIhave to hit the road now.”