Chapter Thirteen

"Up against your front door?" Lulu shrieked. "Truly! You little hussy, you. When's the wedding?"

Truly fumbled her phone, nearly dropping it in her shopping cart. She pressed it against her ear and hissed, "Slow way down. There's not going to be a wedding."

"Uh-huh. Sure. I know you, Truly, and I might not know Colin well, but clearly the guy's obsessed with you. I give it six months before you're shacking up together and a year before one of you pops the question."

Truly tossed a bag of jumbo marshmallows into the cart with a little more force than necessary. "Would you chill?" She snagged six Hershey's bars off the shelf. The one on the bottom cracked in half and she cringed, loosening her grip. No need to take her frustration out on the chocolate. "Please. I don't want to think about weddings or—or anything like that right now, okay?"

"I'm just saying, you were with Justin for how long before you moved in together? How long before you proposed? You have a tendency to move hot and fast—"

"His lease was up, Lulu," she snapped. "Justin's lease was up, and he needed a place to stay and maybe your memory's foggy, but mine isn't. We were together for three years before I proposed, and I only did it then because I knew if I didn't it was never going to happen."

By the time she finished, she was breathing hard and—oh.

The writing had been on the wall, and she'd been so desperate for a happily ever after that she'd done everything she could to ignore it.

Nothing more than a careful intake of breath came over the line.

Truly sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I just... you're right, okay?" She hated writing middles, often found herself sprinting to the happy ending. Life was no different. With Justin, she'd been eager to flip to the next chapter in their relationship; it had been a race to the finish line. "But I don't want to get ahead of myself. Let me enjoy this. Please."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so pushy," Lulu said, sounding regretful. "I'm just happy for you. When are you seeing him next?"

Truly winced.

That was a great question.

If Saturday night had been a fairy tale, Colin had been the princess, dragging his feet as he left her apartment just before midnight so he wouldn't turn into a pumpkin. Or, you know, so his car wouldn't get impounded. Same thing.

He'd left her with a kiss and a promise to text that he'd made it home safely. And he had.

Colin (12:34 a.m.):Made it home.

Colin (12:35 a.m.):Next time, I'm letting them tow my car.

Truly (12:36 a.m.):Bold of you to assume there's going to be a next time.

Colin (12:39 a.m.):Nice try. I've got your number. You like me.

Truly (12:42 a.m.):I like your mouth. Your fingers aren't so bad, either. Your ego, on the other hand...

Colin (12:44 a.m.):??

Colin (12:45 a.m.):Sweet dreams, Truly.

Truly (12:46 a.m.):Good night, Colin.

Truly (12:46 a.m.):And thank you. For tonight. I had a really wonderful time.

Colin (9:18 a.m.):So. Next weekend. Ikea?

Colin (9:19 a.m.):Or we could try going on an actual date, if you want.

And she just... hadn't responded.

Only a day had passed, but a pang of guilt still struck each time she opened her messages and saw that time stamp. Considering how prompt she usually was with her responses, Colin had to know she was avoiding him.

"I'm in Chelan, remember?" she said, sidestepping the question. "I've got Dad arriving tomorrow and Mom the day after that and—I've got my hands full. I spent all of yesterday airing the place out and changing linens and making sure everything's perfect. I need this to work, Lu."

Lulu snorted. "I knew you were gonna spritz the joint down with pheromones, you freak."

Hardly, but she did eye the strawberries and chocolate melts in her cart. Too much? "I'm buying groceries. There's nothing sexy about bran cereal."

"Hey, I personally find a partner who values regularity to be the pinnacle of sexiness."

"And you call me a freak?" She eyed the paper shopping list crumbled in her fist. She still needed to hit up the meat and seafood sections, praying they had everything she needed to re-create the Sardinian-style paella her parents had eaten on their honeymoon and still raved about. "Hey, you think my parents would notice if I subbed razor clams for cockles?"

"I don't know what the hell a cockle is, but it sounds dirty."

Truly rolled her eyes. "Could you get your mind out of the gutter for a minute and—"

Another cart collided with the nose of hers as she turned the corner, the clang of metal on metal more jarring than the impact itself. She jumped, shopping list fluttering to the floor, nearly dropping her phone, too. Truly scowled and bent down to pick up her list.

"I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was—Truly?"

No goddamn way.

She stood so fast her head spun. Or maybe it was because Colin McCrory was standing in the middle of her favorite mom-and-pop grocery, five hours outside of the city, wearing a pair of pink gingham shorts that showed off an indecent amount of thigh and knees that bore faint bruises that would've sparked her curiosity had she not known firsthand that he'd spent Saturday night kneeling on concrete, head buried between her thighs.

"Truly? Are you still there?"

Shit, Lulu was still on the line. "I'll call you back."

"What? No, you can't just—"

She ended the call and slipped her phone in the back pocket of her capris. "Hi."

Hi? Hi? That was what she chose to open with? Hi?

He scratched the side of his jaw, looking adorably out of his element, but pleased to see her. "Small world? Um, what are you doing here?"

She made a pointed show of looking down at where their carts still kissed. "Grocery shopping?"

"No wonder you let your fridge get lean if you do your shopping in Chelan." Colin smiled. "Seriously, what are you doing all the way out—"

"Colin? Did you grab the Marcona almonds I asked—oh, hello."

The woman who rounded the corner was pretty, hair bleached a crisp champagne blond, gray roots peeking through her perfectly teased coiffure. Her coloring was paler than Colin's, but the way her eyes crinkled was almost identical, as were the moles splattering her skin and the upturn of her delicate nose. "My apologies. I didn't mean to interrupt." She turned to Colin, brows rising expectantly. "Colin? Are you going to introduce us?"

"Sorry. Where are my manners. Mom, this is Truly. Truly, this is my mother. Truly's..." He looked at her, lips quirking in something too forlorn to be a smile. "A friend."

Truly averted her eyes, stomach sinking.

She offered his mother her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. McCrory."

"Call me Muffy." Her grip was surprisingly firm. "You wouldn't happen to be Truly St. James, would you?"

Muffy.Thank God Lulu wasn't here; Truly could only imagine the jokes she'd make.

"That's me."

"Caitlin's told me so much about you." Muffy beamed. "She's so thrilled to have you on her little show."

Little show?Interesting way to describe 3.1 million subscribers and a Spotify exclusive contract.

Truly kept her smile pasted in place. "Oh, yeah? How sweet of her."

"That's our Caitlin," Muffy said. "A total doll."

Colin rolled his eyes.

"Such a doll," Truly said. "Anyway, I should probably—"

"Are you renting a place on the lake?" Muffy asked. "With all these Vrbo and Airbnb sites cropping up, it's hard to keep track of who owns around here and who doesn't. It's been a real point of contention with the HOA." She laughed. "I think there's been more noise complaints in the last year than ever before."

Truly glanced down at her outfit—a short-sleeve, lightweight cream-colored cowl-necked sweater, ironed khaki capris, and pale blue Sperry Top-Siders with clouds on them—and wondered what about her screamed noise complaint. "Oh, you're on the association?"

Her parents disdained the HOA. Cop lite, Dad called them. Mom just said they all suffered from inferiority complexes. Truly was pretty sure they were one and the same.

"I am. But you know, I like to think I'm a cool board member," Colin's mother said, shoulders shimmying. "So, are you? Renting?"

Colin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ma—"

"It's fine," Truly said, reeling. She had no business finding it sweet that he called his mother Ma. "No, my parents own a house over on Foxglove Lane. It's the blue house with the dark green shutters and the mailbox shaped like a—"

"Shark!" Muffy clapped her hands. "The Livingstons! Your parents are Diane and Stanley? Well, golly. Why didn't you just say? I'd have spared you the interrogation. It's a close-knit community, but I'm sure you understand."

"Totally," she agreed, withering a little on the inside. Writhing. "Anyway, I should probably—"

"How are Stanley and Diane doing? It's been ages since we last caught up. Don't you dare spare a single detail." Muffy wagged a finger. "Tell me."

Colin tugged on her arm. "Ma, come on. Truly's busy."

"She's shopping, Colie-kins." Colie-kins? Yikes. "How busy could she be?"

"I mean, I should probably—"

"Are your parents in town?" Muffy asked, steamrolling her. "Or are you by yourself?"

"Uh—"

"You can't just ask someone that," Colin said. "It's creepy."

"It's fine. My parents are arriving tomorrow." It was easier to say that than explain to a stranger that her parents would be arriving separately and only because she'd tricked them into coming here. "I'm just stocking up on the essentials before they arrive."

Muffy frowned. "You're all by your lonesome tonight?"

Her eyes flashed to Colin, who was looking at her curiously. "I—yes?"

Muffy tutted. "Well, that just won't do. You'll have dinner with us."

She could scarcely think of anything more awkward than joining Colin and his parents for dinner after leaving him on read.

"That is so kind of you, but I'm sure you already have plans."

"Nonsense." Muffy McCrory batted at the air. "Tell her she's welcome, Colin."

"If she doesn't want to come, Ma—"

"It's not that I don't want to," she said, pleading with Colin with her eyes. "I just..." She didn't know how to finish that in a way that wouldn't be saying too much in front of his mother. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"You wouldn't be," Colin said. "Imposing."

She stared, studying the way he held himself, spine rigid, jaw clenched, eyes wide, lips pressed into a flat line. He barely blinked, almost like he was trying to impress some meaning upon her with his eyes. Communicate with her telepathically.

It was the second chance she hadn't realized how desperately she wanted until Colin was standing right there in front of her, staring at her.

Truly turned to Muffy and smiled. "What should I bring?"