Page 25

Chapter 25

Grace

Rittenhouse Square had history behind it. It was one of the five original squares planned by William Penn, Philadelphia’s founder (you didn’t think it was good old Benjamin Franklin, did you?), and was named after clockmaker and astronomer David Rittenhouse. And I don’t know if this was the case in the late seventeenth century, but these days Rittenhouse Square was, as the redcoats would say, quite “posh.” The neighborhood was full of fabulous high-rise apartments, fine dining restaurants, and of course luxury stores for shopping sprees. It was one of the most expensive and exclusive areas in Philly.

But today, it was for everyone. The Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival took place every May, an insanely popular street fair. The roads were blocked off so we could leisurely stroll up and down the streets, which were lined with everything from food trucks to art galleries to mini fashion shows to live music. One of Isa’s favorite hobbies was scouring every realty website from Zillow to Sotheby’s for her ultimate dream home, so I know she’d love seeing the heavenly apartments in person.

Plus, the girl just loved to shop.

So I was surprised, and actually a little bummed, when she didn’t comment as we weaved our way through the crowds. “How did you find out about this?” was all she said.

“Research,” I said, “with a dash of serendipity.”

Because what were the odds? What were the odds that this festival was happening the very same day I’d planned for us to take off together?

Kismet.

The three of us were pretty quiet while visiting various vendors. A man handing out beer samples didn’t card us, so we each downed a splash before wandering into a jewelry booth. Isa began admiring the intricately beaded necklaces and bracelets, but I glanced over my shoulder. “Are you okay?” Ev asked as I scanned the thronged street, thinking maybe I’d miscalculated with the street fair. It was so popular, and so out in the open. What if someone we knew was here? What if they spotted us?

“Not really,” I told him. “I suddenly feel weird.”

He nodded. “I know, I messed everything up,” he whispered, running a nervous hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have—”

“Shh,” I quickly said. “Ev, stop. We can’t talk about it now.” I resisted the urge to take his hand. “I don’t know when we can talk about it again, because you…” I gave him a soft look. “Um, complicated things?”

Isa knows about us , he’d texted me in the Uber once Isa started icing him out. I know we haven’t talked about what happened under the waterfall and what we actually are to each other and want to be, but she guessed and I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Yeah …, I wrote back. I heard.

Then I’d added: Eavesdropping isn’t one of my most attractive qualities.

Until this afternoon, I’d never considered confessing my crush on Ev to Isa. Partly because I didn’t think he felt the same way (so what was the point?) and partly because I knew she’d be upset. Nope, it was something I’d always keep locked in my heart.

But if I had considered it, if I had known there was truly something between us, I wanted to be the one to tell Isa. As her best friend, I would break the news to her slowly and gently. Her ex-boyfriend and ex-friend shouldn’t have had the honors.

Ev sighed. “I couldn’t help it,” he said. “She noticed us flirting and called me on it.” His voice lowered. “And my father…I need to be honest about something…there’s something I haven’t told you guys about Dad.” I heard him take a breath, as if about to say more, but then he let his exhale settle into a smile. He raised his hand to swipe two fingers across my nose before thinking better of it. “But you were right earlier, after the museum. I don’t know how much longer I can do this either, Grace. I want you so badly.”

I want you so badly.

My heart throbbed. “You want me?” I whispered.

Every bit of Ev blushed. “Yes,” he whispered back. “Yes, so much that it hurts even just standing here next to you.”

Tears welled up, such a rush that they couldn’t be caught. “Listen, I need to talk to her,” I told him, quickly wiping my eyes and gesturing to the jewelry booth Isa was browsing. “Wait for us but stay close. Something’s off.” I looked over my shoulder again—a stall selling crystals, astrology charts, and spellbooks caught my eye. “I have an inkling…”

“What kind of inkling?” he asked.

“Just, like, keep an eye out,” I said before finding Isa. She was at the register, thumbing through her cash. While Isa was the most steadfast of rule followers, it looked like she had enough money to easily disappear in the night and start a new life somewhere. “Papá always says it’s handy to carry cash,” she once said. “You never know.”

She bought a silver-and-pearl beaded bracelet from the jeweler, and we moved on to the next booth. I couldn’t shake my strange suspicion that a) someone was following us, or b) someone we knew was here.

Thank you, Mr.Cruz, I thought, because if we hadn’t seen Isa’s lying, cheating, I-can’t-even-right-now father earlier, the hair on the back of my neck wouldn’t be standing on end.

Could Isa’s dad and his millennial mistress be on a romantic stroll? Or even my own dad checking out the scene? Just like Mr.Cruz’s, his law firm was in the city.

Not in Center City, but still.

“Isa…” I tried more than once, but she kept shaking her head.

“Grace, stop,” she finally said, though not unkindly. “I don’t want to talk right now.” She gestured around the festival and plastered on a smile. “We have so little time, and so much tosee!”

“Okay.” I nodded.

Ev rejoined us as we toured more vendor stalls, after he caught on that Isa had shut down any type of conversation with me. I watched him watch her, amber eyes pleading for something.

Come on, Grace, I berated myself. Get up the guts and talk to her!

It wasn’t until we were passing a full-on-jamming band that I’d gathered my thoughts and took a breath. “Isa, please listen to me,” I said. “I’m sorry, but—”

“I was fifteen,” Ev suddenly spoke over me.

Isa turned to him, her brows knitted together. “What?”

“I was fifteen!” Ev shouted.

A sharp current of nerves surged through me. Wait, was Ev going to do it? Was he going to make things right with Isa, once and for all?

If so, every fiber in my being told me I should shut up and let him. Isa wasn’t outwardly angry with me; we would have our chance to talk…

Even I still couldn’t shake the feeling that trouble was on the horizon.