RULE #3 YOU CAN'T KISS YOUR BEST

FRIEND
THE RULES OF LOVE BOOK 3
ANNE-MARIE MEYER
Copyright © 2018 by Anne-Marie Meyer

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 To Trisha
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 C O NT E NT S

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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
About the Author
 GRA B A F REE N OVEL L A BY A N N E- M A RIE M EYER

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 CHAPTER ONE

I sat at my desk Saturday afternoon, trying to do my physics homework—I really was—but

all I could do was stare at the little, folded-up piece of paper that I’d tacked to the
bulletin board above my desk.
It was the piece of paper that contained Lachlan’s number.
Lachlan Daniels. The Lachlan. The guy I’d crushed on for the last three years. All six-foot-
something of incredibly toned, olive skin–covered perfection. And he had given me his number. Just
thinking the words sent shivers across my skin.
Granted, he gave it to me because we had an Economics project together with three other people
—but I was choosing to ignore that little factoid. As far as I was concerned, he’d given me his
number because he’d wanted to.
And right now, that little piece of paper was making it really hard to focus on calculating the
velocity of a car.
A tap on my window drew my attention. I smiled when I saw Ethan’s face appear on the other
side of the glass. He was the quarterback of the football team, my life-long pal, and my confidant. His
shaggy blond hair dipped down over his eyes as he grinned and pointed toward the lock.
We’d been next-door neighbors since we were five. We’d done everything together—well, until
he got popular and I didn’t. But he never made me feel like I was less than he was. I was the only one
who cared about our different social classes. Ethan always told me, nothing would ever come
between us. Sometimes I doubted it, but I just had to see his face to realize I was stupid for thinking
our relationship would ever change.
I waved as I walked over and let him in.
“Hey, Livi,” he said, pushing his hair from his forehead.
I narrowed my eyes. “Aren’t you too big to be sneaking in through my window?”
Ethan was tall. Like stories above my tiny, five-foot-four frame. Growing up, he’d always been
my height. Until the summer he went to football camp and came back a skyscraper.
Now, at eighteen, he was tall and—according to half the school’s population—hot as heck.
I wrinkled my nose as I tipped my head to the side. I didn’t see it.
I wasn’t blind. I knew a perfectly formed nose and a chiseled jaw when I saw one. But he was my
best friend, and I was pretty sure not finding the other person attractive was one of the biggest rules
written in How to Get a Best Friend and Keep Them.
And besides, Ethan was popular. I was not. In high school, if you want to survive, you stick to
your social class.
Ethan waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts. I glanced over at him to
see his lips tipped up in an amused smile.
“What?” I asked, pushing past him and collapsing onto my desk chair.
He shrugged, taking that moment to dive-bomb my bed. After throwing a few of my stuffed
animals onto the floor, he propped himself up on one elbow and studied me.
I spun a few times in my desk chair, and when I picked up my pencil, he groaned.
“Olivia Williams, it’s Saturday night. You have all day tomorrow to do homework. Besides, this
is the first Saturday in forever where you and I aren’t working.” He flopped back on my bed and
studied the ceiling. “Let’s go do something.”
“Like what?” I asked. I wouldn’t hate getting away from my physics book for a while.
He shifted on my bed until he had a few pillows under him. “Tasha is throwing a party.”
I stuck my pencil into my mouth and pretended to throw up. “No thank you. I’d rather do my
physics homework while having pins shoved under my nails.”
Ethan laughed. “Okay. Tasha’s party is a no go.”
I shook my head. There was no way I wanted to spend my Saturday night staring at “Miss
Popular” and her cheerleading minions. I had enough of that at school. I didn’t need it in my personal
life.
When my gaze made its way over to the little, folded square on the board, an idea formulated
itself in my mind. I turned, giving Ethan my biggest smile. The one reserved for when I wanted to
convince him to do something crazy.
“You have that crazy look in your eye,” Ethan said, pointing to my face.
I feigned a shocked expression. “I do not. This is just the way my face is.”
He rolled his eyes. “Nope. It’s your crazy look. The same one you got when you wanted me to go
see that weird French movie.” He shook his head. “Whatever you want me to do, the answer is no.”
I widened my eyes. “What? You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.” I stood and clasped my
hands together. “Please?”
He studied me and then sighed. “What?”
Heat raced across my skin as I took a deep breath. Sure, Ethan knew about my crush. It just wasn’t
something we really talked about. All I got was his raised eyebrows and rolled eyes when I tried to
talk about boys, so I kept my super-girly side to a minimum. But tonight, I needed his help.
“So there is this band that I want to go see.” I started slowly, glancing up at him.
Ethan quirked an eyebrow. “A band?”
I nodded. “Lachlan’s band.” It came out as a whisper.
“Lachlan. Lachlan Daniels?”
I nodded again, watching his reaction.
“That guy’s in a band?”
“Yep.” I was having a hard time reading him.
“And you want me to go with you, why?”
I groaned as I tipped my head back and studied the faded stars on my ceiling.
Ethan and I had put them up years ago, and somehow the glue had congealed itself to the
sheetrock. The only way to get them down was to remove layers of the stuff. Dad forbade it, so I had
to live with them.
“Because I can’t go by myself. Hannah and Nick can’t go ‘cause they’re both working.” I stared
down at him. “Please?”
 He eyed me before sighing. “You really want me to go? I have to say, Livi, it wouldn’t look too
good to show up with another guy.”
I laughed. “I don’t think Lachlan will be threatened by you. You’re like my brother.”
Ethan chuckled, but his normal carefree smile looked strained. “Yeah, that’s what I was going to
say. We’re like siblings.”
An awkward silence fell around us. I glanced over at him, trying to read what he was thinking.
Did he really not want to go with me? I didn’t want him to feel like I was forcing him.
“You can stay back if you want,” I offered. But I hoped he wouldn’t take me up on it. I tried to
sweeten the pot. “But if you go, maybe you’ll meet someone.”
Lately, Ethan had been perpetually single. I didn’t really know why. He was one of the most
sought-after guys in school, yet he never seemed to have a girlfriend. When I asked him about it, he
would just shrug and say that he hadn’t found the right girl.
He grabbed Mr. Bumbles, the stuffed bunny I’d won from a carnival when we were ten, and
started pulling at the frayed tie. “When are you going to throw this away?” He held it up and shook it
at me.
My jaw dropped as I grabbed it from him. “You don’t throw away Mr. Bumbles. He’s family.” I
stuffed him onto my shelf and turned back to Ethan.
“So, will you go to Buzzed with me or not?”
He sighed and flopped back on the bed. “I guess,” he said, turning his head to stare at me.
I squealed and pumped my fists in the air. “You won’t regret it,” I said in a sing-song voice as I
made my way to the bathroom and started getting ready.
After I agonized over my clothing choice, Ethan flopped back on my bed and commanded that I
just pick one. I sighed and settled on a knee-length floral skirt with a matching solid top. It was dressy
but casual.
I turned a few times in front of the mirror as I studied my outfit. I pulled my long brown hair over
my shoulder and then flipped it to the back. Should I put make-up on? Did that mean I was trying too
hard? I’d already annoyed Ethan enough tonight. I studied my dark-green eyes and sighed.
“I don’t know,” I said, lifting up my thumb to gnaw on my nail.
Ethan appeared from behind me. His gaze swept over me. “You look great. He’s blind if he
doesn’t notice you.”
My body flushed from his compliment and his approving expression. Which was strange. This
was Ethan I was looking at. Ethan. We fed each other mud pies.
I sighed, directing my attention back to my reflection as I tucked my curly brown hair behind my
ear. “I hope so. He’s amazing.” Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the thought of his dark-blue,
almost grey, eyes and the way his black hair swooped to the side. And the fact that he played guitar
and sang? He was the perfect guy for me. If only he’d realize it.
Ethan scoffed as he walked over and fiddled with my homework. “You barely know the guy, Livi.
How can you know he’s perfect?” He started to doodle something on my homework.
I tsked at him as I rushed over and pulled the pencil from his grasp. “You don’t have to talk to
someone to know they are perfect for you.” I started to erase the stick figures he’d begun to draw on
the paper.
“That makes no sense.” He stared at me as he crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his
forearm. “You can’t know things about a person until you talk to them. See them when they are sick or
at their lowest.” His expression grew soft as he studied me.
I swallowed, not sure how this conversation got this intense. I shrugged as I fiddled with my skirt.
“Well, I can tell by looking at Lachlan that we are perfect for each other. He…gets me.”
Ethan quirked an eyebrow and parted his lips as if he was about to say something more.
To be honest, I didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Why was he acting all weird about this?
Since when did he care who I liked?
“We should get going. We don’t want all the seats taken before we get there.”
Ethan hesitated before closing his mouth and peering down at the watch on his wrist. “Okay.” He
glanced up at me. “Want to drive? Or do you want me to?”
Thankful that he wasn’t going to push this whole Lachlan thing, I grabbed my purse and keys from
my dresser and opened the door. “I’ll drive.”
Ethan shrugged as he followed after me. When we got out into the hall, Dad appeared from the
bathroom. He shot Ethan a smile.
“I didn’t know you were here,” he said.
Ethan smiled. “I came in through the window.”
Dad laughed as he clapped Ethan on the shoulder. He loved Ethan. With two daughters and no
sons, Dad idolized him. Ethan could literally do no wrong in the Williams’ house. “We have a front
door you know.”
Ethan nodded. “It was faster to come by roof.”
Dad continued down the hall, laughing and muttering “classic” under his breath.
“I’ll have to show you where my family’s precious stones are hidden,” I said as I headed down
the stairs. “I swear, my dad would help you carry them out. That’s how badly he wants you to like
him.”
Ethan nodded as he followed after me. “I keep waiting for him to get mad at me, but I don’t think
it will ever happen.”
I shook my head. “It will never happen.”
Once we got to the main level, we walked past the living room where Beatrice, my younger sister
by eleven months, was sitting on the couch watching one of her ridiculous reality TV shows. I could
see her bleach blonde ponytail poking up from above the pillows. It occasionally bounced as she
yelled something at the man in a suit on the screen.
“Beatrice still watching that stuff?” he asked as I pulled open the front door.
I shot him a don’t get me started look and ushered him out of the house. Right before I pulled the
door shut behind me, I called to anyone who would listen, “I’m going to Buzzed with Ethan.” And
then I joined him on the stoop.
We made our way over to my car. “Beatrice dances to the beat of her own drum,” I said as I
unlocked the doors and slipped into the driver’s seat. Ethan followed suit.
As he clicked his seatbelt into place, I started the engine.
I let the car idle for a moment while I gathered my courage. This was it. I was going to see
Lachlan outside of school.
My calm, floating butterflies started to take nose-dives as they assaulted my stomach. I swallowed
and glanced over at Ethan. Boy, was I thankful to have my best friend alongside me. There was no
way I could do this without him.
“Thanks for coming,” I said, putting the car into reverse and backing down the driveway.
He smiled over at me. “Sure. After all, what are friends for?”
 CHAPTER TWO

T he smell of coffee and pastries assaulted my nose as I walked into Buzzed after Ethan.
He stepped to the side and waited for me to take the lead. I glanced around at the dark-
grey walls and oak furnishings. For our small town of Olathe, Kansas, this place was
fancy.
It opened up a year ago, and since Olathe hadn’t seen anything like it before, it really took off. The
hippie crowd invaded, showcasing bands or hosting poetry nights.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw the small stage set up in the back. Not because I saw the
stage, but because I saw Lachlan. He had a guitar pick in his mouth and he was fiddling with those
nobby things at the top of a guitar.
I loved the way his dark hair fell across his forehead and the way his eyes squinted as he plucked
a few cords and paused as if trying to figure out what was off.
“Did you want to order something or just stare at the guy all night?” Ethan asked, snapping my
attention back to him.
“What?” I asked and then winced. Take the volume down a notch, Olivia.
Ethan raised an eyebrow as he studied me. “Do you want to order anything?”
I glanced behind him toward a girl with dark brown hair and black-rimmed glasses. She looked
annoyed that we’d stopped right in front of the counter.
“Um, sure,” I said. “Hot chocolate?”
She nodded, punched in my order, and then asked for my name. After I paid her, she waved
toward the end of the counter and told me I could pick it up there. I waited for Ethan to pay and get his
hot chocolate before we found a table near the front and sat down.
I couldn’t help my gaze from drifting over to Lachlan, who had finished tuning his guitar and was
now talking to the bassist behind him.
“So, that’s the guy you like?” Ethan asked.
I glanced over at Ethan to see that he’d taken out his phone and was scrolling through some
messages. I shushed him, worried that the tables around us had heard him.
“You know who Lachlan is,” I said under my breath. Why was he being so weird about this?
He glanced up at me, his blue eyes meeting my gaze. “Does he even know you exist?”
My cheeks burned at the directness of the question. I desperately wanted to say yes, he did. But I
knew that would be a lie. “Sort of.”
“He ‘sort of’ knows you exist?”
 I sighed as I dropped my elbows on the table and rested my chin in my hand. “Well, he probably
doesn’t know me as well as I know him, but…” I paused for effect. “He will.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “You’re not going to kidnap him or something, are you?”
I swatted his arm. “Of course not.”
He wiped his brow dramatically. “Good. ‘Cause, there’s no way I’m helping you with that. I don’t
like you that much.”
I glared at him as I fiddled with the napkin dispenser in the middle of the table. Why was I so
nervous? And why did I care what Ethan thought of Lachlan? I already knew we were prefect for each
other.
“We just got paired for an Economics project. That’ll give him ample time to get to know me and
realize that we are destined to be together.”
Ethan snorted. “Destined? Come on, Livi. Guys don’t think like that.” He took a sip of his hot
chocolate.
I waved away his comment. “I don’t want to start a discussion about what guys think about.”
The last time we had that conversation, I was shocked. I guess it was the result of growing up in a
female-dominated household—I had no brothers to clue me in.
Ethan wrinkled his nose. “I wasn’t talking about that.”
Before I could respond, Lachlan strummed a few cords on his guitar, and a hush settled on the
crowd.
“Thanks so much for coming out, guys,” Lachlan said into the microphone.
My skin tingled at the smoothness of his voice and the way his gaze swept over the crowd,
lingering for a moment on me. I smiled at him, my cheeks warming from the instant connection I felt. I
also tried to ignore the half-snort half-groan that came from Ethan.
I reached over and swatted Ethan’s arm. Why did he always make me feel so uncomfortable? Best
friends were supposed to be supportive.
“Ouch,” he said, cradling his arm.
I shot him an exasperated look and he grinned at me. Typical.
Lachlan continued. “I hope if you are feeling generous tonight, you will consider a donation. We
were hoping to play at a few parks in Paris when our school’s band went there, but it’s looking like
that’s not going to happen. A football stadium is being built instead. So we are hoping to get to Paris
on our own.”
The crowd murmured at the mention of the tornado that had devastated most of our town over the
summer. A few clinks could be heard as people started dropping loose change into the small Mason
jar they’d started passing around.
I studied Lachlan. He was going to go to Paris with the band? I figured as a senior, and an adult,
he would have felt it beneath him to go on a school trip. Paris was cool, but with a bunch of nerdy
band geeks like me? That seemed below Lachlan. When I glanced over at Ethan to confirm what I’d
heard, I found him studying a girl who was sitting a few tables over. She had her phone out and was
texting someone.
“He was going to go to Paris,” I repeated, ignoring the fact that my best friend was checking out
some girl. It wasn’t like he’d never done it before. He just was always saying he liked being single,
lately, so it was a bit weird.
When he didn’t respond, I shook his shoulder. “Hey, are you listening to me?”
He glanced over and nodded. “Yeah, Lachlan wants people to pay for his trip to Paris.” He shook
the jar as it was passed to him. “He’s going to need a lot more than that.” He handed the jar to the guy
sitting behind us.
I sighed. “Yes. But what if we could find a way to get the whole band to Paris. Then…” I raised
my eyebrows, hoping he got what I was saying.
“Then you can murder him in a foreign country and get away with it?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. But how perfect is that? Falling in love in one of the most romantic cities
in the world.” My stomach lightened at the thought of kissing Lachlan under the Eiffel tower and
eating croissants at a fancy French cafe.
He stared at me as if he wasn’t following what I was saying.
I sighed. “If I can get the band to go, I just might have a chance with him.”
The music started up, and Lachlan sang into the microphone. Goosebumps rose up on my arms as I
listened to the soulful sound of his voice. Wow. Lachlan was literally perfect.
A determination settled in my stomach. I was going to find a way to get the band back on track for
Paris. I owed it to him, to the school, and to our potential as a couple to figure something out.
I mean, how hard could it be? If everyone in the school pitched in a couple of bucks, it would be
more than enough. I drummed the table to the beat of the song.
Now, what to get the entire school to buy?
I spent Lachlan’s entire set trying to figure out a good fundraising plan. I needed to find something
that would be easy to execute and that most of the school would want.
A bake sale felt too elementary school. A car wash was just not my style. Everything else I came
up with seemed like it would take way too much time. I had school, work, and volunteer work at the
animal shelter. There was no way I had enough time or patience to pull off anything that needed to be
handmade.
I sighed, blowing a strand of hair from my face just as Lachlan announced that this would be the
last song of the night. I was tired and irritated. I glanced around, trying to figure out where Ethan had
wandered off to. Ten minutes ago, he’d said he needed to go to the bathroom, but he should be back by
now.
I finally spotted him standing just outside the bathroom talking to someone. I squinted, trying to
make out who she was. I recognized her dark hair. It was the girl that he was looking at earlier.
I don’t know why I couldn’t stop staring at Ethan as he talked to this mystery girl. Maybe it was
because I’d never seen him flirt with a girl since Hallie—if you could call what he was doing flirting.
From where I was sitting, it looked like she was the one flirting with him.
She kept swatting at his arm with her hand as if he were covered with mosquitos. Then she’d lean
forward and—I swear—bat her eyelashes at him. Ethan just stood where he was, smiling.
The final notes of Lachlan’s song played, drawing my attention back to the stage. He said his
goodbyes, and the band began packing up for the night. I wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t just walk
up to Lachlan and talk to him, and it felt weird to interrupt Ethan’s—whatever he was doing.
So I stayed in my seat, sipping on my now-cold hot chocolate.
A few minutes later, Ethan sat back down. I turned to face him, raising my eyebrows. There was
no way I was going to let this slide. He’d been flirting with someone.
“What?” he asked, twisting his cup on the table.
He was nervous. Weird.
“Who was that?” I asked.
His gaze made its way over to the mystery girl, who was gathering up her things. When she caught
his gaze, she waved and then turned to walk out the door.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said as he sighed and leaned back in his chair.
 “Why are you acting all cryptic?” I asked. “You were totally talking to that girl.” I leaned
forward. “What’s her name?”
He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw before he said, “Jessica.”
“Nice.” I settled back in my chair. “And where is Jessica from?”
He sighed. “I know where you are going with this, but our conversation never went there. She just
talked to me about how much she loved this band. I agreed. Then she asked me about the music I
liked, so I told her. It never went past that.”
I felt worried for my friend. What was with him? Sure, Hallie broke his heart a few years ago, but
it was time to move on from that. “Why didn’t you ask for her number?”
His gaze made its way over to me. He studied me for a moment before he sighed again. “You think
that’s a good idea?”
“Of course. It’s time to move on from Hallie.” I reached out and patted his forearm. “Jessica
seems like the perfect girl to do that with.” I smiled over at him, hoping I came across as supportive.
“Jessica is ‘the perfect girl’? You’ve never even met her,” he said under his breath as he pushed
some crumbs around on the table.
I waved away his comment. “I have a sense about people.” I smiled over at him. “You can do this.
Sometimes it takes falling for a new girl to help you get over a horrible one.”
He met my gaze again. There was something inside of it. A pain I hadn’t noticed before, and it
made my breath catch in my throat. Man, Hallie did a number on him.
Then he forced a smile as he stood. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He gathered up our empty cups and
took them over to the trash. After they were discarded, he walked back over. “What about you?” he
asked, waving toward Lachlan who’d put away his guitar and was now talking to a few girls.
I stared at the way Lachlan pushed his hand through his hair and smiled his brilliant, sexy smile.
“I’m not sure what you are getting at,” I lied.
“You’re not going to talk to him?”
Heat raced to my cheeks. “I…um…can’t do that.”
Ethan’s eyebrows went up. “So we came all the way down here just to watch him play? You’re
not going to talk to him?”
I shook my head. “I’m just not ready, especially when he is literally surrounded by girls.”
Ethan pushed his hair back with one hand as he shook his head. “So I’m supposed to move on
from Hallie with Jessica, and yet, you aren’t talking the guy you’ve been daydreaming about since I
can remember.”
I turned to him, my lips parting. “It’s all part of my master plan. I’m slowly entering his life. He’s
in my Economics group. Now he’s seen me here. Eventually, I’ll approach him.” I slowly pushed my
hand out in front of me. “Slow and steady.”
Ethan rolled his eyes as he drummed the table. “Livi, you know nothing about guys.” He stood and
nodded toward the door. “Can we go now?”
I stared at him. I couldn’t believe he would say that. “That’s offensive,” I said as I stood and
followed after him. For some reason, my skin tingled when I felt him press his hand to my lower
back. It was a small movement, and one he’d done before—especially when I was walking too slow
for him—but tonight, it felt different. It must be because I was so irritated with him.
When we got to my car, Ethan turned. and took a few steps toward me until he was inches away.
He glanced down at me, and I couldn’t help but meet his gaze. I could see the frustration in his eyes.
“So you would know if there was a guy, standing right in front of you, crushing on you?” He
raised his eyebrows.
 I swallowed. Hard. “I think so,” I whispered.
He eyed me for a moment before he stepped back.
Suddenly, I could breath again. The cool night air surrounded me as I dropped my gaze and
studied the ground under my feet. What had that been? What was happening to me? It had to be my
uncertainty about Lachlan that had my emotions all out of whack.
“We should get home.” He stretched and yawned.
I wasn’t sure if he was faking it or if he really was tired. But I wasn’t going to fight him, so I
climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Once we got home, Ethan waved at me as he
crossed the yard and disappeared into his house.
I shut my bedroom door and flopped down on my bed. As I laid there with my face smashed into
my comforter, I took a deep breath. Maybe Ethan was right. I probably wouldn’t know it if there was
a guy who liked me.
I rolled to my back and stared up at the ceiling. So, how could I find out if Lachlan was interested
without actually asking him?
 CHAPTER THREE

“I figured it out,” I announced as I stepped into Papa Louie’s Pizza Shop the next day and lifted
my arms above my head triumphantly. The door swung shut behind me, and the bells that hung
from the handle jingled.
The three customers, who were eating pizza at 2:30 in the afternoon, all turned to look at me. Heat
raced across my skin, and I nodded at them as I passed.
Whoops. I hadn’t meant to announce that to these strangers.
Ethan suddenly appeared from behind the counter, holding a stack of napkins. He glanced over at
me. “You’re in a good mood.”
I sighed as I stepped up to the counter. “You would be too if you figured out the solution to my
conundrum.”
“And what conundrum would that be?” he asked. His red baseball cap was tilted to one side and
#1 Papa Pizza was stitched across it in faded black thread.
I shoved my identical hat onto my head and pulled my long brown hair through the hole in the
back. “How to get the band to Paris,” I said as he handed me the napkins.
I walked over and refilled the dispenser that was right beside the soda fountain. When I was done,
I turned to grin at him.
He was leaning against the counter with his arms folded, studying me. His lips were tipped up
into a smile. I wiggled my eyebrows.
Boy, was I excited to tell him my plan. Once I clocked in and washed my hands, I joined him
behind the counter. He was kneading some dough for a pizza order that had just been placed.
“How long are you going to keep me waiting?” he asked, glancing over at me.
I shifted the brim of my hat in excitement. “I have come up with the most ingenious way to pay for
the band’s trip to Paris.” Butterflies erupted in my stomach. Sure, it was a half-cocked plan that I’d
come up with after watching one of Beatrice’s reality TV shows. But it was brilliant. And maybe, a
little self-serving.
I rubbed my hands together like a Disney villain. “I am going to offer my services to Olathe
High.”I let my voice trail off for effect.
Ethan glanced over at me. “Services?” He quirked an eyebrow. “What kind of services would you
offer? Debate coaching?”
“No,” I waved away that comment. That was definitely not in high demand.
“The flute?”
 “No,” I said again, getting exasperated. “I am going to be Olathe High’s matchmaker!” I extended
out my hands like I had done a magic trick.
Ethan didn’t look convinced. “Matchmaker?”
Well, that wasn’t the response I was hoping for.
“The school needs money for the trip, right?” I asked. Starting at the beginning seemed like the
best idea.
Ethan nodded as he swirled some sauce on the dough he’d just stretched out. “Because they put so
much money into the football stadium after the tornado last month.” He glanced over at me. “I’m
following you.”
“Right. So, I will start my own little matchmaking company. People will pay me to set them up
with their perfect person. They will fall in love, and I will be the genius sipping lattes in Paris—with
Lachlan.” I leaned against the counter and raised my hand, tipping my pinched fingers toward my lips
with my pinky extended.
Then I hesitated, wondering what he was going to think about that. One of the reasons that my plan
was so ingenious was that I would be in charge of the matches. I could match me and Lachlan
together. Though, if I could get him to take a test, I was pretty certain we would match up on our own.
I would finally get the opportunity to approach him with no pressure. How could he push me away
when he’d voluntarily asked to be set up with me?
Ethan finished sprinkling the cheese and then turned to slip the pizza into the wood-burning stove
behind him. When he turned around, he sighed. “I knew there was a hidden agenda.” He studied me,
but thankfully, he didn’t say anything about Lachlan “I hate to break it to you, but I’m not so sure
people will pay you to set them up.” He leaned against the counter. “You don’t really have the
qualifications.”
I swatted his arm. “Hey, I told you all my failures in confidence.”
He studied me and then smiled. “I didn’t mean those qualifications. I wasn’t saying you had to be
in a relationship to know how to help people with theirs.” He narrowed his eyes. “How are you going
to find out what people are looking for in a relationship?”
I waved away his question. “I’ll be fine. Beatrice has about a billion fashion magazines stacked
up in her room. I’ll just compile a survey. Then the students of Olathe High will take it, and I will
match them up.” I clapped my hands together. “It’s literally the best idea I’ve come up with.”
Ethan shrugged. “What about a kissing booth?”
I laughed—it came out all high-pitched and awkward. Ethan knew why I would turn that idea
down. There was no way I was qualified to run a kissing booth. I have had zero—count them, zero—
kisses in my life. And I really didn’t want to spend my evening watching everyone else exponentially
blow my count out of the water.
I patted his arm. “I’m sorry, dude. I overrule you.” I gave him an apologetic look.
He laughed. “Oh really, since when?”
The phone started to ring, so I answered it. After I took someone named Freddie’s order, I hung up
and turned back to Ethan. He was pulling a steaming hot pizza from the oven.
“Since I beat you up in the second grade,” I said, flexing my arm.
Seriously though, I needed to stop using that as a reason. Ethan was six-feet-one and—as much as
I hated to admit it—incredibly muscular. Which wasn’t weird for me to say at all, right? Girls notice
these kinds of things.
All of that meant there was no way I could beat him up now. But he humored me.
“Of course.” He chuckled as he boxed up the pizza and handed it to the woman waiting on the
other side of the counter.
I sighed. He was such a naysayer. I could do this. It was perfect. Plans started rolling around in
my mind.
Deciding that I should write my ideas down, I grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil from the
counter, and then tapped the eraser against my lips.
“I need a spokesperson,” I said as I wrote local celebrity on the paper.
I needed someone who could validate my services. Tell them what a fabulous job I was sure to
do.
Just as I started listing off people in my mind, Ethan stepped into my line of sight. He stood in
front of the stove and slipped Freddie’s everything-but-the-anchovies pizza into the oven.
An idea popped in my head. “You,” I said, moving toward him.
Ethan was perfect. He was popular, good looking—weird as that was—and as single as my Uncle
Eddie on lady’s night.
Ethan’s eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
There was literally no one else who would be more perfect than my lifelong best friend. I just
needed to convince him..
“You’d be perfect.”
He shook his head and began moving around the floor. Pacing was always a good sign. It meant he
was trying to come up with a reason to say no. I just needed to intervene before he came up with the
killer response “because I just don’t want to, and you can’t make me.”
“You’re the most eligible bachelor in the school. If you do this for me, everyone will be lining up
to have me match them with you.” I grabbed his arm so he would look at me. “Come on. You’re my
best friend.” Here came the guilt trip. “I’d do this for you.” I gave him my biggest, Disney princess–
sized eyes.
He studied me and I saw the internal conflict in his gaze.
“I’ll make sure she’s good,” I said, leaning in..
His expression softened as he looked at me. I was wearing him down. I needed to keep going.
“She’ll be perfect. Like, your soulmate. Better than Jessica and way better than Hallie.” I hated
saying Hallie’s name. It always caused a black cloud to fall around us. I hated that girl for what she
did to Ethan. I hated breathing life into their past.
And then it came. Just what I was waiting for.
The big sigh.
It meant I’d won him over; he was going to do whatever crazy plan I presented in front of him.
Then he narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to do. “Promise me you’ll
just set me up on one date? I go on it, talk about how great it was, and then you will leave me and my
love life alone.”
I squealed as I threw my arms around his neck. “Deal!”
Louie rounded the corner and cleared his throat. “What’s happening here?”
Papa Louie had owned this restaurant for twenty years. He was a staple in Olathe. And because of
that, everyone here looked to him like a grandfather. He was short and round with a deep Italian
accent and pitch-black hair.
I laughed as I pulled myself off of Ethan. “I just convinced Ethan to be my first victim,” I said,
clapping my hands.
Louie peered at me from over his spectacles. “You’re a serial killer now?”
I shrugged. “If you mean I’m slaughtering Ethan’s non-existent love life, then yes, I’m a serial
killer of lonely people.” I scrunched up my nose. That didn’t sound right. “I’m a serial killer of lonely
hearts.” Better, but still not great. “I’ll work on a different tag line.”
Louie nodded. “Yeah. That might be best.” He dipped into his office just off the hallway from the
kitchen.
Once he was gone, I glanced over at Ethan, who had a pained expression on his face.
“You are amazing,” I said, patting his shoulder.
Ethan shot me a weary smile as he pulled out Freddie’s pizza and slipped it into a box. I wrapped
it up, labeled it, and stuck it in the warmer.
“So, Mr. Super-cool-best-friend-who-is-so-awesome,” I said, nudging him. “Tell me who your
perfect girl is.”
He paused and studied me. I couldn’t help but feel the intensity of his stare. I shifted my weight,
hoping to push those nervous feelings aside, and cleared my throat. He was probably just trying to
figure out how to get out of this.
“I really don’t think you’d be able to find my perfect girl with Beatrice’s crazy magazine tests,” he
said, raising his hands.
I folded my arms. “I bet I could.”
He scoffed and moved over to the counter, where he wiped down the lingering cheese and
marinara. “Um, not likely.”
I stepped up next to him. “Come on. Tell me who you’re interested in. I’ll match you with her.”
He glanced over at me and his expression stilled.
Was it weird that I was asking him this? When I stopped to think about it, we’d never really talked
about any girls he liked.
Sure, we talked about who I was interested in, but nothing ever came from Ethan. Why was he
holding out on me?
I leaned closer. “You do like girls, right?”
He scoffed. “Of course I like girls. I just…” He scrubbed his face and then stopped. He groaned
as he made his way over to the sink.
I waited for him to return.
When he did, he grabbed another dough round and started working it.
“You ‘just’?” I asked, hating that he left me hanging.
He glanced over and sighed. “I guess I’ve just never liked the right girl at the right time.”
I furrowed my brow. What the heck was he talking about? “What girl? Ethan.” I reached out and
touched his arm. “Any girl would be crazy to turn you down.” I concentrated my gaze on his face. He
had to know that he was a catch.
He quirked an eyebrow. “You think so?”
I nodded. “Of course. You are an amazing guy and an incredible best friend.” I grinned as I lifted
my pencil and paper. “And with my genius plan, I will find you a girl who will see all of those
qualities in you.” I tapped the paper with the tip of the pencil. “And while you’re here in love, I will
be in Paris with Lachlan, and our curse of singleness will be broken.”
I grinned at him.
Ethan didn’t look as thrilled, but thankfully, he sighed and nodded. “I have no choice, do I?”
I shook my head. “Nope. It’s a best friend’s duty.” I shrugged. “You’re stuck doing this. Or you
could stop being my friend.” I laughed. That was a ridiculous thought.
He had a contemplative expression on his face. I responded by punching him in the arm.
“That’s not an actual option,” I said, walking over to the ringing phone and picking it up.
 I took the order and handed it over to him. He started rolling out the dough as I waited on a small
group of students that walked in the door. The rest of our shift passed by quickly as the orders started
flooding in.
That’s what happened on Sunday nights in our small town. Everyone wanted a taste of Papa
Louie. We didn’t have a chance to talk more about my ingenious plan, which also meant that Ethan
didn’t have a chance to back out.
When I pulled out of the parking lot at ten, I stuck my head out the window. Ethan had just
unlocked his Jeep and was about to climb in.
“You won’t regret it,” I called out to him.
He rolled his eyes. “I better not.” Then he studied me. “No humiliation?”
I crossed my heart. “I promise.”
He scoffed, glancing away and then back to me. “I’ll hold you to that.”
I pretended to shoot him with my finger pistol, and he returned the gesture. Our stupid, best friend
handshake, so to speak, from the summer of third grade. A warmth erupted in my stomach and traveled
down to my toes.
I was one lucky girl. I had an amazing best friend, a great job, and in just a few short days, a
match with Lachlan Daniels.
 CHAPTER FOUR

M onday morning, I walked into school with excitement coursing through my veins and
overpowering my exhaustion. I’d spent all night combing through Beatrice’s
magazines, trying to compile the best test for my clients to take. I finally went to sleep
at two.
Some of the tests were incredibly scandalous—I blushed just thinking about the questions they
were asking. Others were not really suited for the high school lifestyle.
After a few creative twists, I had what I called Olivia’s True Love Formula, perfected and ready
to go.
I just needed Principal Potter-Bacon to sign off on it.
When I got to the office, I pulled open the door and waved at Mrs. Fontain who sitting at her desk
answering phones. She was a short, plump woman with frizzy black hair. She waved at me as I
pointed toward the principal’s shut door.
She tipped the phone away from her mouth. “Go ahead. He’s alone.”
I nodded and walked up to the door and knocked.
“Come in.” Principal Potter-Bacon’s voice sounded through the door.
I turned the handle and stepped in.
Principal Potter-Bacon was a tall, slender man. He reminded me of a skeleton with an oversized
wig of thick, brown hair. His gaze fell on me and he smiled.
“Ms. Williams, it’s good to see you,” he said as he waved me in.
I nodded. “Yeah.” I stood behind the chairs in front of his desk and glanced around. I wasn’t sure
how to start.
“It’s best to just start talking,” he said.
I took a deep breath and the whole plan tumbled out. Starting with Ethan being my guinea pig and
ending with the band going to Paris. When I finished, I placed my written plan in front of him. I
pinched my lips together and studied his reaction.
Principal Potter-Bacon’s eyes were wide. “Well, I’m not sure, Olivia. Olathe High isn’t really
interested in helping students ‘hook up,’ ” he said, making air quotes with his fingers.
Bleh. That sounded awful coming from him.
But I knew he was going to have this concern, so I’d already come up with a way to combat it. “I
understand. This won’t be conducted during school hours, and the everyone will sign an agreement
that this is just informative—they are not obligated to proceed with anything, and the school does not
support any…questionable behavior.”
He tapped his lips as he studied the paper and then sighed. “Okay, fine. You can try it. After all,
the band does deserve to go to Paris, and I feel bad that the funds had to be diverted to the football
stadium.” He handed me back my proposal. “Just get a teacher to oversee it all. And promise that this
won’t come back to bite me.”
I took the paper and smiled. “Definitely. It’ll be fun. Like candy grams on Valentine’s.”
Thankfully, his phone rang, ending our conversation. He nodded at me as he picked up the
receiver.
I slipped from his office, waved at Mrs. Fontain, and headed out into the hall. I needed to find
Ethan and tell him about my victory.
When I got to the lunchroom, I found Nick and Hannah sitting at our table. They were chatting,
with their calculus books open in front of them. They were the other half of our friend group.
I appreciated having them around. Sometimes Ethan got wrapped up with football stuff, which left
me alone. I was grateful that Nick and Hannah kept me company.
I collapsed on a chair and grinned over at them. They eyed me.
“Why are you smiling like a crazy person?” Nick asked as he set his pen down on his notebook
and folded his arms. His unruly red, curly hair was out of control today. His dark glasses stood out
against his fair skin.
I handed them my proposal and told them all about it. They listened until I was finished.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“This is dumb,” Nick said at the same time Hannah said “This is amazing!”
I glanced between the two of them. “Well, I’m hoping that with Ethan backing this, more guys will
feel less like you”—I motioned toward Nick—“and more like Hannah.”
Hannah smiled at me as she tucked her stick-straight blonde hair behind an ear. She was beautiful
in a down to earth sort of way. While she had fashion sense, I had none. “Wow. I can’t believe that
Ethan agreed to be your guinea pig. I mean, being single is, like, his trademark.” She leaned back and
twirled her hair around her finger. “Offering up his single status is kind of ingenious. Every girl—
single or not—who has ever wanted a chance with him will finally get one.” She got a far-off look in
her eye.
I slapped the table, bringing her back to reality. “Right? It’s going to be amazing.” I couldn’t help
it. I was so pumped about the whole thing.
The warning bell rang, so I stood while Nick and Hannah grabbed their stuff and shoved it into
their backpacks.
“Okay. Let’s meet at Mr. Gunyan’s office after school to plan,” I said, grinning at them.
They nodded and peeled off to go to their classes.
I glanced around, hoping to find Ethan, but I didn’t. He must be doing something for football. I
sighed as I threaded my thumbs through the straps of my backpack and headed down the hall.
Hopefully I’d see him before school was out. I wanted to make sure he was still okay with our plan.
If he decided against it, there was no way any of this would work. I needed him.

I went the whole day without seeing Ethan, which was strange. It was almost like he was avoiding
me. Maybe I was just being super sensitive. I knew that he really didn’t want to do this, and I was
maybe feeling a bit guilty. But how could he not like this idea? He was going to become one of the
most popular guys in school. Most people would kill for that status.
I waited outside of the guy’s locker room as soon as the last bell rang. I needed to catch him
before we made a million posters that said “Match with the Quarterback.”
I had pulled out my phone and was reading an ebook when I heard his voice.
“Livi?”
I turned to see him approach. He had his helmet in his hands and his backpack slung over one
shoulder. I smiled and slipped my phone into my pocket. “Hey,” I said.
He stopped and peered down at me.
There was a look on his face that made my heart skip a beat. Was he upset? Had something
happened? Why hadn’t he texted me?
“You okay?” I asked, moving closer to him.
He cleared his throat and stepped back. “Yeah. I’m just…not feeling good.”
Just in case he was actually sick, I moved away from him. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged and then glanced up and down the hallway. “Why are you waiting outside of the
locker room?”
I straightened and smiled up at him, hoping I came across as convincing and not creepy. “I just
want to be sure that we are a go with my matchmaking plan.”
His expression fell as he studied me. “I don’t know, Livi. I thought about it a lot yesterday. You
know this is really not my thing.” He ran his hand through his wavy, blond hair. “I’m just not sure that
I should be distracted with that stuff right now. Scouts are out, and graduation is just around the
corner.” He glanced back at me.
I grasped my hands together, pleading. “Please? I will love you forever.”
His normally bright-blue eyes darkened as he met my gaze. “I don’t—”
“What if I promise to make sure she’s amazing?” I widened my eyes.
“It’s not that. I’m sure she’d be great. I just…” He glanced away and then back to me.
We studied each other for a second before his shoulders relaxed and he sighed. I’d won him over.
I grinned as I flung my arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He hesitated before wrapping
his arms around me. It must be because he wasn’t feeling well—he’d never been shy about hugging
me in the past.
I pulled back and kissed his cheek. “You are amazing.” I smiled up at him. His expression looked
pained, but I just patted his shoulder. “You won’t regret this.”
He sighed. “I hope not.”
I grabbed my backpack from the floor and turned around to grin at him. “I’ve got to go make some
posters.”
His skin paled, but he just nodded. “The perfect girl. You promise, right?”
I smiled. “The best.”
He gave me a weak smile and pushed into the locker room. “I’ll hold you to that,” he said as the
door swung shut behind him.
I half-walked, half-skipped to Mr. Gunyan’s room. He was the art teacher and had agreed to let
me use his supplies to make the signs. He’d been more than happy to help out with a fundraiser for the
school band—something about the arts needing to stick together. Apparently, there was a big divide in
the school when the board diverted all the “extra” funds to rebuilding the football stadium.
After school programs were getting cut, and parents and teachers were not happy.
I was determined to be part of the solution instead of the problem. I pushed open the door the door
of the art room, smiling. This was going to be amazing.
After I tore off a bunch of poster-sized pieces of paper from the giant rolls in the back, I grabbed
some paint and poured it into a Styrofoam plate.
I was elbow deep in writing Match on every poster when Nick and Hannah joined me. With their
help, we finished within the hour.
When the paint was dry, we split up, everyone taking a hallway to pepper with posters. Each
poster said the date and time that students could come take the test. And they all ended with the
promise that one girl was going to have the chance to win a date with the quarterback—in big, capital
letters.
I hoped that was enough to get all the girls to come. And if all the guys saw all the girls
participating, hopefully they’d come as well.
If not, I might have to finagle Ethan into getting the football team to come out.
While I was taping up the last poster, the outside door opened and the entire cheerleading team
piled into the school.
Tasha, the cheerleading captain, stopped and stared at my poster.
“Wait. Does that say what I think it does?” She glanced over at me, her jaw dropping.
I nodded. “Yep. We are raising money so the band can go to Paris. For twenty dollars, come take
our compatibility test to find your soulmate. One lucky girl will be matched with the quarterback,” I
said in the most flourishing announcer voice.
She rolled her eyes as she turned to the team. “I don’t care about the band, but this is a game
changer, girls.” They all squealed as she flicked her perfectly straight hair over her shoulder. “I’m
going to finally get my date with Ethan.”
More squealing and more cheering sounded as they made their way down the hall to the locker
room. They looked like a flock of birds, moving and shifting together.
I wanted to tell Tasha that she was the last person I’d ever pair Ethan with. She was shallow and
mean, and Ethan hated her. She could go ahead and think this was a game changer, but there was no
way I’d allow it. Ethan was too good for that. Paring him with Tasha would definitely not be
upholding my promise to find him the perfect girl.
I gathered up the tape dispenser and headed back to Mr. Gunyan’s room. The others had already
gotten back. Nick was sitting on one of the art tables, and Hannah was standing next to him.
“Get them all up?” I asked.
They nodded. “Yeah,” Hannah said. “Stirred up quite a commotion with the female track
members.”
Excitement bubbled up in my stomach. This just might actually work.
“Tasha’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head,” I said as I mimicked her shocked expression.
“Well, she has been trying to land Ethan for the last three years.”
I held up a finger. “Hannah, please.” I didn’t like it when people talked about landing, bagging, or
conquering my best friend. And believe me, I’d heard them all—and more.
Hannah shrugged. “He’s hot. The fact that you are around him literally all the time and don’t see it
boggles my mind.”
I heard Nick harrumph next to me. He had his arms crossed as he studied Hannah.
She shrugged. “I call it like I see it.”
I held up my hand. This conversation needed to stop. One of the rules I’d set for myself since
sophomore year, when I saw Ethan without his shirt at Brenda’s pool party, was that I could never
think of Ethan like that. I didn’t want to lose my friendship with him.
 Friendships never survived the heartbreak of a relationship gone bad. So there was no way I was
going to go down that path. Besides, we’d promised each other when we were seven that dating was
icky and we would never be anything but best friends. I was not someone who went back on
promises.
“I don’t think of Ethan like that,” I said.
She shrugged and grabbed her backpack off the table. “You’re crazy sometimes, do you know
that?” There was a playful hint to her voice.
I smiled as I turned and followed her and Nick from the room. “That’s why you guys love me,
right?”
She laughed, turned off Mr. Gunyan’s light, and let the door slide shut behind us. “We’re not the
only ones, though.” She linked arms with Nick, and they made their way to the parking lot.
I watched as they walked down the hall. What did that mean?
 CHAPTER FIVE

E than called in sick for work that night. And by the time I got to school the next morning, the
entire student body was abuzz. Everyone was talking about Make a Match.
As I walked by small groups of people, I caught bits and pieces of their conversations.
Some wanted to only win a date with Ethan—dating anyone else at this school would be just plain
gross.
Others were hoping to get set up with their crushes. Some were turning this into a money-making
scheme. The entire Math League was taking bets on which cheerleader would get paired with Ethan.
I considered placing a bet. After all, I was going to be the one to see who everyone got paired
with. But then my moral side came shining through, and I turned them down.
When I got to our lunch table, I found Nate and Hannah there, grinning as they talked with a few
other students. It seemed like the entire population of Olathe high was brimming with excitement.
It was perfect.
When I sat down, Hannah turned to smile at me.
“Are you seeing this?” I asked, pointing toward the crowds of people hovering around our
posters.
Hannah nodded. “Yeah. It’s crazy. I’ve already had ten people try to pay me already.”
My jaw dropped. “Wow. That’s insane.”
Nick finished talking to a group of sophomores and turned. “Hey, Olivia? A few people were
wondering if it was going to stay within grades or if it would be spread throughout the school.” He
pulled a weird face. “Basically, sophomores are wondering if they will have a chance to be paired
with Ethan.” He leaned forward. “You would think that there were no other guys in the whole school.
It’s like The Hunger Games out there, and the winner gets Ethan.”
I chewed my lip as I scanned the lunchroom. I hoped Ethan was okay with all of this. It was a
crazy reaction, and I wondered if he was going to back out because of it. “Have you seen him?”
When I glanced back at Nick and Hannah they shook their heads.
The warning bell sounded. It was too late to try and find him now. Hopefully, he wasn’t super sick
and not at school today. I stood, grabbed my backpack, and headed into the hall, joining the throng of
people making their way to first period. I was going to have to find him during lunch.
The first four periods flew by. All my classes consisted of the teacher shushing all the girls from
talking about Make a Match.
I leaned back, glowing. Paris felt just within my grasp.
 After the bell rang for lunch, I grabbed my backpack and headed toward the cafeteria.
When I got to my table, a very upset-looking Ethan greeted me. He had his arms folded and his
jaw set. He was not happy.
I mustered my best forgive-me smile and walked up to him. “Feeling better?” I dropped my
backpack next to the table and turned to look at him.
He narrowed his eyes. “Make a Match with the Quarterback?”
I swallowed. I did not expect him to react this way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think that it would upset
you.” Truth was, I really hadn’t. I’d known it was going to be a marketing home run. I guess I just
hadn’t stopped to think what it would do to Ethan.
He sighed as he slumped down on his chair. “Come on, Livi, you’ve turned me into a slab of meat
being fought over by bears.” His cheeks grew red as a few girls stopped to wave at him.
I suddenly realized that the entire female population of the lunchroom was staring at him. I
glanced around, frustration rising up in my gut. I’d just completely embarrassed my best friend. I was
a horrible person.
I reached out and covered his hand with mine. “I’m so sorry, Ethan. I had no idea that people
were going to react this way.” He met my gaze as he studied me. “I guess it just shows what an
awesome guy you are.” I smiled, hoping to lessen his frustration with me.
And after a few seconds, his expression softened and his signature half-smile returned. “Just
another classic Livi plan. Always getting in way over your head.”
It stung a bit to have him say that about me. I’d put a lot of thought into this, I guess I just hadn’t
realized that every girl in the school wanted a piece of him. And, if I were honest with myself, that
caused a twinge of jealousy to reside in my gut.
He was so much more than the pretty face that everyone kept talking about. He was a great guy,
and I was determined to find him a girl that understood that.
He slipped his hand out from under mine and pulled his backpack up onto his shoulder. He
glanced over at me. “You’re taking the test as well, right?”
“Um, yeah. How else will I get paired with Lachlan?”
He studied me for a moment before he nodded. “Right. Lachlan.” He sighed as he nodded to a
football player walking by. When he turned back to me, his strained expression had changed. “So,
when do I get matched with my perfect girl?” he asked, leaning toward me.
I smiled at him. Forgiveness was right around the corner. “I’m working with the computer lab
guys about getting a program written with the questions. I should have it ready on Friday for people to
take. Then I’ll be compiling the data and matching all weekend long.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Awesome. My date will be when?”
I traced a circle on the tabletop with my finger. “Well, if all goes well, whenever you guys
decide.”
He drummed the table. “Is it wrong that I’m kind of excited to see who you set me up with?”
I raised an eyebrow. “No. It’s great that you are excited. It means you have faith in me.” And for
some reason, that meant a lot. Like, a whole lot. I could not screw this up. Ethan was depending on
me.
Plus, this whole thing was going to start things up for me with Lachlan. I really had no plans if this
didn’t work out. My literal happiness was wrapped up in this matchmaking test.
Ethan patted me on the shoulder. “Just don’t make this another fifth-grade talent show.”
I cringed at the mention of my fundraising blunder. I’d convinced my group of friends to
participate in a talent show so we could afford an over-night stay at the amusement park. I’d used as
little funds as possible when building the stage. Two talents in, the whole thing came crashing down.
No one was seriously injured, thankfully, but a lot of kids sustained cuts and bruises.
Needless to say, I was banished from ever trying to come up with a money-making scheme again.
Luckily, my elementary school principal, Mr. Stokes, no longer worked in our school district. And
besides, there was no risk of bodily harm.
My stomach rumbled; I was ready for some lunch. I nodded toward the line of kids along the far
wall. “Food.”
“Yeah, I should go. Gotta meet up with the team. Coach is really pushing team unity. Making us do
things together to show the school we can’t be beat.” He turned away from the table. Just as he started
to walk away, he faced me again. “I’m sorry for getting mad, Livi.” He wrapped me in a one-armed
hug.
I waved away his apology. “You don’t have to say anything. This was totally my fault.” Ismiled up
at him.
He nodded. “True. But I could have reacted better.” He squeezed my shoulders one more time and
then dropped his arm. “I’ll see you at Papa Louie’s tonight, right?”
“Yep,” I said as he walked away—into the throng of girls waiting to swallow him up.
I pushed away the frustration that boiled up as I watched about ten girls check him out. Why did it
upset me? It hadn’t in the past. Maybe it had to do with the fact that after Hallie, Ethan had pretty
much given up on love. I was the only girl who had a special place in the heart of the star
quarterback.
Did these girls know just how great Ethan was? Probably not. That thought made me want to
march over to every one of my posters and pull them down.
I sighed. I couldn’t do that. There was too much at stake. Most importantly, my relationship with
Lachlan.
In that moment, I pictured Lachlan’s flawless skin and perfect lips. I imaged him leaning down
and pressing them to mine. Tingles spread throughout my body. Yep. That was all I needed to do.
Imagine my relationship with Lachlan, and all my frustration would disappear.
I got in line and continued my daydream. In my imagination, we had everything in common. We
would sit alongside a lake, eating sandwiches and laughing.
It was like an old time-y movie. When I was kid, watching those black-and-white romances made
me sigh. That was what I wanted. And, if the guy threw in a slow boat ride around the lake? Who was
I to complain?
“The line moved,” a deep voice said from behind me.
I straightened, feeling sheepish. When I turned around to apologize, I saw that it was Lachlan. My
mouth fell open, but no sound came out. I forced myself to blink so that he wouldn’t think I was having
a stroke.
“You okay?” he asked, a playful tone to his voice.
I pinched my lips shut and nodded. Turning, I stepped forward to close the gap between me and
the junior in front of me.
“Hey, did I see you at Buzzed this weekend?”
Oh. My. Gosh. He saw me. And remembered. This was so surreal. “Yeah, I was there,” I said,
turning to look at him. I tucked my hair behind my ear and then mentally groaned. What was I doing?
Was I seriously trying to flirt with him?
Every time I’d try to do it in the past, I crashed and burned. Last year, a particularly attractive
exchange student had been paired with me for a chemistry lab. He got to flirting with me, and as he
started to fill out our lab sheet, he asked me for the date. Instead, I thought he was asking me for a
date. I rambled on how Saturday was perfect and how there was a movie I wanted to see that I was
convinced he would like.
He stared at me like I had two heads, until I finally took a breath. Then he told me that he’d asked
me for today’s date, not on a date. He apparently had a girlfriend and was off the market.
After that, I decided to never attempt flirting again.
But, Lachlan was staring at me as if he were waiting for me to say something. So I pushed out the
thoughts that were making me tongue-tied and smiled. “You were amazing. I loved your set.”
His perfectly formed lips tipped up into a smile. “I’m glad you liked it.” He threaded his thumb
through his backpack strap. “What did your boyfriend think?”
I almost choked on my spit. So, Ethan had been right. It was a mistake to bring a guy with when
you’re trying to pick up another guy. I coughed and swallowed. “He’s not my boyfriend. We’re just
friends. I’m not—I’m single.” Heat permeated every inch of my body. I needed to stop talking before I
ruined my chances.
He nodded. “Good to know.”
I turned to see that the line had moved again. I stepped forward, hoping that Lachlan was going to
continue talking. When I nonchalantly turned around, he was close behind me. I took that as a good
sign.
Next to us on the wall was one of my Make a Match signs. I desperately wanted to know if he was
planning on taking the test, so I took a deep breath and pointed toward it.
“What do you think of that?” I asked.
Lachlan’s gaze fell on the paper, and I could see him reading the words. He scoffed and pushed
his hand through his dark hair. “Seems ridiculous to me.”
A stabbing pain radiated through my chest. That was not the reaction I’d thought I would get. “But
did you see that they are going to use the proceeds to send the band to Paris?” I asked. His gaze fell to
the spot I’d pointed out, and his brow furrowed. “At Buzzed, you said you were wanting to go there.
Maybe if you do it, others will too.” I shrugged, trying not to look as if all my hopes and dreams were
riding on his reaction.
“Eh, maybe I’ll show up.”
Relief flooded my muscles. He might show up. Right now, that was good enough for me.
“You won’t regret it,” I said, grabbing a tray and setting it on the metal counter in front of me.
“Are you going?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I’m kind of the mastermind behind all of it.” I turned and winked at him. After I did
it, I mentally slapped myself. I was terrible at flirting.
Thankfully, it didn’t look like I’d creeped him out. Instead he smiled as he studied me. “Does that
mean you’ll be taking the test?”
I swallowed. The word “yes” lingered on the tip of my tongue. But somewhere, deep inside of
me, a small voice told me to hang onto that word. “I might.” I watched him as he mulled that over.
And then he leaned in until he was inches from my ear. Tingles were racing up and down my body
from his closeness. “I hope you do,” he said, as he grabbed an apple from beside me and headed off
to grab a pre-made sandwich.
I stood there, holding onto my tray while my mind raced, trying to process our interaction. A smile
grew on my lips—I couldn’t stop it. Was this a dream?
I grabbed the rest of my food and headed back to the table. I was so excited, I wasn’t very hungry
anymore. I just wanted to get to the computer lab to hurry along the guys writing the program. This test
would be ready by Friday, and I was taking it. My future with Lachlan depended on it.
 CHAPTER SIX

T he rest of the week dragged on. I spent my days going to school and my evenings either
elbow-deep in homework or working the cash register at Papa Louie’s. I was
desperate to keep my mind focused on anything but my anticipation for Friday after
school.
That was the moment when my life would change forever.
When the bell rang at two thirty on Friday, I took a deep breath, gathered my things, and headed
out of Physics. I had a half hour before everyone would show up at the computer lab to take the quiz.
Thankfully the computer nerds were not only able to come up with a program to give the test, but
also to analyze it. That would save me hours of doing it by hand. I just had to get them free unlimited
Papa Louie’s pizza at their next chess tournament. Which I managed to finagle out of Papa Louie
because he’s like an uncle to me.
I dropped my backpack off at my locker and headed to the computer lab. When I got there, there
was already a long line outside the door. It spanned the length of the hall and disappeared around the
corner.
Both guys and girls were standing there. Some were chatting, some were doing homework, and
some looked completely bored. When George, the school’s loudmouth, saw me, he started clapping.
That drew the attention of everyone around him and suddenly, I was walking down the hall to
thunderous applause.
“You’re a genius,” George shouted above the noise.
I waved at them, trying to hide how embarrassed I was, and slipped into the lab. Sam, the
mastermind behind the program, was standing next to a computer that one of his minions, Porter, was
sitting at. They were talking in a hushed tone.
I approached, clapping my hands and then rubbing them together. “So, where are we?”
Sam looked up. I saw a hint of worry flash across his face, but then he replaced it with a smile.
“Good. Almost ready.”
I jerked my thumb toward the door. “Well, you better hurry. They wait for no man.”
Sam nodded and turned his attention back to Porter. They began to talk computers, so I moved
around the room, trying to work off my anxiety. I hoped that my efforts would pay off and I’d end up in
Paris with Lachlan. This plan had to work.
It took another ten minutes before Sam turned to me and gave me a huge grin. “We worked out the
bug. Things are a go.”
 I stood and made my way toward the door. I pulled it open and glanced down at Nate and Hannah
who were camped out at the table right next to the door. They had a small cash box in front of them.
“We are a go,” I said, nodding toward the line.
There was some cheering as they began taking money from the first people in line. Once they paid,
I guided them into the lab and over to the open computers.
The test took about ten minutes per person. When someone finished, they needed to submit their
test and check with Nate and Hannah before they left, just to make sure that it was received.
I tried hard not to stare at Lachlan when he came through the door. My cheeks burned as I nodded
toward an open computer. He winked at me—sending butterflies flitting through my stomach—and
then took a seat.
I swallowed as the time slowly ticked by. This was it. This was the start of my fairytale. We were
going to be paired together, and from there, we would fall in love. There was no other option.
When he finished, he lifted his hand, giving me a slight wave, and slipped through the door—right
beside Ethan.
Ethan glanced at him and then over to me.
My mind was so distracted with Lachlan that I barely heard what he said.
“What?” I asked, leaning forward.
Ethan quirked an eyebrow. “Did he take the test?”
I chewed my bottom lip as I stared at the computer Lachlan had sat at. “Yes,” I breathed.
When Ethan didn’t respond, I looked over at him. He had a strange expression on his face. It was
a mixture of sadness and frustration.
“What?” I asked. The last thing I needed him to do was to turn all big-brother on me. I didn’t need
him telling me stop pining after a guy who might not want anything to do with me. I was still hanging
onto the hope that if I could just get alone with Lachlan, everything would work out.
Ethan raised his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”
I nodded, grateful that he was going to drop it, and waved toward the recently vacated computer.
“You can use this one,” I said.
Ethan nodded and sat in front of the computer that Lachlan had just used.
I tried to ignore the giggles of all the girls in the room as they kept glancing over at Ethan. I
studied him, trying to see what they saw.
Sure, he was attractive. Especially when his forehead crinkled as he studied the questions. And
the way his lips tipped up when something amused him did endear him to any female looking at him.
But this was Ethan. The kid I’d spent my whole life telling secrets to.
There was no way I could ever find him attractive. It would ruin everything.
“You okay?” Hannah’s voice drew me from my ridiculous thoughts.
I jumped and turned toward her. She had her eyebrows raised.
“What? Yep—um hmm,” I stammered and then squeezed my eyes shut for a moment.
Get a grip, Olivia, I scolded myself.
Hannah chuckled. “You were just staring at Ethan.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. She’d caught me.
“I was?” I asked, innocently. “Huh, I was actually thinking about Lachlan—he was just sitting in
that seat.” I shrugged. “I wasn’t even thinking about Ethan.”
Hannah looked as if she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t push it .
I straightened and turned my attention over to the door. “How are things going out there?” I asked.
Hannah smiled. “Slow and steady. Just when we get to the end of the line, another group of people
shows up.” She clapped her hands together. “It just might work. And, Principal Potter-Bacon came
down and said that some guy heard what you were trying to do for the band and agreed to double
whatever we brought in.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious? We are totally going to Paris then.” I reached out and pulled
her into a hug. This was amazing.
Hannah laughed. “Let’s just get through this evening before we start celebrating.”
I nodded as she headed back out to the hallway.
I tried to contain my excitement the rest of the evening. Ethan finished his test and got up and left.
Everyone else was a blur. As time ticked down to seven—when we were supposed to be finished—I
had the remaining people finish up and kicked them out of the lab.
Sam, Porter, and I were the only ones left. They were huddled around a computer as they started
compiling the data. As I watched them, I suddenly realized that I’d forgotten to take the test as well.
“Hang on,” I said as I rushed over to a computer.
Sam looked at me from behind his monitor. “What’s up?”
“I forgot to take the test.” I shook the mouse to wake up the computer.
Sam waved at me. “Sounds good. We’ll wait until you finish.”
The test took me less time than anyone else. I already knew exactly how I was going to answer the
questions.
After I was finished, I waited for Sam and Porter to be done with their analysis. Eventually Sam
told me to go home; he’d email me the list of matches in the morning.
I stared at him, wanting to tell him that I was not going to leave without knowing who I’d matched
with. But he folded his arms and gave me a no-nonsense look. So I sighed, thanked them for their
help, and headed home.
When I got to my room, I stared at my bed. There was no way I was going to be able to sit in here
alone, waiting for the matches to come in. I glanced at the clock. Nine. Wow. I’d stayed at school
forever.
I glanced over at Ethan’s window. It was dark. He was probably still at his football game. I felt a
bit bad that I wasn’t there, but I had a much more pressing matter. Thankfully, Mr. Pickering, the band
director, was okay with me skipping out on the game. Apparently, when you tell a teacher that you just
might be able to fund their trip to France, they become much more lenient.
I curled up in bed amongst my stuffed animals and pillows and soon lost myself in a book. Just as
I got to the part when the murderer was about to be revealed, I saw Ethan’s light go on.
I glanced over to see his shadow moving across his blinds. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was talk
to my best friend. Ever since Make a Match started, I’d seen so little of him. I hoped he really had
forgiven me for offering him up on a platter. But he’d been so standoffish lately, I wasn’t sure he had.
I pushed off my comforter and slipped my feet into my slippers. After grabbing my lucky
sweatshirt, I pulled open my bedroom window and stepped out onto the roof. I walked to the edge and
climbed onto the branch of the tree that grew between our houses.
After walking across the platform that we’d built five years ago, I jumped onto his roof and over
to his window. I knocked a few times, and when he didn’t answer, I slid it open. Maybe he went
downstairs for a snack.
His room was painted a dark blue. When we were in elementary school, I’d helped him decorate
it. Back then he was all about superheroes. A lot of the knick-knacks were gone, but he still had a few
posters of Superman. I jumped onto his bed and grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it; I loved being
here.
 There was something calming about Ethan. The way he knew just what I was thinking. I felt like I
could breathe easy around him. I pulled open his nightstand drawer and grabbed a piece of gum from
his stash. Just as I unwrapped it, movement in his doorway drew my attention.
A half-naked Ethan stood by the door. He must not have seen me, because he was shutting his
door. His hair was wet, and there was a towel wrapped around his waist. Drops of water clung to his
tanned and incredibly muscular back.
I parted my lips, but no sound came out. What was wrong with me? I’d seen Ethan without a shirt
before. We went swimming together every summer.
But for some reason, staring at the way his back muscles moved as he shut the door or the way he
pushed his hand through his wet hair, left me speechless.
Just as he moved to pull off his towel and forever mar our relationship, I found my voice and
yelled, “No!”
Ethan jumped, grabbing onto his towel, and turned. “Livi?” His face turned bright red as he
glanced at me and then over to the window. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m—don’t—naked—” I slammed my lips shut.
Great. Apparently, I was having a brain aneurysm. It was the only thing that could explain the
nonsensical words coming out of my mouth.
Ethan walked over to his closet and slipped on a shirt. Then he turned to study me. “Why did you
come into my room when I was in the shower?”
Heat flushed over my body. I buried my face into the pillow I’d been hugging. “I didn’t know you
were in the shower. I figured you went downstairs to get some food.” I wanted the floor to open up
and swallow me whole. Why didn’t I realize he was taking a shower? He’d just played football. I
should have known. I was such an idiot.
“Don’t uncover your face, ‘kay?” he asked.
I nodded into the pillow. There was no way I was raising my head. Ever.
 CHAPTER SEVEN

I heard a few drawers open and close and then the bed shifted.
“You can look now.”
I pulled my face out of the pillow, but kept my eyes squeezed shut. I would give
anything to rewind time. All I could see right now was Ethan’s tanned chest. And his abs. When did
he get those?
I shook my head. That was not what I should be thinking about right now.
“You can look at me,” he repeated.
I peeked through an eyelid to find Ethan studying me. I sighed as I opened both eyes and gave him
my best forgive-me smile, for the second time this week. “I’m so sorry,” I said.
Ethan chuckled. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. I’m just happy you stopped me from taking off my
towel.”
My cheeks burned. Why did he have to say that? I snorted. “Yeah, me too.”
He tilted his head. “Ouch, Liv.”
I widened my eyes. Did I just insult him? “No, not because of that. It would just be, you know,
awkward.” I waved to my chest. “I’m your best friend and that is not something a best friend needs to
see.” I moved my hand to block my view of his chest. “And I already saw enough.” I swallowed.
Backpedal. Backpedal now. Change the subject. “When did you get abs?” I pinched my lips shut.
Wrong direction.
Ethan cleared his throat as he glanced over at me. “Are you okay?” He reached forward to rest his
hand on my forehead.
I sighed as I slumped against his headboard. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I think I’m
exhausted.”
His expression softened as his lips tipped up into a smile. “Long week, huh?” he asked, grabbing
his comforter and pulling it over me.
I snuggled in, breathing in the familiar smell, and nodded. “It’s been super stressful, and now that
it’s over, I guess my body just tanked.” I glanced over at him. I really did feel bad for exploiting him
like I had. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He furrowed his brow. “For what?”
“Forcing you into this. I mean, even though I think it’s time you started dating again, it doesn’t
mean that you have to.” I pulled my hand out from under the covers and rested it on his. Warmth
spread from my fingertips and up my arm.
 Wow, he must have taken a really hot shower.
His gaze dropped to our hands, and he hesitated before he sighed. “It wasn’t about Hallie,” he
said, glancing up at me.
My eyes widened. So he was mad at me. I pulled my hand away and rubbed my face. Part of me
was grateful to break the connection between us.
Maybe I was coming down with a cold. That was the only rational explanation. I brought my
thumb and forefinger to my throat and felt for my glands. They didn’t feel swollen, so that wasn’t it.
Maybe I should tell him I was sick, just as an excuse to head back to my room, where I could bury
myself in blankets and forget that this awkward experience ever happened.
Then Ethan’s soft chuckle filled the silence. “Wow. Was seeing me without a shirt this
traumatizing?”
I glanced over at him. What was he talking about? “No,” I whispered.
His eyebrows rose. “Then why are you acting so strange?”
I forced a cough. “I think I’m sick.” There was no way he could be mad at a sick person. He had
to forgive me. Right?
He didn’t look convinced. “You looked pretty healthy to me when I saw you staring at Lachlan.”
He raised an eyebrow. Like he was making some point.
“I think it’s one of those illnesses that comes on suddenly.” I coughed a few more times. “Yeah.
Maybe I should go home. You know, get away from you so I don’t get you sick.” I moved to slip off
his bed.
Suddenly, his hand surrounded my wrist and pulled me back.
“Bourne.”
I hesitated, glancing over at him. He did not just do that.
“What?”
He stared at me as if he were challenging me. “I said, Bourne.”
I wrinkled my nose as I glared at him. The Bourne movies were our favorite. Right before the
third one was making a one-time oldies debut at our local discount theater, we got in a huge fight.
We’d sworn off our friendship. But, neither of us could stay away from opening night. After we got to
the movie theater, we’d discovered that we had purchased tickets right next to each other. During the
movie, we somehow forgot all about what we were fighting about and were friends again.
Now, whenever we’re mad at each other, all we have to say is “Bourne,” and we have to stop and
go watch the movie.
I sighed. “Really?”
He shrugged. “It’s a rule.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not.”
“Are you challenging our friendship code?”
I studied him and then rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
He smirked as he stood up and made his way over to his door. I followed after him, grabbing the
blanket from his bed and wrapping it around my shoulders.
Once we were downstairs, I made my way into his kitchen to start popping popcorn as he got the
movie ready in their media room.
The smell of butter and the sound of popping kernels filled the air as I pulled out a large bowl and
set it down on the counter. After a few bags were popped, I grabbed the now-overflowing bowl and
two sodas and joined him.
He was sitting on the couch as the previews were playing. I glared at him. “Couldn’t wait for
me?” I asked, plopping down next to him.
Just as my leg brushed his, tingles raced across my skin. I swallowed as I moved away. Since
when did I have a reaction from touching Ethan?
Weird.
“This movie came out years ago. These are all old previews.”
I scoffed as I set the bowl in between us. Good. A barrier. “Still. You should have waited for
me.”
He nodded as he lifted the remote and restarted the movie. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
After watching the very old and outdated previews, we started the movie. I was ready to eat some
popcorn, so I stuck my hand in the bowl—at the same time as Ethan. Our fingers touched and warmth
spread up my skin.
I pulled my hand away like I’d been shocked. Something was seriously wrong with me. Every
time I touched Ethan, I felt something.
When I snuck a peek over at Ethan, he didn’t seem to be affected at all. Instead, he was shoving
popcorn into his mouth as he stared at the screen in front of us. Bourne was racing through the streets
and miraculously coming out unscathed.
I shook my head and turned my attention back to the movie. I was just being crazy. There was no
way I could have anything but platonic feelings for Ethan. I liked Lachlan.
I was just tired, and seeing Ethan without his shirt did something to me. What I needed to do right
now was finish the movie, get back to my room, and go to sleep. When I woke up in the morning,
everything would be better.
A smile played on my lips as I thought about the email that was sure to be waiting for me when I
woke up. It was the email that would tell me that I’d matched with Lachlan and that our romantic story
could start.
When the final credits rolled, I stretched and forced a yawn. “Well, I should get home,” I said as I
pulled the blanket from my lap.
Ethan eyed me. “No marathon?”
I shook my head. “I could barely stay awake toward the end. Besides, I’ve got a lot of people to
email with their results in the morning.” I smiled as I stood. “But I’ll see you at Papa Louie’s
tomorrow night. You’re working, right?”
He grabbed the empty bowl and sodas. “Yep.”
I folded the blanket and made my way to his front door. “Then I’ll chat with you tomorrow.”
I didn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, I shut his door and made my way home and up to my
room. I dressed in my pajamas and crawled under my covers.
For some reason, I’d thought that the moment my head hit the pillow, I’d fall right to sleep.
Instead, I just lay there, staring up at my ceiling. I couldn’t shut my brain off.
Every time I shut my eyes, Ethan’s chest or the warmth of his touch filled my mind. So I tried to
sleep with my eyes open. That didn’t work—the ceiling began to morph into Ethan’s face.
I groaned as I flipped on my light and grabbed my computer. If I continued to allow the thoughts
that were swarming in my mind, bad things were going to happen to our friendship. I couldn’t be the
one getting feelings. It would ruin everything.
I pulled up YouTube and punched in The Dirty Pipes, the name of Lachlan’s band. There were a
few songs, with only a little over a thousand views. I clicked on the soft ballad that I’d heard him sing
and stared at his face as he sang into the microphone.
If I could just tape over those memories with Ethan, everything would be better. I would feel
normal and my friendship wouldn’t be ruined.
An hour later, I’d watched Lachlan’s video about a hundred times. Thankfully, when I closed my
eyes, images of Ethan were faded, and I was able to force Lachlan front and center.
Just as I began to drift off to sleep, my computer chimed. I’d just gotten an email.
I opened my eyes and glanced over at my screen.
It was an email from Sam, and it was titled “Results.”
Well, there was no way I was going to be able to sleep now. Climbing out of bed, I sat at my desk
and clicked open the email.
After scrolling through all the names to get to mine, I stared at my match.
Ethan Moore
What. The. Heck.
I blinked a few times, and then looked again. The words remained the same.
How could this happen? That wasn’t right. There was no way my perfect match was Ethan. No
way at all.
When I scrolled up to Ethan’s name, I saw Olivia Williams next to it. I stared at the letters. No.
This couldn’t be happening.
I grabbed my phone and found Sam’s number in the school directory. After punching in the
numbers with a little too much gusto, I waited for him to pick up.
“Hello?” His voice was groggy. I must have woken him up, but I didn’t care.
“Your system is broken,” I said.
“Olivia?”
“Yes, of course it’s me.” I stood and started to pace. This was all wrong. I’d promised to set
Ethan up with his perfect girl, and I was pretty sure that wasn’t me. And then I imagined what all the
girls who were hoping to get a date with Ethan would do to me if they found out I was matched with
him. They would call the test a fraud and demand their money back. No, I had to fix this.
“Why are you calling me? It’s after midnight.”
I laughed. “Oh, it’s because the program you wrote is wrong. Wrong!” I was screeching now, so I
took a deep breath and lowered my voice.
“What are you talking about?”
“What am I talking about? The program you wrote matched me and Ethan together.” I stopped
pacing to run my fingers through my hair. “There is no way we are a perfect match. I am his best
friend.” I closed my eyes. It would ruin everything. Paris was starting to feel like a far-off dream.
And then the answer to this mix-up came slamming into my skull. There had been a mistake, just
not by Sam. Ethan had used the same computer as Lachlan and Lachlan must not have saved his
answers which meant Ethan had submitted Lachlan’s test. Relief flooded my body. But I had to know
for sure.
“Is there a chance that if two people took tests on the same computer, there might have been a mix-
up? Like, if they didn’t save their answers and someone came in and took the same test, it would
count as the second person’s test?” I closed my eyes, waiting for his answer.
“I mean, maybe. Things can go wonky at times,” Sam said and then started explaining something
about algorithms and statistics.
“Okay, then that answers my question,” I said.
Sam was quiet. “So I didn’t mess this up?”
I shook my head and then realized that he couldn’t see me. “Nope. Not your fault. You can go back
to bed.”
 I pulled the phone from my ear while Sam muttered something about never working with crazy
people again, and hung up. I plugged my phone back in and climbed into bed.
When I closed my eyes, exhaustion took over. I’d really dodged a bullet with that one. The test
didn’t lie. Even though it told me that I’d matched with Ethan, it was really Lachlan’s test that Ethan
submitted. So really, I matched with Lachlan.
My plan had worked.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

W hen I woke up the next morning, I felt ten times better. The day before felt like a bad
hangover—at least, what I imagined a bad hangover would be like.
I showered, ate breakfast, and started emailing the entire student population their
results. When I found Lachlan’s match, I was pleasantly surprised. It was Evelyn Bruster. She’d just
moved to Olathe from Florida and was in my physics class. I could totally see her and Ethan hitting it
off.
So, I did a little switcheroo. Lachlan became my perfect match, and Evelyn became Ethan’s. After
all, the tests had obviously been mixed-up, so it was only right.
I didn’t finish with all the emails until noon. My back and fingers hurt from all the typing I’d done.
Next time, I was going to have Sam write a program that just sent the emails for me.
After lunch, I got dressed in my Papa Louie attire and headed out the door for my one o’clock
shift. A few cars dotted the parking lot when I pulled around back and parked next to Ethan’s car. I
grabbed my hat and got out.
As I pulled open the back door, the smell of pizza sauce and garlic hit me. My salivary glands
reacted just as they did every time. Papa Louie’s pizza was the best. I think that’s why I’d decided to
work here. I loved getting the complimentary pizza during my break.
Brooke was waiting for me when I got behind the counter. I snuck a peek at Ethan, who was
standing by the oven, turning a pizza.
“Thank goodness you are here,” Brooke said, untying her apron and slipping it off. “I just got my
email about my match, and I need to go home and check him out.”
I smiled at her as I tied my apron. “Got a good one?”
She glanced over at me. “You don’t remember?”
I shook my head. “I’ve written so many names today that they’ve all blended together.”
Brooke laughed. “I get that. It was Aiden Meyer.” She fanned herself. “And he is a senior hottie.”
“Nice,” I said.
After she counted the till, and I signed off on her amount, she hightailed it out the back, leaving me
alone with Ethan. He’d begun to roll out another ball of dough. I hated the awkwardness between us.
And I knew it was coming from me. I was the crazy person in our relationship, suddenly reading way
too much into everything.
“So?” I asked, stepping up next to him after I washed my hands. I grabbed some mozzarella
cheese and measured it out.
 Ethan glanced over at me. “What?”
I gave him an exasperated look. “Are you serious?” I sprinkled the cheese on the sauce that he had
spread. “What do you think about your match?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t read my email,” he said as he dotted the cheese with sausage.
I dropped my jaw. “You haven’t read your email?”
After slipping the pizza onto a board, he slid it into the oven and then turned to study me. “No.
Why?”
I shrugged as I leaned against the counter. “Nothing. I just figured you might want to know who
your perfect match was.”
He sighed as he pulled his phone from his pocket and swiped it on. I took over turning the pizza as
he read the email. “Who’s Evelyn Bruster?” he asked.
I scoffed. “You know her. She’s the cute girl who just moved here from Florida. She’s short,
brown hair. Super sweet.” I really wanted to sell this to him. It would help me feel better about
switching the results. If he met and fell for Evelyn, it meant that the results really had been mixed up.
He slipped his phone into his pocket, washed his hands, and grabbed a pizza box, holding it open.
I slipped the hot pizza into it and he shut the top.
“She’s my match, huh? That’s what the test said?”
I swallowed. Did he know? He couldn’t know. “Yes,” I said with as much confidence as I could
muster.
“And who did you match with?” he asked. He seemed to hesitate, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted
to hear my answer.
But I brushed his reaction off as excitement bubbled up inside of me. Good. Whatever strange and
crazy reaction I was having to Ethan yesterday was gone. Just a one-time blip on my radar.
“Lachlan.”
Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Wow.”
“Why is that so shocking?”
He shrugged. “It’s just crazy that you got matched with the guy you wanted.” He smiled at me, but
it felt forced.
It bugged me that he was reacting this way. I folded my arms.
He sighed. “Don’t get all defensive, Livi.” He walked over to the phone and picked it up. After he
took down the order, he washed his hands and returned to the counter, where he pulled out some
dough.
I was still mad that he was so shocked. “Why can’t you see me and Lachlan together?”
He glanced over at me. “Really? You want me to say it?”
My blood was boiling now. So he’d always thought we weren’t meant to be together. “Yes.”
He dusted the flour off his hands and turned to face me. “You have nothing in common with him.
He’s this artsy guy and you are…” He waved toward my body.
I furrowed my brow. “What does that mean?”
He sighed. “It just means you two are opposites. And besides, he talks in the locker room. I’ve
heard him say he likes blondes.”
Now I was livid. I stepped up to Ethan and gave him my best angry face. “That is ridiculous,
Ethan Moore. Saying I can’t attract a guy because I don’t have the right hair color. And I would have
you know that just because we have different interests, doesn’t mean we aren’t perfect for each other.
By your standards, I could only attract flute-playing, pizza-making, science-loving guys who like
brunettes.” I glared at him.
 He studied me. I could see the conflict in his eyes. There was a part of him that wanted to keep
arguing, and, oh, there was a part of me that was daring him to try.
But then, he sighed and dropped his gaze. “You’re right, Liv. Lachlan is a lucky guy to be paired
with you.” He turned and started brushing some flour off the counter with his hand. “I didn’t mean to
say that you weren’t good enough.”
His voice was low and sounded hurt. But how could I have hurt him? He’d literally just insulted
me. Why did I feel like I’d done something wrong?
Not wanting to fight anymore, I stepped up next to him. “It’s okay,” I said, peering over at him.
I saw his jaw clench as I brushed my arm against his. His eyes closed for a moment before he
opened them again. We stood there, in the kitchen, side by side in silence. He was upset about
something, and I wasn’t sure what. Part of me wanted to ask, but the other part was too scared to find
out that he really thought all those things he’d just said about me.
What a soul-crushing thing to learn that your best friend—the one who knows your deepest,
darkest secrets—really thinks so little of you.
The phone rang. I was grateful for the distraction. Maybe, if I didn’t bring it up again, all the
secrets that were about to be exposed would be buried once more.
“Papa Louie’s, Olivia speaking,” I said when I brought the receiver to my ear.
“Olivia?”
My heart skipped a beat. That sounded like Lachlan. “Yeah?”
“Looks like I’m one lucky guy,” he said. Yep. I’d recognize that syrupy, smooth voice anywhere.
“And who is this?” There was no way I wanted him to know that I’d memorized his voice.
Playing it cool seemed like the best option.
He chuckled. “Lachlan. Apparently, your perfect match.”
My heart skipped a beat from the way he said “perfect match.” Yep, I was right. We were destined
to be together.
“Hey, Lachlan,” I said. His name came out all breathy. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan
turn to study me. Not wanting to dissect his gaze, I turned to face the wall.
It was also an act of self-preservation. I didn’t want anyone to know just how giddy talking to
Lachlan made me feel. I was even more grateful that Lachlan was on the other end of a phone call and
not in the room next to me. He’d see that I was one degree away from exploding.
“So, when do I get to take the lovely Olivia Williams on a date?”
I swallowed. A date.
Reality sunk in around me. I had a date with Lachlan. My plan really had worked.
“Um, tomorrow?”
He chuckled. “See, that’s why I like you. You wait for no man.” He was silent for a moment.
I rapidly began to play our conversation back in my mind. Had he asked me a question and I just
missed it? I parted my lips to say something, but his voice cut me off.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
After a quick goodbye, I hung up the phone and turned. My hands shook and my heart pounded.
“Who was that?” Ethan asked. He glanced over at me for a moment before dropping his gaze back
down to the counter. “Did the Great Lachlan order a pizza?”
I decided to ignore the bite to his tone. Instead I shook out my hands, trying to get blood flow back
to them. “Nope. He asked me out.”
Ethan’s shoulders tightened. I was beginning to think that Ethan didn’t like the guy. Why? What
had Lachlan ever done to him?
But then he relaxed as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a chunk of mozzarella. When he
got back to the counter, he began shredding it. “So? When are you going?”
I leaned against the counter. “Tomorrow.”
He paused before he started grating again. “Wow. That’s fast.”
Panic rose up in my stomach. “Too fast? Was that a mistake?” I groaned as I covered my face with
my hands. I should have told him next week. Then he wouldn’t know that I was some dweeb sitting at
home with nothing to do.
A warm hand engulfed my wrist and pulled my hand down. When I glanced up, I saw Ethan a few
inches away from me. There was a concerned look in his eyes.
“You’re fine. Don’t worry.” His brow furrowed as he met my gaze. I tried to ignore the intensity
of his stare. He must really be feeling bad for what he said to me earlier. “Like I said, he’s lucky to be
matched with you.”
There was depth to his voice that told me, yes, he felt bad about what he said. After all, what else
could it mean?
I flung my arms around him and pulled him into a hug.
I wanted to forget this past week. How everything had changed the moment I asked Ethan to go see
Lachlan’s band at Buzzed. If I were honest with myself, I just wanted things to go back to normal.
Instead, we were in this strange back and forth where it was getting hard to know where I stood with
Ethan. Our friendship had changed, and I wasn’t sure how to change it back.
At first, he stiffened. As if he was surprised by my hug. But I wasn’t going to let him go. We were
going to fix this. Just as I was starting to worry I’d done the wrong thing, his arms wrapped around my
waist and pulled me close.
“I’m sorry,” he said. His voice was muffled as he spoke into my shoulder.
I shrugged as I pulled back. “It’s okay. It’s been a weird week.”
Ethan winced and nodded as he dropped his arms and stepped away from me.
For a split second, I felt cold. There was something nice about hugging him. It was familiar, safe.
But the moment we stepped away from each other, reality sunk in. It was getting harder and harder to
read my best friend and that scared me.
I nodded and turned, hoping he didn’t see the devastation that I was sure was written all over my
face. I didn’t want him to know how hurt I was. But, if I were completely honest with myself, I wasn’t
even sure why I was so upset.
The only thing I knew was that I was losing my best friend. And that thought terrified me. I needed
to fix this, but how?
 CHAPTER NINE

T he rest of my Saturday blew by. I stayed clear of Ethan and any conversations about
Make a Match or Lachlan. During Ethan’s break, I heard him call Evelyn and ask her
out.
Part of me was grateful that he’d followed through. The other part of me was a little worried.
What if they really hit it off while he and I were still struggling? Would he replace me?
I swallowed against the lump in my throat. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to that
question. It was probably a better idea to just focus on my date with Lachlan and not on my crumbling
friendship.
Sunday morning I woke up to the sun shining into my room. As I lay there, staring up at my ceiling,
I took a deep breath. This was it. This was what I had been pining for these last few years. Lachlan
and I were going on a date.
I squealed into my pillow. Today was the day that I was going to show Lachlan why we were
destined to be together.
I pulled the pillow from my face and sat up. I needed a whole new outfit if I was going to impress
him. I wanted to show that I had my own style, that I was hip.
I grabbed my phone and called Hannah. She answered after the second attempt.
“Please tell me that someone died,” she mumbled. I could hear sleep still clinging to her words.
“Get up. We’re going to the mall, and you are helping me pick out something to wear tonight,” I
commanded as I grabbed a nearby t-shirt and jeans.
“Tonight? What’s tonight?”
Excited butterflies flitted around my stomach. “I have a date with Lachlan.”
“What?” she said, this time louder.
Good. I had her attention.
“I have a date with Lachlan,” I said again, enunciating each syllable.
“I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
A half hour later, we sat in the food court of the mall, sipping on smoothies.
Hannah tapped her fingers on the table as she studied me. “I still can’t believe that you actually
matched with your dream guy.”
I took a drink of my orangesicle smoothie and shrugged. “Yeah. I was shocked too.”
Hannah shook her head. “See, I was hoping to get Ethan at least, but instead, I got stuck with some
nerdy sophomore.” She sighed. “Good for him, bad for me.”
 I tried not to wince at her mention of matching with Ethan. I couldn’t feel bad about making the
switch. Our strained friendship was just proof of how wrong that test had been. We could never be a
couple.
I patted her back. “You should try him out. After all, the test doesn’t lie.”
A sophomore would be good for Hannah. She was strong-willed and loved to be adored. And I
was pretty sure that he would be infatuated with her. She was tall and beautiful. He would definitely
fawn over her.
She shrugged as she took another sip. “Maybe,” she said.
We finished our drinks and got up from the table. We threw away our cups as we headed to the
first store.
I let Hannah pick a few items out for me. I grabbed a flowy summer dress to offset her leather
jacket and sequined tank. I wasn’t sure what I wanted my new style to be, but I was pretty sure a
miniskirt wasn’t on the list.
Hannah rolled her eyes at my choice and ushered me to the dressing rooms. Once I locked the
door, I slipped out of my clothes and into her pick.
“So, what are you going to do if he tries to kiss you?” she asked.
I wanted to shush her. There was no way I wanted all the customers at Crazy Contemporary to
know that I’d never kissed a guy before. “Thanks, Han,” I said.
“Hey, I just figured you should be prepared for whatever he throws at you.”
For a moment, I imagined Lachlan throwing his lips at me. I chuckled at the thought.
“Okay, Ms. Literal,” Hannah called.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll kiss him I guess.” I pulled the jacket over the tank and stared at
myself. Sure, I was a simple girl—thin with brown hair and green eyes. But I felt like a fraud in this
outfit. This wasn’t me. This was Olivia Williams, trying to be someone else.
“Show me how it looks,” Hannah commanded.
I sighed as I unlocked the door and stepped out.
Hannah’s jaw dropped open. “Whoa,” she said.
I wrinkled my nose as I walked over to the full-length mirror next to the dressing room. “Really?”
I asked, shifting back and forth. “You don’t think this is too…” How does one say slutty without
offending the person who picked out the outfit?
Hannah sighed. “If you want to rebrand yourself, this is the way to do it. Lachlan won’t know
what to say when he sees you.”
The thought of Lachlan seeing me in these clothes caused my heart to pick up speed. Maybe I
should try something new. After all, old Olivia couldn’t get his attention, maybe I should do
something drastic. I shrugged. “Fine. I’ll get this. But I’m buying that dress as well,” I said, pointing
at the summer dress I’d grabbed.
“Of course,” Hannah said as she stood and made her way back into the racks of clothes.
I returned to the dressing room and paused as I studied my reflection. As much as this outfit
wasn’t me, I was starting to think that maybe that might be a good thing. I was tired of the old Olivia.
The one who never got asked on dates, who’d never kissed a guy, and who never got noticed.
I was ready to get noticed.
We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping at various stores. After eating one too many chocolate
chip cookies at the nearby bakery, we said our goodbyes, and I headed home.
When I pulled into the driveway, I turned off my car and opened the door. After grabbing my bags,
I slipped them onto my arms and made my way into the kitchen. Mom and Dad were sitting at the
table.
“Hey, sweetie,” Mom said, glancing up from the newspaper in front of her.
“Hey, Mom.” I shifted the bags so that I could pull the door shut behind me.
“Successful day?” she asked, nodding toward the bags in my hands.
I nodded. “I was with Hannah.”
Her lips tipped up into a smile. “Ah, yeah. That seems right.”
Dad glanced up. “We were thinking of going to P.F. Chang’s for dinner. Did you want to join us?”
I shook my head. “I actually have a date.”
Both of my parent’s eyebrows went up. Great. Even my parents were shocked.
“Wow. With who?” Mom asked.
“His name is Lachlan. He’s the boy I matched with from my fundraiser.” And the boy that I’ve
been pining after for years. But I decided to leave that tidbit out.
Mom nodded. “Well, be careful. Just because he won a date with you doesn’t mean you owe him
anything.”
I groaned. “Seriously, Mom?”
She shrugged. “I’m just saying, you’re a good girl. Make sure he knows that.”
I nodded. “Got it.” I turned to make my way up the stairs.
“Can we meet him?”
I glanced back at Dad. “Really? I don’t want to scare him off.”
“She doesn’t want to scare him off, Matt,” Mom repeated.
Dad shrugged. “Meeting us would scare him off?”
“Terrify him,” I responded.
“Fine. But I want you to check in every hour.”
“I will,” I called over my shoulder as I made my way upstairs.
Once in my room, I dumped the bags on the bed and straightened. I had two hours before Lachlan
was going to be here.
I took a hot shower and shaved my legs. After I wrapped a towel around my hair, I dried off.
Slipping on my robe, I made my way out to my bedroom and pulled out my Hannah outfit. I laid it out
on my bed and studied it.
Was I seriously going to wear this? It was so not me.
But maybe that was a good thing.
I got dressed in Hannah’s outfit and then made my way back into my bathroom, where I started on
my make-up. I went a bit darker this time, trying to seem more mysterious. After I was done, I didn’t
hate it. Sure it wasn’t me, but I did look like I had secrets—even though my deepest, darkest secret
was that I used to take candy from the bins at the local grocery store.
I was so vanilla. But I didn’t want Lachlan to think that.
I towel dried my hair, and after I applied some product, I blow-dried it and got out my
straightener.
After I was done, I stared at my reflection.
I looked completely different, and I really hoped that different was good.
I glanced at my watch. I had fifteen minutes until Lachlan was going to be here. I turned off the
light to my bathroom, grabbed my wedges and purse, and headed out of my room.
Thankfully, the house was quiet. Mom, Dad, and Beatrice had left for dinner, but not before they
left me a note about how much they loved me and wanted me to be safe.
My parents were crazy over-protective, but I loved them. I drew a heart on their note and returned
it to the counter.
There was a knock on the door. My heart pounded as I shouldered my purse and headed over to
the front door.
After turning the handle, I pulled the door back. revealing Ethan.
His eyebrows shot up as his gaze ran over me.
I took a step back.
“Whoa,” he said. In the darkness, I almost thought I saw his cheeks redden.
I felt exposed. I didn’t want him to know that I was trying to impress Lachlan. I didn’t want him to
know that I thought I wasn’t worthy of Lachlan’s affection, or something.
“What did you need?” I asked. I was ready for him to stop staring at me and leave.
He swallowed hard as he shoved his hands into his front pockets. “I forgot about your date.”
I quirked an eyebrow. There was no way I was buying that. “Really?”
He shrugged. “What? I can’t keep track of your social life.” His gaze ran over me again. “What
are you wearing?”
I tugged at the sides of my jacket. “Hannah picked it out.”
He scoffed. “Of course. I should have known.” He gave me a forced smile as he glanced around
and then finally met my gaze. He looked so uncomfortable, standing on my stoop, staring at me.
I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the doorframe. I was trying to look calm and
nonchalant, but I doubted he was buying that. “Did you need something?” I asked. For some reason, I
wanted him gone. Perhaps because he knew that I was a fraud. But I didn’t need Lachlan to know the
real Olivia. He’d run away from her for sure.
Ethan glanced up at me. “I guess I just wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been acting.” He
smiled. It was forced, but I appreciated his attempt.
“The way you’ve been acting?” I could fell the awkwardness between us, but I’d figured it was
more from me than him. It hurt me a little to discover that he felt it too.
“Just kind of like a jerk. You did a really nice thing for the band and maybe…” He took a deep
breath and sighed. “I need to get over Hallie. Evelyn seems nice. At least, she was when I talked to
her.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to know that I’d heard their conversation, but he didn’t
seem shocked by my acknowledgement. “Good. She’s sweet. And you deserve to move on from
Hallie.” I shuddered. “She was horrible.”
A genuine smile played on his lips as he studied me. “I’m lucky,” he said.
Heat crept up to my cheeks. Part of me wanted to know where he was going with that statement.
The other part wanted to run away. “Why?” Curiosity won out, I guess.
“Because I have such a good friend looking after me.”
I placed my hand to my chest. “Who? Me?”
He scoffed. “You know that, Livi.” Then his expression grew serious. “Thanks for being there for
me.”
I reached out and shoved his shoulder. “Of course. Anything. You’re like my brother.”
His expression softened as he studied me. “Brother. Right.”
Silence fell around us, and I held on to the shoulder strap of my purse like it was my lifeline.
After ten long seconds, I glanced behind him. “Well, Lachlan should be here any minute.” I waved
toward the inside of my house. “I should probably use the facilities before he shows up.”
Ethan ran his hands through his hair and nodded. “Yeah, I should get back as well.” He turned then
hesitated, glancing back at me. “Stay safe, huh?”
I saluted him. “Yes sir.”
He chuckled as he turned and bounded down the steps. I waved at him as I shut the door and
slumped against it.
I really wasn’t sure what that had been, but it was definitely weird.
 CHAPTER TEN

T he club that Lachlan took me to was too loud and too crowded. I stopped counting the
number of times my toes got crunched by stomping combat boots or some girl flicked
their insanely long hair into my face. Once, I had my mouth open, and it had been a
direct hit.
After that, I kept my lips shut.
If I was honest, I really didn’t like the band that was playing, and I wasn’t having any fun. I didn’t
know anyone while Lachlan seemed to know everyone in the club. I felt like the third wheel on my
own date. Instead of attempting to speak over the speakers, I just kept quiet, nodding to everything
people said even though I couldn’t make out half the words.
For all I knew I’d just agreed to roast a pig over a spit.
Lachlan didn’t seem bothered by the fact that we’d spent two hours together and yet didn’t know
anything more about each other than when he picked me up a half hour late.
I’d almost given up on him coming—my backup plan had been to slip into my Hello Kitty pajamas
to watch Hallmark reruns until I passed out.
But he’d been incredibly charming when he arrived with a bouquet of flowers in hand. It helped
me remember that he was such a great guy. Plus, the tiny conversation we did have on the way to the
club had been sweet. He’d been very complimentary about my new look and asked me about my
classes. He even listened and responded.
It was just this place and this band. Ugh.
“You okay?” Lachlan asked.
I turned away from the table I was standing at to see him right behind me. He handed me a Coke
and took a sip of his own.
I nodded, grateful that he was standing close. It meant that I could hear him—and feel him. It made
me shiver with excitement. All I needed to do was breathe in Lachlan’s cologne and the
uncomfortable start to our date faded away.
His lips tipped up into a smile as he leaned closer. And then Hannah’s words crept into my mind.
Something about Lachlan kissing me. Crap. What was I going to do?
I dropped my gaze when I realized I’d been staring at his mouth. Instead, I focused on the dirty
floor beneath our feet. I felt his hand engulf my elbow, bringing my attention back up.
“Maybe we should dance,” he said.
I bit my lip as I glanced behind him toward the dance floor. I wasn’t sure I was ready to brave that
minefield.
“I don’t know. I think I’ve broken a few too many toes,” I said, smiling at him.
He glanced to my feet. “That’s not good.” He winked at me as he grabbed my hand and pressed
his lips it.
All I could think about was how it would feel for him to press his lips to mine. Heat was now
radiating from my cheeks and across my skin.
He leaned closer until his lips were inches from my ear. “I think they’re going to play a slow song
next.” He pulled back and winked at me. “Will you dance a slow dance with me?”
If it wouldn’t have been super weird to jump up and down and squeal, I would have done it right
then. But I didn’t want him to know just how nerdy I was, so I just nodded. “Sure.”
The last few stanzas of the song were overpowered by the applause of the crowd. The singer then
mumbled something about taking things down a notch, and the bassists started playing a few slow
cords.
Lachlan grabbed my hand and led me onto the dance floor. Not sure what to do, I let him lead. He
wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me close. Then he brought our clasped hands together
and held them close to his heart. I loved that he took an old-fashioned approach to dancing. Most of
the couples on the dance floor were grabbing onto each other like they were each other’s life support.
Lachlan leaned back so he could study me. Thankfully, the band figured most couples didn’t want
the speakers to be screaming at them, so the volume could tolerate a conversation.
“I have to say, I’m grateful I got paired with you,” he said, smiling at me.
Heat rushed across my body. It was strange, him complimenting me like that. “Really?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I could have been set up with a total troll. Or worse, someone real ugly.” He
leaned in. “But I got you. So I’m happy.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I guess I wasn’t used to people giving me praise by putting
other people down. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
He brought my hand up and kissed my fingers. “Were you happy when you saw your results?”
I swallowed. Well, if he meant the original results, then no. I wasn’t happy that the ridiculous test
paired me with Ethan. And right now, I wasn’t really sure I was happy to be paired with Lachlan.
Being at this club around his friends had me thinking that maybe we didn’t have as much in common
as I originally thought.
But when he gave me a genuine smile from behind my hand, my heart softened just a bit. Perhaps,
it was just me. I was in a funk and taking it out on people.
Well, actually, it was all Ethan’s fault. He’d been the one messing with my brain this last week.
First, his incredibly toned body. And second, his being so strange and brooding. If he could just go
back to being Normal Ethan, I could enjoy being with Lachlan.
Stupid Ethan.
Lachlan brushed his fingers across my cheek. I hadn’t noticed until that moment that he’d stopped
moving. I tensed, trying to figure out what he was doing. But when I glanced around, no one seemed
alarmed that we weren’t moving anymore, so I forced my mind to remain calm.
“You’re beautiful, Olivia. You know that.” He leaned closer, moving his hand under my hair to the
nape of my neck.
Wait. Was he trying to kiss me? Panic rose up in my chest. What do I do? How do I kiss him
back? Suddenly, all I wanted to do was sprint from the room.
But before I could move, he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. They were warm and
wet. Had he licked his lips? But the more he moved his lips against mine, the taste of cherry lip balm
entered my mouth.
Had he worn it on purpose?
His hand moved from the back of my neck and down to the small of my back. I could feel the
pressure of his chest and legs as he drew me closer.
When his lips opened and his tongue entered my mouth, I panicked.
I’d like to say I was a smooth kisser, but the next thing I did was humiliating.
I. Bit. Lachlan.
Not hard, but enough to have him yelp and pull back.
Red hot embarrassment coursed through me as I watched—in slow motion—as he dabbed his
tongue with his finger and then glanced down to make sure he wasn’t bleeding.
The last thing I wanted to do was be there when he glanced up. I wasn’t sure I could handle the
disappointed and probably grossed-out look he was sure to give me.
So I did what any rational person would do—I turned and ran. I grabbed my purse and got the
heck out of there.
Once outside, I raced to the back of the building and leaned against the outside wall, taking deep
breaths. Once my mind cleared, I winced, recalling what had just happened.
It was official, I could never face Lachlan again. That wasn’t exactly the Disney princess moment
that I’d hoped it would be. In all my dreams—and nightmares—my first kiss had never played out like
that.
I grabbed my phone and tried my parents. When they didn’t answer, I tried Beatrice. Nothing.
They must be partying hard at P.F. Chang’s.
I stared at my screen and contemplated calling Ethan. Would he come get me? Did I want him to?
And then I scolded myself. We were best friends. If I couldn’t call him when I was in trouble then
I might as well throw down the towel on our friendship right now.
I scrolled through my contacts until I found his number. I pressed on the goofy picture we took last
summer on the Ferris wheel. There was a battle going on inside of me with each ring:
I wanted him to pick up, and at the same time, I really didn’t want him to.
“Hello?” he answered.
Too late.
“Ethan?”
“Livi?”
I closed my eyes. The sound of his voice calmed me. “Yeah. Hey, are you busy?”
There was a muffled voice on the other end. Suddenly I realized that he might not be alone.
“Who’s that?”
I heard a muffled “Hang on, Evelyn” from Ethan and then, “Did you need something?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Are you with Evelyn?”
“Yeah. I was texting her info about our date and found out she was alone tonight. We decided to
meet up to watch a movie.”
He was watching a movie? With her? I thought that was something we did. I was being juvenile
and stupid, but it almost felt like he was cheating on me. “Oh. That’s nice.” Which it was.
Why did it feel like my heart had been stabbed? It must be from the weird kiss I just had with
Lachlan.
“Yeah,” Ethan murmured.
Silence.
“So did you need something?”
 I cleared my throat. “Nope. I’m okay. You—you enjoy your evening.” I hung up before he could
answer.
There was no way I wanted Ethan and Evelyn showing up to escort me home from my very
strange and awkward date. I’d stay here all night before I got in a car with them.
I needed the last bit of dignity I had left. Glancing down at my phone, I texted my parents.
Hopefully they’d see it and come rescue me so that I could curl up under my covers and pretend that
this entire experience never happened.
Just as I tucked my phone back into my purse, it vibrated. Relief flooded through me. Mom and
Dad must be on their way.
I pulled it out and glanced down.
Lachlan.
Lachlan: Hey, where are you? I looked up and you were gone.
I had to save face.
Me: So I got a text from my mom. She came and picked me up.
Silence. Seconds ticked by while I waited for his response. Did he buy it? Was he going to hate
me forever?
Lachlan: Bummer. Can I see you tomorrow?
I stared at his words. He wanted to see me again? After I just bit him? I shook my head. Boys
were weird.
Me: Sure. I’ll see you at school.
Lachlan: Perfect. Have a good night.
Me: Ditto
This was proof that how things turned out tonight wasn’t Lachlan’s fault. I was the inexperienced
one. I was the one who’d never kissed someone before. Maybe it was all my fault.
Me and my clumsy teeth.
I leaned my head against the brick wall and sighed. I needed practice, that was all. That way,
when we went out again, I’d be more experienced. I was determined to get better at this so that when
he kissed me, I’d knock him off his feet.
I just needed a willing victim.
 CHAPTER ELEVEN

I resigned myself to the fact that I just might have to live behind the club. It had been ten
minutes, and Mom, Dad, and Beatrice still had not texted me back.
So much for my family having my back. They should know better than to not check
their phones. They were the ones who’d said to call them if something happened. What were they
doing? I needed them.
The rumbling sound of a car with a damaged muffler filled the air. I peeked around the corner. I
recognized that sound. Why was Ethan here?
Two bright headlights shone into my eyes as I squinted at the figure behind the windshield. I
prayed that it was just Ethan. I didn’t want to meet Evelyn right now. When I finally had some time to
get this Lachlan blunder under my belt, then I’d face her. But not tonight.
Relief flooded my chest when I saw that Ethan was alone.
Gathering my courage, I rounded the corner. I studied Ethan for a moment, not sure if I was ready
to get into his Jeep.
As if sensing my hesitation, he opened the door and jumped out. “Hey,” he said as he walked up to
me.
I just nodded. All of my humiliation clung to my chest. If I spoke, the tiny, hole-filled dam that I’d
built up inside of me would break. I couldn’t let that happen. Not right now.
“Hey,” I said under my breath.
He shoved his hands into his front pockets. “Want a ride? I pinged your location from your
phone.” He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and shook it in front of him.
“Oh.” I peered into the window. “No more Evelyn?”
His brow furrowed but he shook his head. “No. She decided to go so I could come pick you up.”
I winced. So Evelyn had heard my almost-breakdown. Great. “That was nice of her.”
A small smile tugged at his lips. “She’s a nice person.” He shrugged. “Let’s just say that I’m not
as frustrated anymore.”
I knew that his words shouldn’t hurt, I really did. But they stung, like a wasp on my baby toe.
Ouch.
I cleared my throat, forcing all my conflicting feelings to the back of my mind. I walked over to
the passenger door. “Thanks.”
He nodded and climbed in as well.
We rode for a few minutes in silence. I knew he was waiting for me to start talking, but I wasn’t
sure how. I really didn’t want my best friend to know that I’d just messed up my first kiss. Would he
laugh at me? Think I was the biggest dork in the world?
‘Cause, right now, that’s how I felt.
“So…where’s Lachlan? Did he leave you?” I saw his knuckles whiten as he gripped the steering
wheel.
“What? No. I…left.”
He stopped at a red light and turned to look at me. “You left your first date with the guy of your
dreams? Why?”
Because I bit him. Ugh, even saying the words in my mind made me sound pathetic.
“I—um—” I covered my face with my hand. “He kissed me.” Those words came out a whisper.
Ethan leaned closer as he pressed on the gas. “What?”
“Because we kissed and I bit him.” The words tumbled out in one breath.
Ethan stared at the road as if he were trying to process what I’d just said. “You what?”
“I bit him,” I whispered. Heat raced to my cheeks, so I turned the vents to blast them with cool air.
“You bit him?”
I nodded.
“Why?”
I stared at him. “Are you serious? I didn’t try to.”
He chuckled. It was low at first but then grew louder.
I glared at him. “Great. I’m so happy you find joy in this.”
He glanced over at me. His eyes twinkled with amusement as his laughter died down. “Livi, that’s
not good.”
I folded my arms. “You don’t think I know that? That’s why I ran. I can never show my face at
school again.” I threw my hands up into the air. “Lachlan and I are done. Doomed.”
“Did he say that?”
“Say what?”
“That you are done?” He peered over at me. “He broke up with you because of that?”
“Well…no.”
He nodded. “Good. ‘Cause then he and I would have to have words.”
Was he really going all big brother on my right now? “Promise me, you won’t do that. I’m already
completely humiliated.”
Ethan reached over and patted my leg. “It’s not that bad.”
I snorted. “I just felt so completely unprepared. Who knew that a kiss could be so complicated?”
I let my mind wander back to the memory of me standing there, kissing Lachlan. I thought I knew
the mechanics. I mean, I’ve spent entire weekends watching rom-com marathons. By all accounts, I
should be an expert.
Ethan pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine. “It’s ‘cause you thought too much about
it.”
I dropped my jaw. “I did not.”
He snorted as he pulled his keys from the ignition and looked over at me. “Yeah, you did.”
Oh, now it was on. “Did not. I didn’t expect Lachlan to kiss me right then. He totally caught me off
guard.”
He glanced over at me as he pulled on the door handle. “Not what I meant.”
He got out and slammed the door. I scrambled to follow after him. “What do you mean, then?” I
asked, racing up to him.
 He spun his keys around his finger. “It’s not that you were thinking too much about when the kiss
was going to happen.” He steadied his gaze. “It’s more when you do get kissed. You thought too much
about that.”
He was making no sense. “So what am I supposed to be thinking about? I have no idea how to
move my lips. And when you involve a tongue, I’m lost.”
He quirked an eyebrow. I should be embarrassed talking to him about this, but right now, I was
desperate.
“Then, my young Padawan, I can’t teach you.” He turned and made his way up his front walk.
“You can’t do that,” I said.
He turned. “What?”
“You can’t leave me with that. You’re basically telling me that there is some secret to kissing,
which you know, but you can’t tell me or show me?”
He blinked a few times. “Who said anything about showing you?”
I folded my arms. “You’re my best friend. You could help me out.”
My heart picked up speed. Why not? If we were to kiss, it would be one friend helping out
another friend. And besides, I was desperate. I needed my next encounter with Lachlan to go well.
Heck, I just needed to know that I could do it without inflicting bodily harm. Or else I was never
going to kiss another guy. Ever.
He snorted. “You’re crazy.”
He turned back and started up the stairs to his porch.
I raced to catch up with him and grabbed his arm. “Come on, Ethan. It would be just a small kiss.
I need an unbiased person’s opinion on how I kiss and where I could improve.” I chewed on my lip.
“And maybe you could tell me this secret to kissing that only experienced people know.”
He clenched his jaw. “I don’t think that would be good idea.”
Frustration built up inside of me. If my best friend wouldn’t help me, what was I going to do?
“Come on, Ethan, it would solely be for research. No feelings involved.” I gave him the biggest and
most hopeful smile I could muster.
“Livi, no. I’m not going to kiss you.” He sidestepped me and climbed the remaining stairs.
“Please, Ethan. I seriously don’t think I can face Lachlan—or any guy again.” I followed him,
stepping right up next to him. “I really need this.”
He glanced over at me and sighed. “I just can’t.” He moved away from me and over to the corner
of the porch, staring out at the darkness that surrounded us.
“So you just want me to be a lonesome, single, cat-hording woman. You do realize you are
banishing me to a life of solitude.” I slowly made my way over to him. “One day, when you are the
only one at my funeral and you have to give my eulogy, you’ll look out at the empty rows of pews and
think how different my life would have been if you had just kissed me that one time on your porch.” I
was inches away from him. I could see his shoulders tense with every word—I was wearing him
down.
“The ghost of Olivia’s future will then come take you on a trip where you’ll see the husband and
kids I would have had if you had just kissed—”
Ethan whipped around, placed his hands on either side of my face, and pressed his lips against
mine.
I was too stunned to think. So, for the first few seconds, I just stood there.
But then, a slow tingle started on my lips and spread across my entire body. There was something
warm and familiar about his lips.
 He seemed shocked that we were actually kissing, because he lingered there for a few seconds.
Then suddenly, he pulled back to study me. His brow was furrowed, and he stared into my eyes. It
was only for a moment. Like he was trying to understand what was happening.
Before I could say anything, he dropped his hands to my waist and pressed me against him again,
his lips finding mine.
Unlike with Lachlan, I seemed to know what to do. I ran my hands up his arms to his shoulders
and then to the back of his neck, where I tangled my fingers in his hair. I felt as if I were sinking into
him.
He reacted by pressing me closer and deepening the kiss.
There was no biting and definitely no wandering thoughts. In this moment, it was just me and
Ethan. I was pretty sure if he wasn’t holding me up, I’d collapse into a ball of mush on his porch.
He pulled away, dropping his hands, and stepped back. He pushed his hands through his hair and
studied the wood slats that ran the length of the porch.
“I—should—um, go,” he said.
“Ethan,” I whispered.
He held up his hand. “I hoped that helped.”
I nodded as I lifted my fingers to my lips.
He glanced over at me and shot me a half smile. “Good. Now you can’t ever say I wasn’t a good
friend.”
My stomach knotted. Friend. Right. We were friends. I already knew that. Didn’t I?
I just smiled. “Of course. You are the best kind of friend.” I pressed my lips together, the memory
of our kiss lingering. “Thank you.”
He hesitated and studied me for a moment. “I should go to bed.” He walked over to his front door
and turned the handle. Just before he slipped into his house, he turned back. “Good night, Livi.”
I opened my lips to say good night, but he disappeared into the darkness of his living room before
I could form the words.
“Good night,” I whispered to the darkness that now surrounded me.
Unsure of what had just happened, I pulled my jacket close and made my way down his front
stairs and around to my back door. Mom and Dad were sitting at the table as they’d been earlier that
afternoon.
I winced as I shut the door behind me. I really didn’t want to think about what had happened, and I
knew Mom would ask me how my evening went.
“Hey, Olivia,” Mom said, glancing up at me from her book.
“Hey, Mom.”
She smiled as she grabbed the handle of her mug and brought it to her lips.
“It was great,” I said, beating her to the question.
Her eyebrows rose as she took a sip. “That’s good to hear,” she said after lowering it. She didn’t
seem surprised by my comment.
“I’m exhausted. I’m gonna go get into bed.”
She nodded. “Smart. School’s tomorrow.”
I made my way through the kitchen and paused before I slipped upstairs. “Hey, I tried calling and
texting you guys. Where were you?”
She glanced over at Dad, who looked back at me. “You did?” he asked, moving to pull his phone
out.
“Yeah. I even called Beatrice.”
 Dad snorted. “I think when I turned the ringer down for the movie, I must have powered it off, and
Beatrice forgot her phone at home.”
I rolled my eyes. Leave it to my technology-challenged parents to inadvertently abandon their
daughter. “Good night.”
“Hey, wait,” Mom called after me.
“Yeah?”
“What did you need?”
I sighed. I could literally hear my bed calling me. I wasn’t in the mood to play twenty questions.
“A ride.”
“Oh.”
I smiled and attempted to leave again.
“How did you get home, then?”
I forced a smile. My strange and weird evening wasn’t her fault. I shouldn’t take it out on her.
“Ethan picked me up.”
The feeling of his name rolling off my lips caused my body to respond. I felt light-headed, and my
heart picked up speed. Maybe I should eat something. But eating required being in the kitchen. Where
Mom and Dad were.
Sleep. My body was telling me I needed sleep.
Mom gave me a soft smile. “Oh, good. You know, I like that boy.” She nodded. “Good choice,
Olivia.”
I wanted to groan. Mom never hid the fact that she thought Ethan and I would make a cute couple.
And normally I would just shrug it off, but not tonight. Tonight, it would only muck up my thoughts and
confuse me more.
So I turned and headed up the stairs, saying, “He’s just a friend, Ma.”
I shut my bedroom door, slipped out of Hannah’s outfit and into my flannel pajamas, and then
climbed into bed. I buried myself in my mountain of pillows.
As I leaned against my headboard, I noticed Ethan’s light was on. I couldn’t help but stare at him
as he moved across his room and over to his window. He grabbed onto the cord for his blinds. His
jaw was set and his brow furrowed. As if he’d just received really bad news. And oh, how I hoped
that was really the case and not how he really felt about our kiss.
Just as he pulled on the cord, he glanced over at me. Heat raced across my body as I lifted my
hand. He studied me for a moment before he smiled, waved, and dropped the blinds down.
Now truly alone, I leaned my head back and stared at the ceiling. At least I had my room. Here I
was protected. Here I wasn’t confused by strange kisses between me and Ethan.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep. Tomorrow when I woke up, life would be better.
Ethan would still be my best friend and Lachlan the love of my life.
I hoped.
 CHAPTER TWELVE

M onday morning, I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. After thirty minutes,
and an angry Beatrice, I got out, wrapped my robe around myself, and slipped into my
room.
I dried off, dressed in the dress I’d picked out on Saturday, and ran a brush through my hair. I
applied my signature eyeliner and mascara.
I sighed as I ran a comb through my wet hair. I had really hoped that I would feel better when I
woke up. That the memory of Ethan’s lips against mine wouldn’t haunt me like it had all night—but no
such luck. He had been the topic of my thoughts no matter how hard I tried to push him from my mind.
I glanced down at my watch and groaned. I was so late. Grabbing my backpack, I barreled out
into the hallway and down the stairs.
Beatrice was sitting at the table, finishing her last few bites of toast. She quirked an eyebrow as I
raced to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt. “Ready?” I asked, pulling open the lid and drinking half of
it.
“Yeah. Geez, what’s with you?”
I downed the rest and threw the container in the garbage. “We’re late.”
She shrugged, grabbed her dirty plate, and set it in the sink. “School’s not going anywhere. We
don’t have to be on time,” she said. Beatrice was never shy about her disdain for my need to be
punctual.
If she only knew how much I didn’t want to go to school, she wouldn’t be saying anything. But
Ethan would suspect something if I showed up late, and I couldn’t have that.
Sure, we shared a kiss on his porch last night, but that didn’t mean anything had to change. At
least, that didn’t mean he had to suspect that anything had changed. If he was going to be okay with
staying friends, then so was I.
I ushered Beatrice from the house, and we climbed into the car.
Ten minutes later, we pulled into the school parking lot, and I turned the car off. I made my way
across the parking lot and into the cafeteria. There was a new buzz to the student body today. New
couples lingered against the walls. Some were making out; others were just talking.
It made me happy to see that people were enjoying their matches. It seemed like no one else had
screwed up as royally as I did.
And that made the pit in my stomach grow bigger.
I was destined to be alone.
 I threaded my thumbs through my backpack straps and ducked my head. Once I was at my locker, I
pulled it open and began shuffling books around. Just as I shut the door and turned, I yelped.
Lachlan was standing behind me, a concerned expression on his face.
“Lachlan,” I said, embarrassment rushing through my veins. There was no way he actually wanted
to be around me again. “What are you doing here?”
He studied me. “We said we were going to meet.”
I stepped around him. “It’s okay. I totally get it if you don’t want to see me again.”
He grabbed my arm, halting my retreat. “Hey, Olivia, if this is about the bite. I get it. I’m not
mad.”
Ugh, just hearing those words made everything that much worse. But his last three words hung in
the air. “I’m not mad.” That did help me feel better.
“But I ruined everything.” My voice came out low.
He smiled. His cute and confident half smile. “No you didn’t. At least, not for me.”
I studied him. Was he serious? Wow. Okay. “So, that didn’t turn you off?” Wait. Where was I
going with this conversation?
Lachlan chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. That’s not a deal breaker.”
I narrowed my eyes.
He leaned closer. “I like you, Olivia. I want to see you again.” He glanced over at me. “Is that
okay?”
If I turned him down, I’d not only be the girl who bit him, I’d also be a crazy person. But, I
couldn’t forget how different the kiss between Lachlan and Ethan had been. I needed to talk to Ethan
before I agreed to anything.
“I don’t know,” I said.
Lachlan quirked an eyebrow.
I shook my head. “I just need to talk to someone first.”
“Someone?” He glanced around. “Who?”
I shrugged. “Just someone.”
He reached out and brushed his fingers down my arm, lifting my hand and kissing it. “Well, just
don’t leave me hanging.”
I smiled. “Of course not. I would never do that.”
He stepped closer and brushed his lips against my cheek. “I’ll hold you to that.” He glanced down
at me one more time before he turned and made his way down the hall.
Right past Ethan.
My heart sank when I saw the look pass over Ethan’s face. It was a mixture of frustration and hurt.
I parted my lips to say something, but he just shook his head and turned the nearby corner.
I held onto my backpack as I raced after him. I hated that I had somehow hurt him. Man, I was a
screw up.
By the time I rounded the corner, he was gone. I searched for him until the bell rang, but I didn’t
find him. Wherever he went, he didn’t want me to follow.
With a frustrated groan, I made my way to first period.
Whatever his reason was for looking upset, I still felt horrible. I’d told him about my horrible first
kiss, and then forced him to kiss me. Only for him to see me schmoosing up to Lachlan the next
morning.
Ethan deserved better than that. I’m sure he felt used, and for the first time, I was starting to see
how I had used him. And it didn’t make me feel good.
 When lunch rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was eat. When I got to the lunchroom, I
scanned the room for our table, where I found Nick, Hannah, Ethan…and Evelyn sitting.
The pit in my stomach grew bigger when I noticed just how close Evelyn and Ethan were sitting. I
was rapidly losing control of my emotions, and I hated it. I was stronger than this. If he was happy
with Evelyn, I could be happy for him.
“Hey guys,” I said as I dropped my backpack on the table with a thud.
“Hey, Olivia,” Hannah said, giving me a smile.
Nick grunted but didn’t drag his attention away from the calculus book in front of him.
I waited for Ethan to say something, but he didn’t, so I turned to Evelyn and gave her the biggest
smile I could muster. “Hi!” I winced. I needed to dial back the enthusiasm. “Hi, I’m Olivia,” I
reached my hand across the table.
Evelyn nodded. “I know. It’s so good to officially meet you.” She reached over and shook my
hand. “Ethan has told me so much about you. I feel like I already know you.” She tucked her hair
behind her ear and smiled.
Wow. She was good. One day into knowing Ethan and she’d already marked him as hers.
“Well, I’m sure he hasn’t told you everything. We’ve got quite a history,” I said, glancing over at
him.
He gave her a small smile, but wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Hey, best buddy, can we talk?” I asked, grabbing his elbow and pulling on it.
He finally glanced over at me. “Why?”
“Just a small question. No biggie.”
He narrowed his eyes but didn’t fight me. He told Evelyn he’d be right back, and then stood and
followed me.
When we got to the far end of the lunchroom, I turned to face him, and suddenly, I had no idea
what I was going to say. Everything that came to mind sounded stupid. There was no way I could just
ask him what was going on. If I did, I would likely ruin our already fraying friendship.
I had to tread this minefield carefully. “So, Evelyn’s eating lunch with you.”
He studied me and then scoffed, glancing out at the students around the room. “You brought me
over here to tell me that?” He turned to walk back.
“Wait,” I said, grabbing his elbow. “That’s not why I brought you over here.”
He met my gaze. There was a frustration in it that I’d never seen before. What was going on with
my best friend?
And then realization hit me. I’d hurt him. Bad. I’d pushed him, coerced him, forced him to put
himself up as bait for all the girls in school. I’d even made him kiss me. Just so I could be with my
dream guy. I was a fool to think that none of it would affect him. Wow. I was horrible.
What he needed right now was a supportive friend. He did not need a girl who was so desperate
to feel okay about what she did that she would force him to confess whatever he may or may not be
feeling for her.
My heart sank. It was all my fault. I was pushing my best friend away. But I could change. I’d
prove it to him. I’d make up for my mistakes—starting with Evelyn.
I took a deep breath and smiled. “I just wanted to say that I like Evelyn. I’m really happy you
found a girl who makes you happy.” I met his gaze and held it. He needed to know that I was no
longer going to interfere with his love life. I would be the best friend he’d ever had.
He studied me before he sighed. “You think we are really perfect for each other, huh?”
I nodded. “Of course. She’s sweet, and you two are adorable together.”
 “Really?”
I nodded again. Why didn’t he understand that I was trying to give him a peace offering? “Yes.
She’s lucky to have you.” I reached out and rested my hand on his arm.
His gaze dropped to my hand and then made its way back up to mine. “Well, thanks. I’m happy
you approve.” He shifted, breaking our contact. “I should go. I’ve gotta eat lunch and then start on my
Econ homework.”
I smiled as he turned and made his way back to the table. After a short conversation with Evelyn,
he grabbed his backpack, shoved his remaining sandwich into his mouth, and left the lunchroom. I
was pretty sure he was headed to the library.
When I returned to the table, Evelyn looked as if she were incredibly uncomfortable. I smiled
over at her, and her shoulders relaxed.
“Everything okay?” she asked. “Ethan seemed upset.”
I brushed off her comment even though I knew she was right. “He’s fine. Just has a lot of
homework. I—um, just had a family question for him.”
She studied me for a moment before she nodded. “I hope everything’s okay.”
“Peachy-keen.” Just as the word left my lips, I regretted it. Man, I could be a dork sometimes.
Thankfully, Hannah interrupted our conversation, demanding that I tell her about my date with
Lachlan. The remainder of lunch was filled with me recounting our evening—sans the bite. Hannah
ooh’d and ahh’d about every detail like they were from the latest article in People.
I tried not to roll my eyes as her reaction. Instead I tried to enjoy that, for the first time in the last
couple weeks, someone was just happy for me. To her, this was the best thing that had ever happened
to me. I was finally getting to go out with my dream guy.
When the bell rang, I gathered my stuff, said goodbye to everyone, and headed to class.
I really just needed to get lost in schoolwork and forget how everything was breaking down.
When had my life become so complicated?
Why couldn’t I have just accepted the fact that the band wasn’t going to Paris? Everyone else had.
No. I had to come up with this completely ridiculous idea that just might be ripping apart my
friendship with Ethan.
When I slipped into my desk in the back corner of the room, I pulled out my textbook and started
studying. Even though I was having a hard time really focusing, I needed a break from thinking about
my life, and physics was the next best thing.
 CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“M s. Williams.” Mr. Gunyan’s voice pulled me from my sleep.

I jolted awake and glanced around. “Where am I?” I asked, blinking the sleep from my eyes.
“You’re in art class. And you fell asleep.” He glared down at me through his black-rimmed
glasses.
“I did?” I peered up at the clock. It was two thirty. School was over.
“Yes. And I really don’t take too kindly to people falling asleep in my class.”
There wasn’t anyone else in the room. I’d missed the final bell. I sat up, rubbed my face, and shot
Mr. Gunyan a sheepish look. “I’m sorry,” I said. I scooted my books off my desk and slipped them
into my backpack on the floor.
Mr. Gunyan’s disapproving expression didn’t falter. “It’s rude to sleep during class. If it happens
again, I’ll have to give you detention.”
I pinched my lips together and nodded. “Of course. I completely understand. It won’t happen
again.”
He grunted and then shoved a piece of paper towards me. “The principal wants to speak to you.”
I grabbed the note from him and shouldered my backpack. “Thanks.” I dipped my head and raced
from the room.
I’d never fallen asleep in class before. Just another thing that this brand-new Olivia I’d become
was screwing up.
I could only imagine what the principal wanted to talk to me about.
Mrs. Fontain was at her desk when I pulled open the office door. She turned to smile at me in a
congratulatory way. What was going on?
“Hey, Olivia,” she said.
I held up the note that Mr. Gunyan had given me. “Principal Potter-Bacon wants to see me?”
She clasped her hands and nodded. “Yes, go ahead. He’s waiting for you.”
I slipped by her and opened his door.
“Ms. Williams,” Principal Potter-Bacon exclaimed when he saw me. “Come in.”
I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. When I turned, I saw that he’d extended his hand
toward the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
I obeyed, sitting awkwardly on the chair because I hadn’t taken off my backpack. “What’s up?”
Principal Potter-Bacon raised his eyebrows.
“What did you need?” I rephrased.
 “I thought you’d like to know the results of your fundraiser.”
Oh, good. This had nothing to do with me, Lachlan, or Ethan. Which, now that I thought about it,
sounded crazy. Why would he call me here to talk to me about my kissing escapades?
I relaxed into the chair. “Oh. Cool.”
He nodded as he picked up a slip of paper. “With the added contribution of a few parents who
heard what you were doing, we were able to raise enough funds to send the band to Paris.”
I knew that I should’ve been happy. Joy should have risen up and exploded throughout my body.
But it didn’t. I was too riddled with guilt from hurting my best friend. So I forced a smile and nodded.
“That’s awesome. I’m happy it worked.”
Principal Potter-Bacon’s smile faltered. It seemed as if he was expecting a much bigger reaction
too. “Well, at the school assembly on Friday, I’d love to have you come up and announce to the entire
student body that the trip is back on.”
Yeah, I was not a fan of public speaking. But he looked so excited and eager that I nodded. “Sure.
I can do that.”
He set the piece of paper down and cleared his throat. “Well, that’s all I have for you.”
I stood and turned. Just when I made it to the door, he called out my name.
“Yeah?” I glanced back at him.
His forehead was furrowed. “Everything okay?”
I forced a smile and nodded. “Yeah. Just tired.”
A knowing look passed over his face. “I get it. Go home and get some rest.” He lifted a stack of
papers off his desk and shuffled through them. “You did a really good thing,” he said, glancing up at
me.
If he only knew the whole story. I just nodded and left his office.
Beatrice was waiting for me at the car when I walked up. Her gaze roamed over me and she
winced. “What’s with you?”
I shook my head and opened the driver’s door. There was no way I wanted to talk about it right
now. I climbed in, slammed my door, and started the engine.
We rode in silence all the way back to the house. When I got to my room, I shut my door and
flopped onto my bed. I buried my face in the comforter and screamed. All the stress from Ethan that
had started last night and continued to build all day needed to come out.
Why had I ruined everything in my life? Ethan shouldn’t have been involved in any of this.
Apparently, stupid and irrational me thought it would be smart to be the matchmaker for my best
friend. Man, I had not thought that through.
Rolling to my back, I stared up at the ceiling. After I turned on some music on my phone, I lay
there, tapping my foot to the beat. I was going to wait here until my shift started at Papa Louie’s. Then
I was going have to face Ethan again.
That sounded awful. I sat up and glanced around.
Homework, I needed to do homework. Anything to take my mind off the thoughts that were racing
through it.
I buried myself in physics until my phone chimed at five. I had a half hour to get ready and get to
the restaurant. After I changed into my Papa Louie’s t-shirt and jeans, I grabbed my hat and purse and
headed out the door.
I sucked in my breath when I drove past Ethan’s Jeep that was parked behind Papa Louie’s. Just
seeing his vehicle made my senses go haywire. Wow. Watching him get close to another girl was
really affecting me. With Hallie, it had been different. She was awful and I knew she could never be
the one for him. Evelyn? There just might be a chance there.
After I turned the car off, I got out, praying for a mass of customers so that we wouldn’t have time
to talk. We’d keep things only about work, and I wouldn’t have to talk about Lachlan and he wouldn’t
talk about Evelyn.
When I pulled open the back door, the only sound was the occasional clatter of dishes. Someone
was in the back room.
I shut the door behind me and peered into the dish room. Evelyn was standing next to the sink in a
black shirt and a Papa Louie’s hat.
What?
I glanced around. Since when did she work here?
Slipping my hat on over my head and pulling my ponytail through, I made my way to the kitchen.
Ethan was standing next to the counter, kneading some dough.
“Hey,” I said as I stepped up to the cash register.
He glanced over at me. “Hey.”
So that was it? All I got was a “hey”? Wow. Things had really gotten weird.
“So, Evelyn’s in the back.” I peeked over at him, hoping his body language would tell me more
than his words.
He nodded. “Yep.”
Silence.
“That’s new. When was she hired?” I fiddled with a stack of completed orders in front of me.
Ethan slid a pizza onto the wooden peel and moved to place it in the oven. “This afternoon. She
was looking for a job, so I told her to talk to Louie. He hired her, and since Brooke called in sick, he
had her start today.” There was a pause and from the corner of my eye, I saw him turn to look at me.
“Is that okay?”
I scoffed. “Of course, it’s okay. Why wouldn’t it be okay?”
It was definitely not okay. There was no way I could try to fix my and Ethan’s relationship when
his new whatever she was was in the room. And if I were honest with myself, I wasn’t ready to see
how great things were going for them.
He nodded. “Good. I’m happy to hear that.”
“Good,” I repeated and then turned so I could pinch my lips shut.
A group of particularly hungry high schoolers came in and ordered a few extra-large pizzas. That
gave me an excuse to focus on the register and for Ethan to work on cooking them up.
By the time their order was filled, Evelyn had emerged from the dish room. “All done,” she said
in a singsong voice. I half expected a horde of forest animals to follow her into the kitchen.
“Thanks,” Ethan said, smiling over at her.
Bile rose up in my throat. There was no way I wanted to spend my shift watching the two of them
flirt. She stepped up next to him and insisted that he show her how to make pizza.
I wanted to tell her it was dough, sauce, and cheese—not rocket science, but Ethan just grinned
down at her and grabbed a glob of dough. Soon, he was trying to teach her how to spin it above her
head. She kept dropping it and giggling obnoxiously.
I needed to get out of here.
“I’m taking fifteen,” I said, but I was pretty sure they weren’t listening to me. I walked down the
hallway and out the back of the building. I took a deep breath of the evening air. It smelled like rain
was coming. I shivered and rubbed my arms. I loved and hated the hint of a storm.
In Olathe it could mean a tornado, and our town had already had enough of that to last us quite a
while.
I leaned against the brick building and tipped my head up toward the sky. The clouds were dark
and ominous. I doubted anyone would be venturing out for pizza anytime soon, which meant I was
going to be alone with the two lovebirds.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Why did I care so much? I was the one who set them up. I really should
be happy for the two of them. Ethan deserved a girl who was going to see him for the awesome guy he
was.
But I wasn’t happy. Not at all.
“Livi?” Ethan’s voice broke into my thoughts.
I straightened and turned to see him studying me. His forehead furrowed. “You okay?”
I nodded, hoping to mask the hurt that had built up inside of me. “Yeah.” I nodded toward the sky.
“Looks like a storm.”
He followed my gesture. “You’re right.” He sighed. “That means slow business.”
I studied him. Was he regretting this as much as I was? Wait. What was I saying? Of course, he
wasn’t. It would give him more time to spend with his sort-of girlfriend.
“Did you need something?” I asked. I was sick of thinking about him and Evelyn. I really needed
to get them out of my mind. But having him stand in front of me was making that impossible.
He hesitated. “There’s someone here to see you.”
I knitted my eyebrows. “Who?”
He swallowed and then cleared his throat. “Lachlan.”
My heart picked up speed. “What? Why?”
Ethan shrugged. “Didn’t really ask him. Didn’t care.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?” I asked, walking past him.
“Hey, all he said was ‘is Olivia here?’ I didn’t think he had to explain himself.” He held open the
door, and I made my way down the hall.
Evelyn was leaning against the counter, talking to Lachlan when I entered. She glanced over at me
and smiled. “I didn’t know you were seeing Lachlan.”
I studied her. “You know him?”
She nodded. “He and I were paired together by Principal Potter-Bacon when I first moved here.
He was my helper, so to speak.”
Lachlan laughed. “Yeah. It was either that, or detention.”
So she’d had some sort of relationship with both of the guys in my life. I wasn’t sure how I felt
about any of this. “Oh, that’s nice.” I rounded the counter and motioned for Lachlan to follow me. We
stood next to the garbage can. “What’s up?” I asked, folding my arms. I wasn’t sure how I felt about
him being here. It was already a confusing night, and he just added to it.
He shrugged and shoved his hands into his front pockets. “Nothing. Just wanted to see you.”
I scoffed which came out as more of a choking sound. Never in my nonexistent history with guys,
had anyone ever said that to me. My face heated as I tried to compose myself. “Oh, really. Why?” And
then I pinched my lips together. Why was I being a jerk?
Lachlan studied me. “Are you okay?” Then he glanced around. “I’m sorry. I figured it would be
okay. But it was probably a bad idea, showing up at your work.” He winced.
This guy was trying to do a sweet thing for me, and here I was, shooting him down. I reached out
and brushed my fingertips against his arm. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s my fault. I’m the dork.
I guess…” I hesitated, fighting the next words. If I spoke them out loud, then he’d learn just how much
of a loser at romance I really was. “I’ve just never had a guy show up at work to see me, or a
boyfriend—” I slammed my lips shut.
Lachlan’s eyebrows went up, and heat flushed my body. Now he really wasn’t going to want
anything to do with me. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He reached up and covered my fingers with his hand. “No worries. I like that you think ahead.”
I eyed him. Was he telling the truth? With how fast Ethan and Evelyn’s relationship was
progressing, I was grateful that I didn’t scare him away. My body relaxed, causing a wave of
exhaustion to flood my body. This last week had been so stressful, I felt like I needed a break from
life.
Glancing back to where Evelyn and Ethan were working, I nodded toward the register. “Do you
want some pizza?”
Lachlan smiled. “Yes. I never say no to Papa Louie’s.”
Grateful for a distraction, I pulled my hand from his and headed behind the counter. This was
good. I was moving forward with Lachlan, and Ethan had Evelyn. Everything was perfect. So, why
didn’t it feel that way?
 CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I tried to ignore the looks Ethan was shooting my direction as I rang up Lachlan’s order. I
could tell he was unhappy about something, but I wasn’t sure what. So I figured he was
just frustrated with me for giving Lachlan my employee discount.
The wind whipped leaves around outside as Ethan slipped Lachlan’s pizza into the oven. I
glanced out through the large picture windows at the front of the store. The sky had morphed into a
greenish tint. A classic indicator that the storm would be massive.
“It’s getting bad out there,” Evelyn said.
“Yeah,” I said.
“What does Papa Louie do in case of a storm?” She glanced over at Ethan who had come up to
stand next to her.
“He likes to keep open as long as possible. I’m sure he’s watching it. If he wants us to close
down, he’ll call.” Ethan moved to turn the pizza.
I understood Evelyn’s concern. Last month’s tornado had rattled the town. We were an optimistic
place, but now, just the hint of a tornado made everyone go crazy.
I smiled over at her. “I’m sure we’ll be okay.”
She nodded, but I could tell from the uneasy expression of her face, she didn’t believe me.
Ethan plated Lachlan’s pizza and handed it to me. I reached out, and, despite my better judgement,
brushed my fingers against his. Warmth raced across my fingertips. It surprised me, and I almost
dropped the plate. I composed myself fast enough to keep it from clattering to the floor and nodded at
him.
There was an intensity to his gaze that caused my chest to tighten. Like there was something he
wanted to tell me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but if he was going to be critical of Lachlan, I didn’t
want to hear it.
So I forced a smile. “Thanks.”
I made my way around the counter and out to Lachlan’s table. “Here you go,” I said as I dropped
the pizza in front of him.
He grinned up at me. “Thanks.” Then he waved toward an empty chair. “Wanna sit?”
There were zero customers in the restaurant, and unlikely to be any more, so I nodded. Sitting
with Lachlan meant I wouldn’t have to deal with Ethan’s critical gaze.
“We’ll join you guys,” Evelyn called to us.
I tried to come up with a good reason why they should stay in the kitchen, but nothing came. And,
in a matter of seconds, she appeared and pulled out another chair.
“I’ll make us some cheese pizzas,” Ethan called from the kitchen.
I glanced up to see that his expression had stiffened. Wow. Lachlan was really making him
uncomfortable.
I peeked over to study Lachlan. He was smiling at something Evelyn was saying. Sure, he wasn’t
perfect, but I couldn’t see why Ethan disliked him as much as he did. Maybe he knew something about
Lachlan that I didn’t.
Luckily, Evelyn and Lachlan seemed to really get along. They were laughing and chatting about
her town back in Florida. Apparently, his family had vacationed in the town next to it.
Having never left the state of Kansas, I really didn’t have a lot to offer to their conversation. So I
just sat back and listened to them talk. It was nice, not having to worry about what I was going to say
next or if what I did say came across as idiotic. Sitting here, just observing, helped calm my ragged
nerves.
And then Ethan showed up with our pizzas, and my relaxed vibe went flying out the window.
“Here you go,” he said, dropping a plate in front of each of us.
Evelyn giggled. “This is so cool! It’s like we’re on a double date or something.”
I winced. I didn’t mean to, but double-dating with Ethan did not sound like fun. At least not with
how our relationship was right now.
Ethan didn’t seem fazed, however. He just shrugged and sat down. Just as he pulled his chair in,
the phone rang. I moved to get it but he just waved me back to my seat. “I’ll grab it.”
Lachlan and Evelyn had broken off their conversation, but when Ethan left, they started right back
up. I strained to hear what was going on over by the register.
“Hello, Papa Louie’s,” Ethan said. He paused. “Oh, really?”
I turned to look at him. He wasn’t writing an order down, so it must be someone he knew.
“Yeah. Okay. I’ll let them know. We will. Thanks.”
He hung up the phone and made his way back over to us. I glanced up when he stopped right next
to me.
“That was Louie. He said the storm’s pretty bad, but it’s not supposed to last longer than a half
hour, so if we just hang out here, we should be able to open back up once it passes.”
I nodded.
Evelyn squeaked, but didn’t say anything.
A heavy cloud hung over the table as we focused on eating our pizza. We all knew what the others
were thinking but didn’t want to say. Tornado.
“This is crazy. We can’t get hit by a tornado twice in the same year, can we? I mean, that’s like
statistically impossible,” Evelyn said.
I glanced over at her. Her normally cheery voice sounded strained. I mustered a grin in her
direction. “I’m sure it’s probably just a normal storm.” I peered over at Ethan. “Did Papa Louie say
there was a tornado watch?”
Ethan was picking at his crust. “Naw. He just said storm.”
The wind was blowing hard outside, causing the trees to bend and their branches to stand out
straight.
“Let’s play a game,” Evelyn offered.
We all turned our attention toward her.
“I like that idea. What game?” Lachlan asked.
Would it be bad if I declined? I really wasn’t in a game-playing mood. I sucked in my breath.
“Sorry. No board games here.”
Evelyn waved away my comment. “I wasn’t thinking like Monopoly or anything. There are some
games we can play.” She narrowed her eyes. “Like, spin the bottle.” She glanced over at Ethan whose
cheeks turned bright pink.
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
I was glad he rejected that idea. I’d already kissed both guys here, and there was no way I wanted
a rerun of either of them. The next time I kissed Lachlan, I was going to knock him off his feet. And
Ethan? Well, that was a rule I should have never broken. There was no way I was ever going to do
that again.
My gaze dropped down to Ethan’s lips, but I forced it back up. Nope. I’d made the right decision.
If I wanted to hang onto my friendship with Ethan, I could never ever kiss him again.
Evelyn tapped her chin. “Truth or dare?”
“I’m cool with that,” Lachlan said as he finished the last bite of his pizza. He grabbed my half full
plate and slipped his underneath it. I normally didn’t have a problem finishing my pizza, but my
stomach hurt, and I didn’t think I could eat anymore.
“Isn’t that, like, juvenile?” I tapped my fingers on the table, wishing this storm would hurry up and
end so that I could get back behind the counter, where I belonged.
“It’ll be fun, huh?” Evelyn asked, glancing over at Ethan, who was studying the tabletop in front of
him. She reached over and rested her hand on his forearm. When he looked up at her, I saw the
uncertainty in his eye.
“Really? Truth or dare?”
Evelyn looked a little hurt that Ethan didn’t jump at her idea. “That or we could sit here and stare
out the window.” She smiled. “I vote for playing something to take our minds off the storm.”
He studied her and then sighed. The sigh. The one reserved for when I’d won him over.
Somewhere deep in my gut, my stomach twinged. That was our thing—not his and Evelyn’s.
I swallowed and glanced over at Lachlan, who was watching them. I scooted closer to him. I’m
not sure if it was because my best friend was being won over by another girl, or because it meant our
relationship was about to change forever. But it made me suddenly desire to further my relationship
with Lachlan.
Maybe it was an act of self-preservation.
“I’m in,” I said, smiling at Lachlan.
I felt Ethan’s gaze on me, and then he turned back to Evelyn. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
She grabbed her phone and downloaded an app where you spun a wheel and it gave you either a
truth or a dare.
“I’ll go first,” she giggled as she ran her finger across the screen of her phone. It made a
gameshow sound as the wheel spun. “Truth!” she exclaimed. And then she studied the question.
“Okay, it says that everyone should rate me on a scale of one to ten in terms of hotness.”
I blinked at her. This was ridiculous. “I—um—”
“I’d say a nine. But maybe do a little walk for us first,” Lachlan piped up.
I turned to study him. Was he serious?
He glanced over at me, and a sheepish expression passed over his face. “I mean, I don’t see her
looks at all.” He leaned over and nudged me with his shoulder. “It’s just a game, Livi.”
Whoa. That name sounded weird coming from anyone but Ethan. When I turned to see what Ethan
thought about it, his jaw was set, but he was watching as Evelyn stood and model-walked around the
tables next to us.
 Lachlan clapped when she sat down, and they both gave her a perfect ten. I gave her a nine and a
half.
The phone was passed to Ethan, and I could see his reluctance, but he spun it.
“Truth,” he said and then studied the question as it appeared. “What is the sexiest thing about the
person to your left.”
Heat rushed across my skin when I realized that I was to his left. My heart picked up speed. Was
he going to make a joke? Be serious? I wasn’t sure how I felt about it either way.
He turned to study me. He pinched his lips together as his gaze intensified.
“At least it’s not Lachlan,” I said, laughing off the fact that it was literally taking him forever to
come up with something. Was I really that unattractive?
Ethan’s lips tipped up into a half smile, but then he grew serious again.
“Ah, come on. You’re just leaving the poor girl hanging,” Evelyn said.
My cheeks were burning. Why was he doing this to me? And in front of Lachlan. It was just mean.
“When you concentrate, you get this little furrow right above your nose, and you chew your lip.
It’s…adorable,” he said. I saw the hesitation in his gaze as he met mine.
My heart tripled in speed as he studied me.
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Evelyn said.
“That’s not sexy. The question said sexy,” Lachlan contradicted.
I turned to look at him. What was he doing?
When I glanced back at Ethan, a frustrated look passed over his face. “Well, maybe you and I
think different things are sexy.”
I gave him a small smile, just so he knew that I appreciated what he’d said. He just rubbed his
palms on his jeans and turned to Evelyn.
“Who’s next?”
“Olivia.”
“Yes. Get a dare this time,” Lachlan said, reaching over and resting his arm on the back of my
chair.
I took the phone from Ethan and swiped the spinner. “Truth.” I studied the phone. Where were the
dares? But acting like an idiot in front of everyone wasn’t exactly my idea of fun, so I decided to
appreciate the question…until I read it.
“Who here would be the best kisser?”
Dread filled my chest. Why did I have to get that question? Was this fate’s cruel sense of humor?
“Ooo, I think we all know who she’s going to say,” Evelyn squealed, reaching over and wrapping
her hands around Ethan’s arm and laying her head on his shoulder.
It may have been my imagination, but I swear I saw him stiffen.
“I think I know who she’s going to say, too,” Lachlan said, pulling me closer to him.
No, he didn’t. ‘Cause the only name that flooded my mind was the last name I could ever say.
Ethan.
 CHAPTER FIFTEEN

M y face heated as I covered the question with my hand. As if doing that would erase it
from existence.
“You don’t have to actually kiss everyone here to respond,” Evelyn said.
I nodded. But I was stuck. Who do I say? Before I thought too hard about it, I parted my lips and
let the only rational answer escape my lips, “Lachlan.”
Lachlan whooped. “I knew it,” he said, leaning over and pressing his lips against my cheek. I
grinned and turned just as he whispered, “I think it’s time for a do-over,” into my ear.
I should have been excited that he wanted to kiss me. I should be over the moon that the guy I’d
wanted to kiss for as long as I could remember wanted to kiss me back. But I wasn’t. All I could do
was peek over at Ethan, who was staring at the ground with a tense expression.
Was he mad? I’d basically just told him that his kiss was worse than me biting Lachlan.
I wanted to take it back. I wanted to tell the truth. But I couldn’t. I had a sinking suspicion as to
why I couldn’t, but I wasn’t ready to admit it—even to myself.
Lachlan took the phone and spun the wheel. He had to answer some dumb question about who his
first crush was. He went on and on about some teenybopper that he’d loved when he was ten. I tuned
him out when he started talking about her figure.
Evelyn was engrossed in what he was saying, giggling at his description. But I wasn’t worried
about either of them. I was watching Ethan, who seemed to doing everything he possibly could to
avoid looking at me.
When the phone got back to Evelyn, she decided that she must have downloaded just a truth app
which was why we were only getting questions.
She spun, and we continued to play until the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the restaurant.
“We should open again,” Ethan said, standing and pushing his chair in.
Grateful that the game was finally over, I nodded and stood. “I agree.”
Lachlan and Evelyn chatted for a few minutes more. I was more than happy to get behind the
counter and pretend that this whole awkward experience never happened. Ethan seemed to feel the
same. He was busy moving pizza toppings around as if we were about to have the entire town of
Olathe descend on us and demand individual pizzas.
When Evelyn and Lachlan made their way toward us, Lachlan peeled off from Evelyn and
approached me. “Can I talk to you?” he asked, smiling over at me.
I nodded and made my way around the counter. He grabbed my hand and led me toward the back
door.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
He just turned and smiled at me.
Once we were outside, Lachlan let the door shut behind us as he turned and cornered me between
the wall and his body. I could feel his heat wash over me as he pressed in closer.
“What are you doing?” I asked. I wanted to enjoy his proximity. I wanted it to send tingles across
my body when he touched me. But it didn’t. I just felt trapped.
“I thought we might try again,” he said, pressing his hands on either side of me and leaning in.
“Here? Now?” I asked, glancing around.
“Yeah.” He moved closer.
I glanced up at him and gave him the best forgive me face I could muster. “I have pizza breath,” I
said, covering my mouth with my hand.
He shrugged. “I’m sure I can get over that.”
“But I care.” I patted his arm with my hand. “How about you take me out tomorrow night and we
try this again.”
He groaned as he tipped his face toward the sky. “But I can’t wait. I know we can make this one
better.” He smiled down at me.
“I know. But I kind of want it to be perfect.” I pulled at my shirt and flicked my ponytail. “I’m all
gross and covered with flour. Tomorrow night, I’ll be”—I cringed as the word left my lips—“hot.”
He narrowed his eyes as he studied me. When he sighed and pushed off the wall, I felt as if I
could suddenly breathe again. Grateful that he accepted my terms, I straightened my shirt and shifted
away from him in case he decided to try again.
“I guess.” Then he tipped his finger toward me. “Hot, right?”
I nodded. “Yep.” His obsessive need to quantify everyone according to their looks was really
starting to bother me.
“All right.” Then he pulled out his keys and threw them into the air, catching them on their way
back down. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I waved at him as he made his way around the building toward the front parking lot. When he was
gone, I leaned against the back wall and sighed. What was happening?
Why was I reacting more to Ethan than to Lachlan? Why did I squirm whenever Lachlan was
around? Why did I want to scream every time I saw Evelyn lean into Ethan?
I closed my eyes as the answer to my question floated to the surface of my mind. I was such an
idiot to keep trying to deny it. It was simple, and it could very well crush me.
I liked Ethan.
I liked him, liked him. He was sweet and kind and funny, and I couldn’t believe that it had taken
so long for me to see how I felt about him.
The back door opened and Evelyn appeared. I glanced over at her as I pushed myself off the wall.
“Did Lachlan leave?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yep.”
A disappointed look passed over her face as she stepped out and let the door shut behind her. “It
was fun having him here, huh?”
“Yep,” I repeated.
She studied me. “You two are so cute together.” Then she leaned closer. “Not as cute as Ethan and
I, but you know, not everyone can be soulmates.”
Oh, how I wanted to punch her. Why did I ever think that she’d be perfect for Ethan? “Of course,”
I said when it seemed she was expecting an answer.
She sighed as she picked a piece of lint from her shirt. “He’s perfect though. And hot as all get
out. I don’t know how you’ve stayed his friend. I mean, the first time I saw him without a shirt, I
almost died.” She fanned herself with her hand.
She’d seen him without a shirt? Why? I just nodded, fearing what I’d say if I opened my mouth..
“But, I’m sure you don’t see that.” She shifted her weight. “You know, he loves having you as a
friend. He said he knew that you’d always be honest with him. That your friendship means more to
him than anything else. That he never wants that to change.”
My heart screeched to a stop. “He said that?” I tried to pretend that her words weren’t stabbing
me in the gut. She’d just confirmed that Ethan would never see me as anyone but his friend. To him, I
was a gelatinous blob that he told his secrets to and watched Bourne movies with.
She nodded. “Yeah. He’s grateful to have at least one girl in his life that he can always trust.” She
shrugged. “I’m hoping that I can get there someday. You know, without the ‘being just friends’ part”
She laughed. “But, you don’t like him, do you?”
I pinched my lips together and shook my head. “Nope.” I lied. “I’m with Lachlan. Ethan is just my
friend.”
She studied me as if she wasn’t a hundred percent convinced, but then she shrugged. “I get that.
Lachlan’s hot.”
Ugh. If I heard that one more time tonight, I was going to scream. Instead, I just nodded. “Yeah.”
After an awkward pause, I moved to open the door. “Shall we? I’m sure everyone is emerging
from their homes.”
She sighed. “I guess.”
I held the door as she made her way into the restaurant. When she wasn’t looking, I relaxed my
happy expression and let my true feelings bubble to the surface.
Ethan was my friend. My friend. That was it. That was all he wanted. If I didn’t want to lose my
friend, that had to be all I wanted too.
We spent the rest of the evening filling orders for what felt like half the town. We were so busy
that I didn’t have time to focus on anything but the register and pizza.
Ten o’clock rolled around, and we ushered the last few customers from the dining room. Evelyn
had packed up and left an hour ago, stating she was exhausted. I was grateful that her shift ended
earlier than ours. I kind of wanted Ethan to myself tonight.
Everything had happened so quickly earlier, and I wanted to take a minute to figure out how I felt.
And I wanted to know how Ethan felt.
We were quiet as we closed down our sections of the kitchen. I counted money as Ethan wrapped
up extra toppings and brought them to the fridge. We’d known Papa Louie since we were kids, so he
had no problem letting us close up shop ourselves. Small towns mean deep relationships.
“Music?” Ethan asked.
I glanced at him and smiled. His hair had fallen over his forehead, and there was some flour
streaked across his cheek. “Sure,” I said as tingles erupted from my toes and raced across my body.
How had I been so blind before? Ethan was perfect.
I winced as I turned back to study the money in front of me.
Stop thinking like that, I scolded myself.
Ethan plugged his phone into the speakers, and his playlist filled the air. I knew the songs he loved
by heart. Turning, I grinned at him. “These are classics.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you appreciate good music.”
 I hummed along as I finished counting the nickels. Once the money was zipped up in the pouch, I
made my way back to Louie’s office and slipped it into his safe. I wasn’t watching as I headed down
the hall, and before I knew it, I ran right into Ethan.
He had just returned from a trip to the fridge. I shivered as his cold hands wrapped around my
arms to steady me.
“Whoa,” he said.
I’d never noticed until now, but he had a deep voice. I pinched my lips shut as I stood there,
stunned.
He studied me. “You okay?” he asked.
I tried not to read into the fact that he’d allowed his hands to linger on my arms. I shouldn’t
assume that what he was doing meant anything. Geez, as soon as I start liking I guy, I overanalyzed his
every move.
“Yes,” I said.
His gaze met mine and held it for a moment. There was a look in his eye that got my heart
pounding so hard that I feared he’d hear it. All I wanted to do was lean in and kiss him again.
But then he dropped his arms and pushed his hands through his hair. “If you want, I can finish up
here.”
I let out a forced laugh. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
He met my gaze. “Of course not. I just figured you wanted to meet up with Lachlan.”
“Oh, right.” I dropped my gaze. “We’re going out tomorrow.”
When he didn’t respond, I glanced up. His jaw was set, and it looked as if there was an internal
struggle going on there.
“What?” I asked. Was he jealous of Lachlan? Was that what this had all been about?
He shook his head. “Nothing.” He turned and made his way back to the kitchen.
“Wait.” I reached out to grab his arm, but he slipped past me. I stomped after him.
Either he was ignoring me or… No, he was definitely ignoring me. “Ethan, wait” I demanded
when I caught up with him.
He kept his gaze on the floor as he paused.
“What is it with you and Lachlan?” I folded my arms and shifted until I could see his eyes.
“What?” he asked, glancing up at me.
“What is it with you and Lachlan? You’re always, like, judging me when I’m around him. Do you
not like him?”
He laughed. It was forced and mocking. “I don’t really have any feelings toward the guy.”
“That’s a lie,” I said.
His forced smile faded as he turned to study me. “Okay, fine. The guy’s a slimeball.” He sighed.
“Happy?”
Anger brewed in my stomach. “What do you mean, he’s a slimeball?”
Ethan sidestepped me and made his way over to pick up the remaining items for the fridge. “What
I mean is he’s a jerk who is only interested in what a girl looks like.” He cradled the tubs of olives
and artichoke hearts in the crook of his arm. When he passed by me, he paused. “And you deserve
better than that.” He let his words linger in the air for a moment, and then he headed down the hall.
The tone of his voice sent shivers down my back. I forced myself to read it as his caring-friend
voice, but I didn’t want to. I so desperately wanted it to mean something more.
He made his way to the fridge, and I couldn’t help myself, I followed him. I was mad and
confused. “So, you’d rather me just spend my life single than try to accept the guy that I picked for
myself?” He was my friend. It that’s all he wanted out of our relationship, why couldn’t he just be
supportive? Was this how it was going to be with every guy I started to date?
He paused and stared down at me. “What?”
“If we’re best friends, why aren’t you more supportive about the guy I like? You always have
something bad to say about him, and you never made any effort to be his friend.” I placed my hands on
my hips like I was a mom scolding her kid. I couldn’t help it, I had so much frustrated energy, I didn’t
know what else to do.
He studied me before he let out a sigh. “You’re right. I should be more supportive. You’re my
friend, and if that meant anything to me, I’d be nicer.” He shifted the containers around in his arms. “I
promise to be better from now on. You mean too much to me to let Lachlan ruin what we have.”
I nodded as he passed by me and disappeared into the kitchen. Well, that conversation hadn’t gone
the way I’d hoped. Ethan was going to be more accepting of Lachlan when he was around. Problem
was, I was pretty sure Lachlan wasn’t who I wanted to be around.
Ugh. I was a mess.
 CHAPTER SIXTEEN

W e closed up the restaurant and parted ways. I climbed into my car, not looking at Ethan
as he did the same. The drive home was filled with frustrated thoughts. So much so,
that I almost blew past a red light. I said a small prayer of gratitude that I’d made it
home safely when I pulled into my driveway.
Hopefully after a hot shower and some sleep, I’d feel better.
I was going to try and ignore the fact that I had school tomorrow.
When I got out of the bathroom, I was dressed in my flannel pajamas and had wrapped a towel
around my hair. I padded back into my room, feeling a bit better than when I got home.
When I got into my room, I yelped. Ethan was standing next to my window with a Bourne movie
in hand.
He’d showered as well. His hair was damp, and his cheeks were still pink. He had on a white
shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. And he looked so good.
I tried not to groan as I shut my door. I needed to stop thinking about him like that. “What are you
doing here?” I asked, folding my arms.
He nodded toward the movie. “Asking for forgiveness?”
I eyed him. This wasn’t what I wanted. My heart had skipped a beat when I first saw him, and I’d
thought that he just might be here to tell me that he was in love with me. And then I felt like a dork.
What would he do if he could read my mind? If he knew that I wanted him to confess that? He’d think
I was an idiot.
“I will try harder with Lachlan,” he said, raising his eyebrows, like that was the reason for my
standoffishness.
It wasn’t, but right now, I’d run with it. I didn’t want to ruin my relationship with Ethan, and there
was no way I was going to go back to being single. So I was in this ridiculous limbo. And I hated all
of it.
“Fine.” I said, walking past him and grabbing the movie. “Only if you brought me Twizzlers.” I
made my way over to the DVD player and slipped the disc in.
He moved to pull something out of his back pocket. “You mean these?”
I grabbed the remote and Twizzlers as I hopped onto my bed. “Yeah. Like these.”
Ethan walked over to the bed and studied it. “Is there room for me too?”
I glanced over at the remaining space on my comforter. Did I want him this close to me? Yep. I
did. I was pretty sure it wasn’t a good idea. But I didn’t want him to think there was something wrong
with me, so I nodded. “Sure.”
He slipped his shoes off and sat down. My skin instantly heated from the feeling of his body next
to mine. Every point of contact distracted me. I’d never felt this way about anyone. Ever.
I closed my eyes for a second as I inwardly groaned. Why did it have to be with my best friend? It
was like the worst thing ever.
“You okay?” Ethan asked. He was so close that he’d whispered the words in my ear.
It was a legitimate question, but in my mind, I was working it into meaning so much more.
Problem was, I was a hundred and ten percent sure that it didn’t. But, I couldn’t help it. Goosebumps
covered my skin as emotions flooded my body.
Before I delved into insanity, I pressed play and the movie started.
I kept my eyes on the screen, but I wasn’t watching the movie. All I could think about was Ethan.
When our fingers brushed against each other as we reached for the candy, I almost threw the
Twizzlers across the room and demanded that he leave.
But, that wasn’t part of our Bourne pact. We had to watch the whole movie together, no
exceptions. And by the end, we had to forgive each other. Stupid, stupid pact.
Halfway through the movie—right about when I was sure my emotions couldn’t handle this
anymore—Ethan reached over and pressed pause.
“What’s going on?” he asked, turning so that he could face me.
I straightened, trying to put distance between us. “You paused the movie.”
He sighed. “Not that. You.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “What about me?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re acting weird.” He fidgeted as he picked at my comforter. “You’ve
been acting weird ever since you decided to do this matchmaking thing. Did I do something wrong?”
I watched as my best friend’s expression morphed into a pained one. Did he really think that?
Besides not liking me back, he’d been great.
“Of course not. Why would you think that?”
He shrugged. “We’re just becoming more and more distant with each other. Before Evelyn and
Lachlan, we were close. Now, everything’s weird.”
Great. I was losing him. Like sand through my fingers. And I didn’t want it. I wanted us to be
close. Too close.
And that scared me.
An idea entered my mind, and it made my stomach clench. Maybe all of this was a good thing.
Maybe we needed some time away from each other. I was pretty sure the only way I was ever going
to get over Ethan was by not seeing him everyday. “Yeah. I agree. I guess it was inevitable though. We
can’t always be friends. Can we?”
His eyebrows shot up. “What? I didn’t say that.”
I sighed, hoping to breathe out this ache inside of me. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn’t
be friends with Ethan anymore. The sooner we agreed that splitting ways was for the best, the better.
Besides, I wasn’t saying we could never be friends, just not right now. If there was any hope that
someday I’d get over my feelings and we could be friends again, I wanted to do what it took to allow
that.
“Maybe we should take a break. Really allow these new relationships to blossom.” I peeked over
at him, not sure what to expect from him.
His jaw tightened. “Stop being friends?”
I nodded. “For now. I mean, come on, we weren’t going to stay this close forever. Eventually,
we’d move on. Go to college and stuff.”
His body stiffened as I talked. It killed me that I was hurting him, but he had to realize that, in the
end, he’d thank me. Thank me for not confessing my feelings and ruining things for good.
He got off my bed. He looked dazed. “I’m not sure what you are saying. I…” He glanced over at
me, and I saw the pain there.
My stomach twisted. I really wanted to take my words back. Say we’d be friends forever. But I
couldn’t. Not now.
He furrowed his brow. “Livi, I—”
“It’s okay,” I said. I really didn’t want to let him finish that sentence. I didn’t want to hear how
great of a friend I was. I was a horrible friend. I’d fallen for him, and I didn’t know how I was ever
going to get over that. But maybe with time the feelings would fade.
“I understand. Evelyn told me what you said. I guess, I just don’t want to get in the way of your
relationship. And come on, starting a relationship with your best friend tagging along everywhere is a
recipe for disaster. Am I right?” I gave him a goofy smile, hoping it would take the edge off the
tension between us.
His expression didn’t move. “What did Evelyn tell you?”
I shrugged. “That you’re grateful for how close we are.” I leaned closer. “Truth is, your new
girlfriend should be the one you tell your secrets to, not me. Not the girl next door.”
He swallowed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s time.” I brought my legs up to my chest and hugged my knees. I could
feel Ethan’s gaze on me as he studied my face. I wanted to look at him, but my heart was breaking, and
if I looked, I was sure it would burst.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head and then make his way over to my window. I
wanted to call out and tell him that I’d lied. That I didn’t want him to leave—I wanted him to love
me. Like I was so desperately trying not to do to him.
When he stopped, my breath caught in my throat. Maybe he wasn’t going to leave. Maybe, he’d
refuse to go and stay. When I glanced up, he was standing a foot from my bed.
“Did you lie?”
Regret rose up in my chest. There had been so many things I’d lied about this last week that I
wasn’t sure which lie he was talking about. I couldn’t believe that I’d done that him. “About what?”
He scoffed. “You know what.”
I shook my head, too scared to even guess. “No. I don’t.”
He pushed his hand through his hair. “Earlier. During the game. When you got the question about
who in the room was a good kisser, or whatever.” He narrowed his gaze. “You said Lachlan.”
I grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it. “Yeah. I remember.”
A frustrated look passed over his face. “Well? Did you mean it?”
I forced down the truth that wanted to come out. Why was he asking me this? Did he just want me
to say he was a better kisser? That was ridiculous. He only saw me as a friend. Maybe I’d hurt his
ego or something. That didn’t sound like Ethan. But nothing about his question made sense. .
“Yes,” I whispered. I couldn’t say the truth. The words wouldn’t leave my body. It was as if my
mind was trying to protect my heart.
His brow furrowed as he studied me. “Okay then,” he said, sliding up my window and swinging
his leg over. “I guess we’re done.” He hesitated to look at me one more time before he slipped into
the darkness. The window shutting marked his departure.
I flopped back on my bed and lay there, staring up at my ceiling. I allowed the tears that I’d been
holding back to flow. I was a horrible person. Selfish and awful. But I wanted—no needed—to
protect myself. I couldn’t put my heart out there just to have Ethan crush it.
Because, if he did, he would feel horrible and we would never be the same again. He’d try to
make things work, but it would be a lie. Like what we were going through right now. At least, without
me in his life anymore, I couldn’t drag him down.
He’d be able to grow his relationship with Evelyn—or whoever else he wanted to date—he’d be
free.
After I was pretty sure there weren’t any more tears for me to cry, I curled onto my side, hugged
the oversized giraffe he’d won me at the carnival last year, and fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning to a pounding headache. My eyes hurt. My stomach hurt. Everything in my
body hurt. I groaned as I rolled onto my back and glanced at the clock.
7:30
Crap. I was so late.
I sat up, wincing as a searing pain shot through my head, and made my way into the bathroom. I
showered and dressed…and didn’t feel better.
No amount of hot water or scrubbing could remove what I had just done. I’d lost my best friend
because I was stupid enough to fall for him. I grabbed my backpack full of unfinished homework and
headed downstairs.
Beatrice was sitting at the table, eating. How was she always up earlier than me? I’d really fallen
off my game lately.
“Whoa. You look like crap,” she said as her gaze ran over me.
“Thanks, Bea,” I said as I walked over to the fridge and grabbed the milk.
“No, ‘hurry up, let’s get moving’? No, ‘I can’t possibly be late and ruin my perfect attendance’?”
she asked in a playful—yet truthful—tone.
I shrugged. “Who cares.” I grabbed a bowl and poured some cereal into it. When she didn’t
answer, I glanced over at her and sighed. She was studying me like I had a disease. “What?” I asked.
“Did aliens abduct you?”
“No.”
She furrowed her brow. “Then why are you acting this way?”
I sighed. “Because Ethan and I broke up.” I winced as the words left my lips. That sounded
wrong. Like I’d always thought we were dating or something.
“You broke up? When did you start dating?”
I rolled my eyes as I took my bowl over to the table and sat down. “We weren’t. I mean in a
friendship sort of way.”
As if what I was saying was suddenly super interesting, she slipped off the stool and sat next to
me. “I thought nothing could break up the two amigos.” She brought up her feet in front of her and
rested her chin on her knees.
I shrugged, hoping she wouldn’t pry. “Well, something did.”
She narrowed her eyes. And my hope that she’d leave it alone went out the window. “What?” she
asked as she tapped her chin. “What could possibly happen to make you guys break off your
friendship?” And then a knowing look passed over her face. “You found out he’s secretly in love with
you.”
I stared at her. “What?”
She sighed. “It’s so obvious. I can’t believe you didn’t know.”
My ears were ringing. “What’s so obvious?” I needed her to repeat what she’d just said. I needed
to make sure I was hearing her right.
“Ethan likes you,” she said, drawing out the syllables.
I furrowed my brow. “Ethan. Who lives over there.” I waved toward his house. “Likes me. Who
lives here.” I pointed to the table top.
Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Are you having a stroke? Yes. Ethan. The kid you have been friends
with for, like, ever. He’s liked you for a while.” She shook her head. “You really didn’t know?”
“No!” I exclaimed.
She sighed. “I should have known. You’re always oblivious to things like that.”
I looked at her. “Who else have I missed?” So my whole life, I thought I was this unattractive
person, and really I was just oblivious to it all?
“Oh, not anyone in particular. Just, when we’re out and about, lots of guys flirt with you.”
I left my spoon in my bowl and leaned back, letting her words settle around me. I really didn’t
care about the other guys. There was only one I cared about. “So, you think Ethan likes me. Did he tell
you?”
She shook her head. “He didn’t have to. I’ve seen so many people who pine for another that it’s
pretty easy to pick out.” She grabbed a piece of cereal from my bowl and then pointed at me. “Ethan
has it bad for you.”
“Wow,” I whispered. And before I could stop it, a goofy grin spread across my face. When I
glanced over a Beatrice, I groaned. “What?”
She’d straightened. “Oh, my goodness. You like him too!”
 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I shushed Beatrice as I glanced around. I was pretty sure no one outside of our house could
hear her shouting, but just in case they could, I didn’t need her announcing my love for
Ethan to…well, Ethan.
Beatrice slapped her hand over her mouth, but I could still see the amusement dancing in her eyes.
She was enjoying this a bit too much.
“It’s horrible, Bea,” I said as the realization of what I had just done settled around me. I’d run off
the guy I liked. When he liked me too. I groaned as I leaned forward and rested my forehead on my
elbow.
She patted my back. “It’s not that bad. I mean, he likes you, and you like him. I don’t see the
problem.”
I straightened and glanced over at her. “I agree. Except, I ran him off last night. I told him to leave
and never come back.”
Her perfectly formed eyebrows rose. “Yeesh. Why did you do that?”
I rubbed my temples. “Because I like him, and I was convinced that he would never like me back.
And I couldn’t be around him when I felt like that. I was worried I’d ruin our friendship…” I slapped
my hand on the table. “Which I did anyway.”
When Beatrice didn’t say anything, I glanced over at her. She looked as if she were mulling things
over. “Well, I think you need to apologize and tell him what you just told me.”
I pinched my lips together and nodded. Honest. I needed to be honest. I could do that. Wait. “It’s
not just that,” I said as I slid forward again and buried my face in my arm.
“What?”
“I fudged the test.”
“What?”
I drew circles with my finger on top of the table. “I fudged the test.”
“What test?”
I groaned. “The matchmaking test.” I peeked over at her.
She had a confused look. “What? Why?”
“Because it paired me with Ethan,” I whispered.
She snorted. “And yet you like him?”
“Well I didn’t think I liked him then.”
“Wow.”
 I nodded. It was a mess. One big, gigantic mess.
“So don’t tell him. What does it matter? You know who you are supposed to be with. Tests are
wrong all the time.” She shrugged as she stood and walked over to the door to slip on her shoes.
“Come on, talk to Ethan. I’m sure he’ll forgive you. Don’t you have a weird friendship pact or
something?”
Yeah. But I doubted any teacher was going to be happy with me forcing the class to watch a movie
so that we could make up. “Probably won’t work until later.”
Beatrice turned, her eyes wide. “Let’s plan some, like, epic night where you go over there and
confess your feelings. I could do your makeup, and you’d look all hot and everything.” She clapped
her hands and rubbed them together—this idea had apparently taken a sinister turn.
The thought that she was having too much fun with this entered my mind. But her idea intrigued
me, so I smiled at her as I brought my empty bowl over to the sink and rinsed it off. If I were honest
with myself, I knew that this was the best option. I had seen enough romantic movies to know that
confessing your feelings was always an epic moment. If I was going to do it, I needed to do it right.
I grabbed my backpack and nodded toward her. “Come on. I have a whole day of classes to get
through. We better get moving so I don’t end up with detention.”
Beatrice followed after me.
When we got to school, there were only three minutes until the bell rang. I hurried to my locker
and shoved my after-lunch books into it and then grabbed the ones I would need right now. Just as I
slammed my locker, I jumped.
A very upset-looking Ethan stood next to me. His eyebrows were drawn together, and his eyes
looked sad. My heart plummeted to the floor. What had I done?
“Hey,” I breathed out, not sure where to take the conversation. He wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t sure
why.
“So…” he said, leaning back against the lockers. His gaze focused on the floor beneath our feet.
Whatever he was upset about, it wasn’t good. “I just got done talking to Sam.”
And then I knew. He’d found out that I switched the results. “Ethan—”
He held up his hand, stopping me from speaking. “Don’t. Just, don’t.”
I pinched my lips together and nodded. It was the least I could do. After all, he was hurt because
of me. Wait, why was he hurt?
“He said that you and I had gotten paired together. That you’d called him, angry that we were
matched.” He shoved his fingers through his hair as he turned to look at me.
I nodded. “Yes. It’s true.”
Wow. It felt so good to tell him the truth. Suddenly, I wanted to admit everything. But I knew that
was more for my benefit than for his, so I kept my lips shut and waited.
“Why?” He met my gaze as if he hoped my eyes would hold the answer.
“Because I didn’t want it to ruin our relationship,” I said.
His brow furrowed as he scoffed. “Ruin. Yeah, that’s the word I’d use as well.”
I winced. I wanted to tell him that I’d changed my mind. That I thought a relationship with him
would be amazing. But from the anger he was radiating, I knew I should keep my confession to
myself.
He sighed. “Great. Well, it’s good to know where I stand with you.” He shouldered his backpack
and turned just as the warning bell sounded. “Good bye. You won’t have to worry about ruining
everything now. It’s all over.”
Despite the alarms going off in my mind, I reached out and grabbed his arm. I couldn’t leave
things like this. “Wait.”
He hesitated and turned back around. “What do you want, Olivia?”
I swallowed, my heart breaking as I stared at him. What did I want? Him. I wanted him. “I
changed my mind,” I said. I couldn’t help myself. I had to lay it out for him. A part of me was hoping
that he would suddenly forgive me and pull me close.
He studied me. “What?”
I chewed my lip as I tried to form my confession. I was going rogue here. Before, in the kitchen,
I’d planned to have a whole day of Beatrice’s coaching to help me. How was I going to come up with
the right words to express my feelings on the fly? It was a lot of pressure.
“I—I changed my mind. I want a relationship.”
Okay, that was stupid. I sounded like some crazy fickle person. Last night, I was telling him to get
out and that we can’t be friends anymore. And now I’m saying there’s nothing I want more than to be
with him.
He stared at me. “What?”
I cleared my throat. “I—um, I want a relationship. With you.” I studied him, trying to interpret his
reaction.
He pushed his hand through his hair as he turned his attention down the hall. “Are you lying?” he
asked. “This isn’t some desperate way to keep me around?”
Tears sprang to my lids, and I shook my head. It hurt that he would even think that. I hadn’t been
honest with him lately, but that didn’t mean I would lie about something like this.
“No, it isn’t.”
He must have seen my effort to keep my tears at bay because his expression softened. He stepped
toward me, and it seemed for a moment that he just might forgive me. But then he shoved his hands
into his front pockets and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Livi,” he said as he stepped back. “I can’t just be the guy you run to when you need
something. I want to be liked for who I am, not just what I can do for you.”
Despite my efforts, a tear slid down my cheek. Everything was crumbling down around me and
there was nothing I could to keep it together.
“Ethan, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. That I treated you bad. You are so much
more, and I was an idiot for treating you as anything less.” I gave him a gentle smile, hoping that he
could see my sincerity. That he would forgive me. That we could start over and forget this horrible,
awful week.
He studied me before he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t,” he said, his voice low.
My lips parted, but nothing came out. I couldn’t stop this. It was all over.
“Goodbye,” he said, as he looped his thumb through his backpack strap and disappeared down the
empty hallway.
And I was left there. Alone.
When I was sure that he couldn’t hear me, I let out the sob that had been bottled up inside of me. I
leaned against the lockers as my tears flowed down my face.
Ethan was gone, and it was all my fault.
It wasn’t until Mrs. Fontain rounded the corner that I pulled myself out of my pity party and
straightened up. I turned to my locker, hoping she would leave me alone to wallow. But, of course,
her footsteps approached, and a moment later, she appeared next to me.
“Miss Williams, what are you doing out in the hallway? Class has already started.” Her gaze ran
over me, like she was expecting me to be up to something deviant.
 I nodded as I swiped at my cheeks, hoping to erase the lingering tears. As if she suddenly realized
that I had been crying, her expression softened, and she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “What
happened?” she asked.
Not wanting the school’s receptionist to know that I’d just broken my best friend’s heart, I
shrugged. “Stress I guess.” I forced a smile.
She eyed me. I could tell she didn’t believe me, but I kept the smile up. I just wanted to be left
alone. “Why don’t I take you to the nurse’s office, and you can regain your composure there.”
Relief flooded my system. That sounded amazing. “Okay.”
She smiled as she led me down the hall and over to the office. She pulled open the nurse’s door
and walked me in.
“Mrs. Fontain,” Miss Patsy, the school nurse, said as she glanced at us from above her readers.
“Miss Patsy, I found Olivia in the hallway. She’s not feeling very good, so I thought I’d escort her
here so she could get looked at.”
Miss Patsy sighed. She never tried to hide the fact that she disliked students. Why she was a
school nurse was a mystery to the whole student body. But she stayed, year after year. “Take an empty
bed. I’ll do your vitals in a minute.”
Mrs. Fontain motioned toward the beds, and I walked over. After a few whispered words to Miss
Patsy, she left. I lay down on the bed, the paper crinkling underneath me. I closed my eyes and
allowed the monotonous sound of Miss Patsy typing on her keyboard to relax me.
After my heart rate and temperature were taken, Miss Patsy pronounced me fine and said I could
nap for an hour. After that I would have to return to my classes or call my parents to come pick me up.
I nodded and turned on my side as she pulled the curtain closed around me.
After I was sure she wasn’t going to come back to bother me, I let my eyes close and darkness
surround me. At least in my dreams I wasn’t brokenhearted. In my dreams, I hadn’t just lost my best
friend.
 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A fter school, I had marching band practice. Apparently, now that the fundraiser was over, Mr.
Pickering decided that I had enough absences and demanded that I come back to rehearsal.
Normally, I’d be just fine with that, except today the band was practicing in the field next to
the football stadium. Where Ethan was. Ugh.
I grabbed my flute and made my way outside. I tried to drag my feet, but Trudy, the senior flutist,
tsked at me.
“Come on, Olivia. Your sabbatical is over,” she said as she made her way past me.
I sighed and quickened my step.
“Heads up!” a voice said from behind me. I turned just in time to see Ethan fly in front of me,
grabbing the football that had been flying straight at me. “Sorry,” he said. But when his gaze met mine,
his expression hardened, and he gripped the ball tighter in his hands.
“Hey,” I said.
He just nodded and turned around, making his way back over to Gordon and punching him in the
shoulder. They ran to the opposite end of the field, where they kept practicing throws.
I couldn’t help it. I watched Ethan as he walked away.
Well, this was just perfect. I was a pariah to my best friend. He hated me so much that he couldn’t
even bring himself to say hello to me. Tears pricked my lids again.
I shook my head, dropping my gaze to the ground and making my way into formation. I couldn’t
cry for the second time today. I had to keep my composure.
So, instead of allowing my gaze to wander over to the football stadium, I kept my attention on Mr.
Pickering as he walked us through the formation for half-time during this Friday’s game.
I lost myself in the music and the steps. It was all I allowed myself to think about. The notes and
the counting made sense. It wasn’t confusing, and it didn’t break my heart. The rest of my life? That
was a crap shoot. But band? That I could understand.
After practice, I put my flute in its case and returned it to its spot in the band room. Just as I
walked into the hallway, I ran into a pair of juniors making out against the wall.
“I’m so sorry,” I said as I stumbled away from them.
The girl looked up, and then her cheeks turned pink as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh,
it’s okay, Olivia.” She giggled. She glanced over to the guy she’d been kissing and then back to me.
“I’ve been meaning to thank you. Because of your test, Brody and I got together. I have to say, your
Make a Match test? Pretty spot-on.” She nodded as she smiled at me.
 My heart sank. Everyone but me was having relationship success. Instead, I’d ruined everything. I
gave them a small nod and stepped around them. I figured it would look strange to take off running, so
I waited until I’d rounded the corner before sprinting to my locker. Once my homework was in my
backpack, I headed out of school and to the car.
I had to wait fifteen minutes for Beatrice to show up. She was talking to some guy. Well, flirting
with a guy. I kept my gaze on my book as she said her goodbyes and slipped into the passenger seat.
As soon as her door was shut, I put the car in reverse and drove off. I wanted to put some distance
between me and the school. This whole matchmaking thing had started because I’d wanted to do a
good thing for the band. But somehow I’d screwed it up. It was the talent show all over again.
When screeched to a halt at a stop sign, Beatrice looked over at me. “Geez, what’s with you?”
I just shook my head. All I wanted to do was get home, where I’d hole up in my room and never
come out.
“Excited about tonight?”
At the thought of the night we’d been planning to put together, I lost it. There would be no big
confession. No dramatic make-up moment. Ethan and I were done.
I was a blubbering mess, so I pulled over and motioned for Beatrice to switch spots with me.
Thankfully, she didn’t press me for information the rest of the ride home. We pulled up into the
driveway, and I grabbed my backpack and got out.
“Let me know when you are ready to talk,” Beatrice called after me.
I waved my acknowledgement and slipped into the house and up the stairs. I slammed my
bedroom door closed and flopped onto my bed. I didn’t move until there was a soft knock on the door.
“Sweetie?” Mom called through the crack in the door.
I sniffed and straightened, flipping on my nightstand light. “Yeah?”
“There’s someone here to see you.”
My heart started pounding in my chest. Was it Ethan? Did he forgive me? I wiped my cheeks and
pulled my hair up into a ponytail. After I felt a tiny bit presentable, I called out, “Let him in.”
The door handle twisted and Mom appeared. “Here you go,” she said, motioning toward my
room. “Just make sure the door stays open.”
That was strange. Mom almost never told Ethan that.
And then Lachlan appeared. He looked a bit uneasy as he stepped inside my room. I stifled a
groan. Here was yet another person I had completely screwed up with.
“Hey,” I said, smiling at him as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood.
He looked relieved, as if grateful to finally see a familiar face. But when his gaze met mine, his
brow furrowed. “You okay?” he asked.
I took a deep breath and shook my head. “No. But it’s okay.”
He shifted his feet. “Did I do something?”
Why was everyone being so nice to me? I didn’t deserve it, not by a mile. “No. Of course not.”
He sighed. “Good.” And then he studied me. “Then, what’s wrong?”
I patted the bed next to me, and he sat. I told him how I’d liked him for as long as I could
remember. How I’d wanted a chance to get to know him, so I’d asked Ethan to help me start this Make
a Match campaign. And then I told him about how I’d switched our matches, and heat raced to my
cheeks as I replayed our first kiss.
I told him about kissing Ethan, and how I’d started seeing him as someone other than a friend. And
I ended it with how I’d screwed up everything. “I’m sorry.”
Lachlan stayed quiet the entire time. Once I finished, he glanced over at me with his eyes wide.
 “Wow. That’s a lot to process,” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah. But the biggest takeaway is that I’m sorry. I should have never messed with your
life.”
He shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m a bit flattered. You rigged an entire test just to talk to me.” He
covered my hand with his. “It’s flattering.”
I snorted. “Or stalkerish.”
“Yeah. Maybe that too.”
I sighed as I flopped back on my bed. “I just wish I could go back and fix things.” I covered my
face with my arm.
When he shifted on the bed, and the mattress moved right next to me, I knew he’d lain down too.
“I get that. But you can’t.”
I groaned as I turned to study him. “Thanks for coming by,” I said sarcastically.
He held up his hands as he chuckled. “You didn’t let me finish. What I was going to say was, you
can’t go back. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t make things right.”
I hesitated. Did he really think that? “I’m not sure. Ethan pretty much said he hated me.”
Lachlan lifted himself up on an elbow. “You broke his heart. He’s protecting himself. He wants to
make sure you’ve changed. That you won’t hurt him again. Give him time. He’ll forgive you, I’m
sure.”
My stomach tightened. Hurting Ethan had never been my intention. Ever. I sighed and lay back.
“How do you know?” I asked.
Lachlan shrugged. “I’m a guy. Besides, I kind of got the impression that he liked you when I saw
you at the coffee shop. I was surprised when you and I got matched together.” He fiddled with my
comforter. “If that guy will stand by you with a hottie like Evelyn at his side, he’s in it for the long
haul.”
I glanced over at him. “Hottie like Evelyn?”
Lachlan covered is mouth. “I can’t say that? I figured, since you just confessed to me that you are
in love with Ethan, we were over.” He leaned toward me. “Plus, I overheard at lunch today that Ethan
and Evelyn split ways. He told her he’s just not looking for a relationship right now.”
I forced my heart to stop pounding. I needed to focus on something else. “Really? That’s
interesting.” Then I glanced over at him. “And yes, we are over. Are you interested in Evelyn?”
“Yeah, I’ve sort of had a crush on her since I met her.”
My jaw dropped. So the test had been right. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“For what?”
“For keeping you from your true love.”
He scoffed. “True love might be pushing it. Potential hookup might be more like it.”
I swatted his arm. He lifted his hand to protect himself. “Hey now.”
“Let me teach you a little something,” I said, sitting up and crossing my legs. “Girls want to be
wooed. They don’t want you talking about how hot they are. Tell them something sweet.”
He followed sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. “And you’re the expert?”
I rolled my eyes. “Just because I bit you that one time, doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about
romance.” Truth was, if the way Ethan treated me was any indication of his feelings for me, then I was
one lucky girl. He always made me feel important and wanted.
And, in return, I’d played with his feelings. I was such an idiot.
Lachlan was nodding when I turned my attention back to him. “Something sweet.”
“Yes. Find out what she likes and do it for her. Trust me, she will melt.”
 He wiggled his eyebrows. “I like that.”
I swatted his knee again. “Not like that.”
He chuckled. “Got it. Treat her like a lady.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Wow. I didn’t think you knew that term.”
He shifted until he was standing on the floor next to my bed. “Hey. I have a mom. And she may
have made me watch Pride and Prejudice a few times.”
I got up off the bed and stood a foot away from him. “Then she taught you well.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “So, we good?” he asked.
I smiled. “I should be asking you that question.”
Before I knew what was happening, he reached out and wrapped me into a hug. “Thanks for the
fun,” he said.
I laughed as I patted his back. “Of course.”
When he pulled back, he planted a kiss on my forehead. “Now, oh wise one, can I have the
number of my match?”
I nodded and headed over to my computer to pull up her submission form. After he punched
Evelyn’s number into his phone, he made an extravagant bow and left my room.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him disappear down the hallway. Even though we were
definitely not each other’s match, he was a good guy. Sure, he was a little rough, but who was I to
judge? I wasn’t perfect.
Just as I turned to head back to my bed, movement outside my window caught my eye. Ethan was
home from practice, and his gaze landed on me. Heat rushed across my skin as I saw his expression
harden.
He’d seen me and Lachlan. Together. In my room. Did he see our hug or Lachlan’s kiss on my
forehead? Without hearing our conversation, Ethan would definitely get the wrong idea.
I forced a smile and lifted my hand. Ethan nodded and shut his blinds.
I tried not to cry the rest of the night. I really did. I even shut my blinds so that I could forget that
my best friend had just cut me out.
But, as I watched an incredibly cheesy Hallmark movie, the tears began to flow. This time, I
allowed them.
I needed to let out the pain I felt. If I didn’t, I’d burst. Once I was done crying, I’d put on my big-
girl pants and figure out how to fix this—or if it even could be fixed. But for tonight, I’d let it all out.
 CHAPTER NINETEEN

M om let me stay in bed for the next few days of school. She called in, saying I was sick.
I have the best mom.
Unfortunately, on Friday, I woke up to Beatrice standing next to my bed. She had
her hands on her hips, and she was tapping her foot rhythmically. I glared at her and rolled over.
“What?” I asked. My mouth was muffled by my pillow.
“Enough moping. You are going to tell me what happened. Right now,” she said.
The mattress moved, tipping me toward the edge. She’d sat down. For some stupid reason, I’d
thought that sleep would help me feel better. It hadn’t. The pain in my heart was just as bad.
“Tell me,” she said as she wrapped her arms around me and rested her chin on my shoulder.
“It’s pointless, Bea.” As soon as I spoke the words, my throat constricted, and I felt as if I
couldn’t breathe.
“If I learned anything from last season’s Matched with the Rich and Famous, it’s that it is never
pointless. George never stopped pursuing Susanna.”
I groaned. Things had really gotten bad if my sister was comparing my situation to some
overhyped celebrity show. “This is nothing like your show,” I said, turning to stare up at the ceiling.
“Ethan found everything out. Everything!” Just thinking about what I had done made me feel like a
horrible friend.
Beatrice scoffed. I turned to look at her. She did not look convinced. “So what? You did
something stupid. We all do. Ethan is just hurt and scared. Show him that the Olivia he knows will
fight for him.” She grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
I raised my hands. “Okay, okay.” I moved to sit up. “Anything to keep you from beating me up.” I
swung my legs off the bed and stood.
Beatrice cheered as she bounced off my bed. “So what’s the plan?”
I shrugged as I padded over to the bathroom. “I have a strict ‘no thinking’ policy until I am
showered.” I shut the door on her protest. By the time I got out, I did feel a tad better. When I came
back into the room, I found Beatrice standing over my bed with a mound of clothes stacked on it.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I toweled off my hair.
She glanced over at me. “I’m giving you a makeover.”
I hung the towel on the back of my chair and made my way over to her. She grinned at me as my
gaze roamed over her choices. When my eyes settled on a lace-covered summer dress, I glanced over
at her. Butterflies erupted in my stomach. I was being an idiot. “Come on, Bea. Am I delusional to
think that just dressing nice won’t help Ethan forgive me?”
I sat down on the bed and fiddled with the hem of the dress.
Beatrice snorted. “No. ‘Cause if that was all it took, I’d be dating Kyle Brady. No. You are going
to look nice while you do a big romantic gesture.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “At school?”
She smiled. “At school.”
Great. Now I was supposed to make some big declaration of love? “How do I do that?”
My eyes grew wider as Beatrice started listing off all the things that she’d seen in movies. I had to
draw the line at a choreographed trio singing, “Forgive Me Baby.”
“That’s not going to work,” I said, waving away her suggestions.
Beatrice joined me on the bed. “Well, you basically told him you could never be with him when
you switched the matches. You need to show him that you’ve really changed your mind.”
“Oh,” I said. I hadn’t thought of it like that. “Well, I’m supposed to give a speech at the school
assembly today. Principal Potter-Bacon wants me to be recognized for sending the band to Paris. That
would work, right?”
Beatrice squealed as she clapped her hands together. “We’ve got work to do.”

I had a good seven hours between agreeing to Beatrice’s plan and the start of the school assembly to
realize that this was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever promised to do. Sing “Please Forgive Me” by
Bryan Adams? Seriously?
First, I had a horrible voice. And second, Beatrice and I appreciated the oldies, but I was pretty
sure the rest of the school would have no idea what I was singing.
So, when I found her in the hall just before the assembly, I pulled her aside and shook my head. “I
can’t do it.” I paced the hall as I waited for her to say something.
“What are you talking about? You can do this. This is your big romantic gesture.”
I shot her a worried look. “What if he doesn’t get it? What if he hates me even more for
embarrassing him?”
Beatrice tapped her chin with her finger. “Well…”
I stopped. She wasn’t serious, was she? “Bea!” I pressed my hand to my stomach as my nerves
went haywire.
She laughed. “I’m just joking. He’ll love it.” She smoothed my hair and picked some lint off my
dress. I could hear cheering from the gym. The football team must have just come running in..
The band played a pop song in the background. Mr. Pickering hadn’t been happy to excuse me
again. Apparently we needed our practice “now more than ever.” But Principal Potter-Bacon sent a
note, and he agreed.
So here I was. Standing in the hall, feeling like I was going to die from nerves.
Principal Potter-Bacon’s voice came over the mic and started droning on about the game, school
spirit, and how the tornado had brought us all together.
When I heard him mention my name, I knew my cue was coming up. I swallowed as the blood
drained from my face. This was it. This was my moment. I was going to go up there and tell the whole
school that I loved Ethan.
What the heck am I doing?
 “He said your name,” Beatrice whispered, pushing me toward the gym doors.
I tried to resist, but my sister was surprisingly strong.
“Bea, I can’t,” I said as she pulled open the door.
“Just speak from your heart.”
The last word lingered in the air as I was pushed through the doorway into thunderous applause.
The whole school was standing and cheering.
My body felt like Jell-O as I walked across the gym floor and over to where Principal Potter-
Bacon stood holding the microphone out to me.
I took it, and he stepped out of the way. And then it was just me, standing in the middle of the gym,
trying to gain the courage to tell my best friend that I was sorry.
I homed in on Ethan right away. He was decked out in his football uniform, sitting in the middle of
the team and studying me.
Heat flushed my body at his gaze. Everything about him was so familiar. He meant everything to
me. He needed to know that I was sorry. That I’d made a mistake, and I was wrong. So, so wrong.
“Hello, Olathe High,” I said.
There was another cheer.
“What an eventful year we’ve had. There was the tornado.”
Everyone booed. I raised my hand, hoping to bring down the noise.
“But, if it hadn’t been for the tornado, I would have never thought of the Make a Match fundraiser,
and we would not be here today.”
There was more thunderous applause.
“How many here are happy with your matches?” There were mostly cheers mixed with a few
boos.
I couldn’t help it. I looked at Ethan. I guess I was hoping that his reaction would help me know
what he thought. Could he possibly forgive me? But, stoic Ethan just sat there with his arms crossed
and his jaw set.
So I continued.
“I made a mistake.” I took a deep breath as the gym fell silent. “I fudged a few matches.” A few
overdramatic cheerleaders gasped.
“I was paired with Ethan.” I met his gaze. Well, only for a second because he dropped it to study
the gym floor. “I was worried that if I told people I matched with him that they would think I rigged
the results. Plus, I was convinced that his answers had gotten mixed up with the ones from the guy
who’d taken the test right before him.”
I had everyone’s attention. It felt like the whole gym was holding its breath.
“What I didn’t realize was that the test had been right all along. He was the perfect match for me.”
My voice trailed off as I finished the last sentence. I glanced over at him to see his furrowed brow.
What was he thinking? Did he hate me?
Suddenly, all the lights in the gym went out except for a spotlight directed right at me. Please
Forgive Me sounded over the speakers. I found Beatrice in the crowd and glared at her. What was she
doing?
As the introduction faded, I had no choice but to raise the microphone to my lips and start singing.
Three sentences into the song, movement from where Ethan sat drew my attention over. He’d stood
and was making his way through the football team to the stairs.
I felt rooted to my spot, belting out the words as I watched him leave. He walked out the door,
turning his back on me and my apology.
 And that made me angry. Red hot fury raced through me.
I dropped the mic and took off after him. Just as I reached the doors, Principal Potter-Bacon
sounded over the speakers. He was telling the AV group to turn off the song. It stopped and the lights
came back up. The door shut behind me, muffling his words.
Thankfully, Ethan didn’t know I was following him, so he wasn’t bolting out of the school. It only
took me about ten seconds to catch up to him.
I grabbed his elbow. “Where are you going?”
He turned slowly. “Olivia?”
I scoffed. “Of course it’s me. I’m the only idiot who would chase down someone who’d just
rejected them in front of the whole school.”
Crap. I was never going to live this down, was I? I fought the urge to run to my car and never
come back. Running away wouldn’t fix anything. Ethan hated me. It was pretty obvious. I just had to
hold onto the hope that, maybe, I was wrong.
He quirked an eyebrow as he shifted his weight. “I guess I was just frustrated.”
Pain squeezed my chest. Frustrated? “I’m so sorry that me embarrassing myself in front of the
whole school, made you angry.”
He pushed his hand through his hair as he scoffed. “You can’t tell me that whatever you were
doing in there was for me.”
I stared back at the gym doors, totally confused. “What? Of course it was for you. Who else do
you think I was singing to?”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t for me. You know I hate public spectacles. And yet, you did it
anyway.” He sighed. “You felt bad about what you did, and you just wanted to make yourself feel
better.”
Now I was the one who was angry. The last thing I ever wanted to do was stand in front of the
whole school and belt out a song my parents probably slow danced to when they were in high school.
My big romantic gesture had fallen flat. Great.
I swallowed as my frustration turned to tears. I didn’t want to stand here anymore and hear how
I’d failed him. How I was a horrible person. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” I rubbed my
arm.
His expression softened as he studied me. “I know,” he whispered.
A small beam of hope lit up inside of me. “Really?”
He sighed. “But I’m not sure I can forgive you. Not right now.”
I parted my lips to say something. I needed to convince him that I was different. I cared about him.
He was all I wanted. Why couldn’t he see that?
Ethan held up his hand. “Please. Give me time.”
My heart felt like it was going to break into a million pieces. This was it. I was losing my best
friend. Again. He was going to turn around and leave. And I would stay. Alone.
“Ethan, I…”
But the look in his eye told me to stop talking. I was hurting him. I had been hurting him. And if I
really cared about him, I’d stop. I’d respect him and not force myself on him. If he needed time, I’d
give it to him.
“Okay,” I said, even though the word tasted bitter on my tongue.
He studied me and then nodded. “Thanks.” Then he turned and left, disappearing around the
corner.
I was getting tired of watching my best friend walk away from me. Tired of him telling me that I’d
hurt him. It broke my heart that I’d betrayed his trust—that I’d lied to him. I was a horrible friend.
And if that was going to change, I needed to start here. I needed to respect his wishes and stay away.
Even if it crushed my soul to be away from him, I would do it.
Because I loved Ethan enough to give him what he wanted.
 CHAPTER TWENTY

I t took a week for the whole school to finally stop talking about my musical mishap and
move on. I was grateful that the drama of that day had passed and that life got back to
normal.
Well, as normal as my life could be without Ethan.
I didn’t realize how much I’d depended on him until he was gone. He wasn’t around to make me
laugh, hug me when I was sad, or let me eat French toast sticks off his plate. I missed him. So much
that I felt as if I were walking around school with a giant hole in my heart.
But I promised to stay away, and I was going to keep that promise.
It was hard to see him act as if he’d moved on. He joked with his teachers and palled around with
the football team as if he hadn’t just broken up with his best friend.
I found myself watching him the next Friday afternoon. I didn’t mean to, but my gaze always
seemed to make its way over to him.
He was standing next to a table clutching a football in his arm, and he was laughing at something
another player had said. I watched as he pushed his hands through his hair.
“You’re staring,” Hannah said, pulling my attention away from Ethan.
I glanced over at her and sighed. “Am not.” I grabbed my sandwich and tried hard to stare at the
bread instead of allowing my gaze to make its way back over to Ethan.
“Yes, you are. I can tell by where your eyes are looking. And the fact that you haven’t blinked in
over a minute.
Not wanting to fight, I shrugged. “So what if I was.” It hurt me that he seemed so fine with
everything. Didn’t he miss me? Did I matter that little to him?
“You’re breaking your promise to him.” She took a bite of her yogurt.
“But it’s so hard.” I picked some crust off my sandwich and squished it between my fingers.
“How long is it going to take for him to forgive me?”
Hannah laughed, causing Nick to look up. He glared at her, and she held up her hands. “Sorry,”
she said.
He glanced over at me before returning to his homework. I scooted closer to Hannah and dropped
my voice. He’d already threatened that if we kept talking about Ethan, he’d pack up and sit at one of
the loner tables in the far corner. Apparently, I was obsessing, and I needed to stop.
Of course, Nick wouldn’t offer any guy advice. That just wasn’t him.
“Why did you laugh?” I asked, leaning in.
 Hannah glanced over at me. “In your guys’ relationship, you were always the one that got what
you wanted. You bossed Ethan around like you owned him.”
I parted my lips. “That is not true.”
Hannah squinted while she tilted her head. “Isn’t it though?”
I sighed and let the memory of our friendship rush over me. Sure there were a lot of times where I
got what I wanted, but he did to. Didn’t he?
My shoulders slumped. Great. Not only was I a horrible friend, I was also a bossy one. "Why
didn't anybody tell me?"
"Because Ethan didn't care. You were everything to him. And he was willing to let you boss him
around."
I glared at Hannah. "You should've still told me."
"Let's pretend you would have actually listened, would it have changed anything?"
It was doing wonders to my self-esteem to realize that my friends thought so little of me. "I'm a
horrible person." I covered my face with my hands as I slumped back into my chair.
"You're not a horrible person," Hannah said she reached over and patted my hand. "Maybe a little
self-involved, but you have a good heart."
"Apparently not. Not even my best friend will forgive me."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Hannah glance over to Ethan. "I wouldn't be so sure about that.
Ethan loves you. He's just waiting to see if you were actually listening.”
"So he's testing me?"
Hannah looked back at me. “If I were a betting woman, I’d put all my money on the two of you."
My heart soared. She had no idea how good it felt to know that somebody had faith in us. Because
even though Ethan looked like he’d moved on, I couldn't let go of the idea that one day he just might
forgive me. That he would come running back to me and confess the feelings that I still hoped he had.

The next day was Saturday. I sat at my desk, tapping my pencil on my desk as I studied the physics
problem in front of me. My mind couldn’t stay focused on the question. I was too distracted. Like I
had been for the last week. If Ethan didn’t forgive me soon, I could kiss my 4.0 goodbye.
I leaned back in my chair and let my gaze wander. It fell on the little folded-up piece of paper that
I had stuck to my board two weeks ago. Lachlan’s number.
I set my pencil down and stood, reaching over to grab the tack and pull it out. After retrieving his
number, I crumbled it up and threw it in the garbage.
I sat back down and sighed. What a strange turn of events. Just weeks ago I’d been convinced that
Lachlan was the perfect guy for me. Now, he was the last guy I could imagine myself with. Now all I
wanted was for Ethan for forgive me so we could move on.
I bounced back a few times on my chair. Life was weird.
Just as I picked up my pencil to continue my homework, my phone rang. My heart skipped a beat
as I allowed myself to think that perhaps, it was Ethan calling to say he’d forgiven me.
But when I picked up my phone and studied the screen, my stomach sank. It was Papa Louie.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Olivia?”
“Yep.” Panic rose up in my throat. “Am I late? I thought my shift didn’t start for another hour.” I
glanced at my watch as I pushed my chair back from my desk.
“Relax. I was calling to let you know that I overstaffed. You don’t need to come in today.”
At his words, I settled back into my chair. Honestly, that sounded amazing. It was still awkward to
be in the kitchen with Ethan when I wasn’t allowed to talk to him.
“You sure?”
“Yep. I’ll see you here tomorrow, though.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
After we hung up, I set my phone down on my desk and flipped the pages of my physics book
absentmindedly. Now that I had the rest of my Saturday to work on it, I didn’t feel too motivated to
finish it anymore.
So I left it on my desk and flopped onto my bed. A marathon of rom-coms sounded like what I
needed. Just as I settled on one, Beatrice came barging into my room. I groaned. “What are you
doing?” I asked as she walked over to my closet and started pulling out clothes.
“We aren’t going to let you mope around the house anymore. You are getting up, and we are going
out.” She settled on a red, flowy dress and set it on the bed next to me.
I stared at it and then back to her. “We’re what?” I shook my head as I pulled my covers to my
neck. “I’m not going anywhere. If you want, you can totally join me. This one has your favorite actor
in it.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her. She didn’t look convinced.
“Nope. You need to move on, and we are going to help you.”
I glanced over at the door. “You keep saying ‘we.’ Are you losing it?” Just as the words left my
lips, Hannah appeared in the doorway. I rolled my eyes. “I should have known.”
Hannah clapped her hands. “Stop fighting it and get up.”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
Beatrice marched over to my TV and unplugged it. “Hannah, when she gets up, we are going to
wrestle her into the bathroom.”
I glanced from my supposed friend to my supposed sister. Why couldn’t they just leave me alone?
But, from the look on their faces, that was not going to happen. I might as well go along with it. I
groaned as I flung off my covers.
“Fine. But we are stopping at Harvey’s Candy shop. I’m out of chocolate.” I glared at both of
them and stomped into the shower.
An hour later, I’d been pricked and poked by the two of them to the point that I doubted anything
remained of my face. I glanced back and forth between them as they stood there, appraising me.
“We good?” I asked, lifting my arms and letting them fall to my side.
Hannah glanced over at Beatrice. “What do you think?”
“Guys, this isn’t the royal ball. We’re just going to the mall. I don’t have to look top-notch.”
“She’s good,” Beatrice said, completely ignoring me.
Just like they’d been doing the whole hour they were harassing me.
I pumped my fists in the air half-heartedly. “Yay.”
They grabbed my purse and shoes and shooed me down the hall.
When we got downstairs, Mom was waiting for us. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. “Oh, Livi.
You look beautiful.”
I stared at her. What was with everyone? Had I really let myself go that much? I returned her hug
as she reached in and pulled me to her. “Thanks, Mom.” I pulled back to study her. “It’s just the mall.”
She pinched her lips together as she nodded. “I know. You’ve just been so sad lately that it’s good
to see you up and about.”
 “Ma,” Beatrice said as she grabbed my arm and led me out the door.
Before I could ask what Mom meant, I was pushed into Hannah’s car and we were pulling out of
the driveway. I settled into the backseat as I folded my arms. “So, if I have to look so fancy for the
mall, why aren’t you guys dressed up?”
I watched them exchange glances. This was all too Mission Impossible for me. “Guys? Do you
hear me?” I asked as I leaned forward.
Beatrice turned and shushed me. “Just relax and enjoy the ride,” she said with a sly smile.
I leaned back in my chair and groaned. I hated surprises, and that’s what this felt like—a surprise.
One big, fat, strange surprise.
Fifteen minutes later, we pulled off the freeway and down a dirt road. I had to grab onto the door
handle as the bumpy surface jostled me around. I glanced at Beatrice and Hannah, hoping one of them
would give me a hint to what we were doing.
When we cleared the trees that had surrounded us, my breath caught in my throat.
Ethan was standing in the middle of a field in a white shirt and tie, holding a bouquet of daisies.
My favorite flower.
My heart picked up speed. Was I dreaming?
“Guys?” I asked leaning forward.
All I got in response was a chorus of squeals as Hannah stopped the car.
Before I could open my door, Ethan had walked over and done it for me. He held out his hand and
bowed. “Olivia.”
I glanced at his hand and then up to his face. “Ethan?” I breathed out. I still wasn’t sure what was
going on. Did I dare hope that he’d forgiven me?
I placed my hand in his and allowed him to help me out. Even though fear was gripping my heart, I
decided to go along. It was Ethan after all. He would never hurt me. I needed to trust him and see
where this was going no matter how much it hurt.
 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

E than kept his hand wrapped around mine as he led me over a hill and down to a small lake. I
held my breath when he brought me to a blanket just under a tree that had a whole picnic laid
out on top of it.
Why had Ethan brought me here?
It seemed a bit over-the-top to do all of this just to tell me that he never wanted to see me again.
“Ethan?” I glanced up at him.
He motioned toward the blanket. “Sit.”
If I didn’t sit down, did that mean he wouldn’t have the chance to break up with me? If I just
walked away, would it mean I could still hold onto the hope that we could be friends?
“Ethan?” I asked again.
This time, he met my gaze. “Come on, Livi. You’ll have to trust me.”
I eyed him before I sighed and sat, tucking my feet under me so that he couldn’t see up my skirt.
Great pick, Beatrice.
Ethan joined me, and, after rifling around in a cooler, he pulled out some sparkling cider and
poured me a glass.
After a few sips, I lowered it to my lap and turned my attention back to him. Ethan looked so
relaxed, leaning back on one elbow while the other hand brought his drink up to his lips.
When I started thinking about his lips, I dropped my gaze. I shouldn’t be doing that. I needed to
stay focused.
When I was pretty sure I was going to burst from anxiety, I set my glass down and focused on him.
“What is going on Ethan? You told me a week ago that you want me to give you space. So I did. And
now, this?” I waved my hand toward the lake, the picnic, and… Wait, was that a rowboat pulled up
on the far shore?
It hurt more than I could describe. Had he taken me on my dream date just to break off our
friendship?
Ethan gazed at me as I returned my attention to him. He had a small smile playing on his lips. Oh,
great. This was one big joke to him.
“What do you want from me?” I whispered. Emotions flooded my body, drowning my voice.
Warmth from his hand raced across my skin. He’d reached out and rested his fingers over mine.
“Livi, relax.”
“How can I relax?” I swallowed as the lump in my throat grew bigger. “I messed things up and
lost my best friend.”
His eyebrows rose, but I continued, not wanting him to break my train of thought. “You left me.
You told me that you couldn’t be my friend anymore. Even though we’d always promised nothing
would ever come between us.” A tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. “Sure I was stupid and
pushed you away, but that was because I liked you, and I thought you wanted to be with Evelyn. But
when I came back, you pushed me away.”
I closed my eyes, frustrated that I’d broken down so easily.
His feather-light touch brushed my cheek. When I opened my eyes, I saw that he’d scooted closer
and was now only a foot away from me.
I parted my lips, but nothing came out. I didn’t want to scare him off. I needed him in my life. He
was my other half—I didn’t know who I was without him. He was the one who challenged me, who
helped me see my potential and guided me to be the best person I could be.
“Are you finished?” he asked.
“I think so,” I whispered. Then I furrowed my brow and nodded. “Yes.”
He reached up and caught another escaping tear. But instead of bringing his hand down, he let his
fingers linger on my cheek as his gaze met mine. “I asked everyone to help get you here because I
have something I need to tell you.”
Fear and excitement coursed through me. What did he want to tell me? Oh, how I hoped it wasn’t
that he never wanted to see me again. This would be the meanest friendship breakup in the world, but
I couldn’t rule it out.
He pulled his hand back and sat up. He cleared his throat as he glanced out toward the lake. “I
was an idiot.”
My breath caught in my throat.
I swallowed as I glanced out to the lake. Where was he going with this?
“I was an idiot to think that I could be anything without you.”
My breath left my body in a whooshing sound. My ears rang. Had I heard him right? I kept my lips
shut and waited for him to continue.
“Olivia, I was hurt. It broke me to find out that you didn’t think I was good enough to be your
match.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn’t think that at all. He was the perfect person for me, but he just held
up his finger and continued. “I’d just watched you form a relationship with Lachlan, and it killed me.
He was the guy you’d been pinning after for so many years, so his being your match was just the final
nail in the coffin for me. It seemed obvious that we would never be more than friends.”
My heart ached for the pain I’d caused him, but I remained quiet.
“And then you told me that there was a chance for us, and I got scared. I was worried that if I let
myself hope we could be something, you’d break my heart all over again.”
“I would never…” I whispered.
He nodded as he dropped his gaze to the blanket. “I know. I know that you didn’t intentionally hurt
me. But you’re pretty good at unintentionally doing things.”
I winced at his words. That didn’t sound like much of a compliment.
“I’m sorry,” he said, waving toward his mouth. “Idiot.” He reached out and began tracing circles
on my hand. “Can you forgive me?”
It was getting harder and harder to believe that this was real. I had all but convinced myself that
we were done. But he wanted forgiveness? I could do that.
“Okay,” I said. And then I pinched my lips shut as I contemplated my next words. “I will forgive
you on one condition.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “I’m intrigued.”
I glanced past him toward the boat that sat on the edge of the lake. “You take me out on that thing.”
He followed my gaze and then glanced back at me. “You want me to take you on that?” There was
an uncertain hint to his voice that intrigued me. Why was he scared?
But that is what I wanted, so I nodded.
Ethan sighed and stood, extending his hand to me. “Shall we?”
I nodded and placed my hand in his. Warmth spread up from my fingers to my arm and exploded in
my chest. And I knew exactly what that meant. I loved Ethan. He was my person. He was my match.
And I wasn’t scared of that. If anything, I was relieved.
When we got to the shore, he pushed the boat into the water until it barely touched the shore. He
nodded, and I took a teetering step inside. The boat shifted and moved, causing me to cling to Ethan’s
arm. He laughed, a low rumbling chuckle.
“You okay?” he asked. His voice was low and throaty.
It sent tingles up my spine. When he wrapped his arms around my waist, I almost melted right
there.
“Yes,” I whispered and then added, “If you promise to forgive me.”
When I pulled back, I caught him studying me. My breath halted in my throat from the intensity of
his stare.
“I do,” he said as he leaned closer to me, and for a moment, I wondered if he was going to kiss
me.
And then his advice flooded into my mind. I shouldn’t think too much about if we were going to
kiss, I needed to just let it happen.
Crap. I was still thinking about it. Worried that I was ruining all of this, I pulled back, sitting on
one of the benches. “I think you need to get into the boat to make this work.”
I saw the disappointed look cross his face as I pulled away. If he only knew I was just trying to
save our first real kiss. It needed to be perfect. I wasn’t going to settle for less than that.
“I think I need to push the boat farther into the water,” he said as he grabbed the edges of the boat
and started to shove.
I stared at him. “Um, I think you get in and push the boat out with that paddle.”
Ethan laughed. “Once you’re far enough out, I’ll get in.”
I held to the edge and shook my head. The boat rocked in the water “I don’t think this’ll work.”
Ethan grabbed onto the edge and tried to lift his leg over. “No, I’m pretty sure—”
“Ethan!” I shrieked as the boat tipped and I was dumped into the water.
I sputtered as I felt his strong hands wrap around my arms and pull me up. When I finally got my
bearing, I realized he was laughing at me.
I scooped up a handful of water and splashed him with it. “What was that?”
He reached over and brushed my hair from my face. When I saw his familiar smile, I couldn’t
help but grin at him even though I probably looked like a drowned rat.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Uh huh. You were just getting back at me for singing a song to you in front of the whole school.”
He got a contemplative look on his face, and I moved to smack his arm. “Well, we’re even now.”
He grabbed my hand before I made contact and pulled me against him. When his arm wrapped
around my waist, shivers rushed through me.
“I love you, Livi.” He glanced down and met my gaze.
 My breath caught in my throat as I studied him. “Really?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Even though I can be an idiot sometimes?”
He laughed as he leaned closer to my lips. “Especially because you can be an idiot. It lets me
know that you are you. And that’s all I want. The real Olivia. Not the Olivia who changes to please
me.”
My heart galloped in my chest. He loved me. Me. For all my quirks and insecurities, he loved me.
And that was all I could ask for. “I love you too, Ethan.”
His expression stilled as he hesitated and then pressed his lips to mine.
In that moment, everything faded away. I didn’t care that we were standing in the middle of the
lake and my dress was dripping wet. I didn’t care that my hair was a tangled mess or the fact that my
mascara was probably running.
All that mattered was Ethan. I felt complete.
I ran my hands up his shoulders and wrapped my arms around his neck to bring him closer to me.
He responded by crushing me against him to deepen the kiss.
Our lips moved as if they were made to be together, and I was rapidly beginning to believe that
they were.
He pulled back, and I groaned. He smiled at me as he pressed his lips against my forehead. I
sighed as I leaned into him, taking a deep breath.
“How was that?” he asked.
I glanced up at him. “What?”
“The kiss? Better than Lachlan?”
I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t believe that he was still obsessing about that. “Well…” I glanced
upwards as if I had to consider the answer.
He growled as he leaned in and kissed me like our lives depended on it. When he pulled back
again, I threw my head back and laughed.
“Did you really need to ask?”
He nodded. “I need to hear it.”
I sighed as I studied him. “You are a way better kisser.”
A smile played on his lips. “Thank you.”
I rolled my eyes. “But you do realize, the kiss may have been more about my inexperience than
his.”
Ethan shrugged. “You just needed to be guided by the right guy.” He leaned forward and lightly
pressed his lips against my cheeks. “And I’m happy to guide you,” he whispered as he leaned in.
I wrapped my arms around him and held him, and he responded by bringing me closer.
And there I stood, in the lake, with wet shoes, feeling like there was no other place I’d rather be.
My life felt complete.
 EPILOGUE

“A ttention passengers, we are descending into Kansas City International Airport. Please return
your trays and chairs into the upright position and gather your garbage for the attendant coming down
the aisle,” a nasal voice said through the intercom,. I opened my eyes.
Jordan, the second flutist, sat up, pulling her eye mask from her face. “Are we back?” she asked.
I nodded.
Jordan blew a sigh of relief. She’d gotten sick in Paris the first night and had barely left the hotel
room. And she wasn’t quiet about her disappointment in the most romantic city in the world. It had
been such a downer, and I was ready to get some space from her.
We gathered our things and waited while the airplane taxied to the gate. As I glanced out the
window, my heart picked up speed. It had been two weeks since I’d seen Ethan.
I tried to have a good time in Paris. After all, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I had
literally put everything on the line to make happen. I needed to at least try to enjoy it.
But I missed Ethan so much. And being with Jordan didn’t help. She was constantly reminding me
of how much better it was back home.
The fasten-seatbelt light turned off, and ten minutes later, I was out of the plane and half-walking,
half-running through the gate to get to the luggage carousal.
As soon as I burst through the doors, my gaze met Ethan’s. His face lit up as he held a sign that
said Welcome Back Livi. I tightened my grip on my carry-on and raced over to him. He wrapped his
arms around me and spun me around.
I giggled as he nuzzled my neck. When he stopped spinning, he set me down and pressed his lips
against mine.
“Welcome back,” he said when he pulled away.
I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. “I missed you.”
He found my lips again, kissing me as if it were the last time we would ever kiss.
“Alrighty, you two,” Dad said.
I pulled back and smiled at him. “What? I thought you were happy. You finally have another guy
around the house.”
Dad shrugged, but I could see the smile in his eyes. He might act all tough and protective, but I
knew he was thrilled that Ethan and I were together. “I’m even happier when I don’t have to see it.”
I let go of Ethan and hugged Mom, Dad, and Beatrice.
“Happy to see you back,” Beatrice said.
 “Thanks.”
I grabbed Ethan’s hand as we all made our way over to the luggage that was getting spit out onto
the belt. I waved at my suitcase, and Ethan grabbed it.
I convinced my parents to let Ethan drive me back, swearing that we’d go straight home. When I
climbed into his Jeep, I breathed in his familiar scent.
Sure, Paris was beautiful and exotic with amazing food and history, but nothing beat coming home.
Nothing beat Ethan.
When he climbed into the driver’s seat, he smiled over at me. He leaned over and pressed his lips
to mine.
“So, you’re really happy to be home? You didn’t fall for some French guy when you were there?”
I hesitated as I dropped my gaze. “You weren’t supposed to find out about Jacques.”
He laughed, but then his expression stilled. “What?”
I swatted his arm. “I’m joking. I thought about you and missed you the entire time.”
He winked at me as he started he engine and put the car in reverse. “Good. ‘Cause I missed you.”
He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the freeway.
I settled back in my seat, watching the familiar scenes whip by my window. Sure, Paris was
beautiful, but it wasn’t home. Being here with Ethan? That was my home. And there was no way I was
leaving it.

***

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anne-Marie Meyer lives in MN with her husband, four boys, and baby girl. She loves romantic movies and believes that there is a
FRIENDS quote for just about every aspect of life.

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