Page 61 of Crazy in Love

“Will you still be in town for the Fall Festival on Saturday?”

“Yeah. I already told Tess I’d go.” He almost brought up the homecoming thing but decided to honor Hope’s ask that he didn’t. That made two secrets he was keeping from her now.

“Let’s not talk about you leaving,” she said. “There are better ways to spend your last few days.”

“You’re right.” He picked a long-stemmed daisy and handed it to her. “A wildflower for a wild child.”

She smiled and stuck the stem behind her ear. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they watched the sunset. Then made out until the mosquitoes drove them back to the car.

“This is ridiculous,” he said as Faith parked at the curb of his parents’ house. “I’m a grown man. Getting dropped off after a date is terribly emasculating.”

“I won’t hold it against you.” She winked.

“You’re being a good sport about it.”

“About what?”

“The fact that my family is making it impossible for us to ever be alone.” He huffed. “Between my parents here and Tess at your place, there’s nowhere without a Walker chaperone.”

“That is kind of a bummer,” she said. “But maybe they’re saving us from ourselves.” The melancholy tone was back. And he supposed she had a point. They were about to say goodbye, so putting some distance between them couldn’t hurt.

“You’re probably right,” he reluctantly agreed. “See you tomorrow?”

“You know where to find me.”

With a final kiss, he got out and watched as she drove away. Something resembling dread settled in the pit of his stomach. And he realized leaving her might be harder than he anticipated.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Faith had been in a funk the last couple of days. Nick casually mentioning he was leaving soon had bummed her out more than she thought it would. She knew their time together had an expiration date but hadn’t prepared herself for next week!

In the last month and a half, she’d grown accustomed to him popping in at the bookstore, mocking her belief in the supernatural, and, lately, melting her heart with warm kisses.

Tonight was the homecoming dance, and Faith spent the day at her dad’s house, styling hair for Hope and her friends. She’d just finished curling her own hair and slipping into a shimmery red dress when Hope peeked in.

“Hey, you’re going to outshine us all,” Hope said. “Maybe I should rethink my invite.”

“This ol’ thang,” Faith said. “Would you believe this is what I wore to my senior homecoming?”

“You look gorgeous in anything.” Hope pouted.

“Thanks,” she said. “But so do you.” Hope wore a strapless blue dress that hit her mid-thigh. With heels, she was only a couple of inches shorter than Faith. They stood side by side in front of the full-length mirror.

“Gotta thank Mom for these great legs, eh?” Faith said, and Hope smiled.

“They do get us from A to B in style,” she said. “All right. Rex should be here any minute. We’re meeting some friends fordinner before we head to the dance. You’ll be there by seven though?”

Faith nodded. “Can’t wait. So, like what are the rules? If I catch someone making out or putting booze in the punch, what do I do?”

“Nothing,” Hope said. “That’s why I asked you instead of Dad. Just look the other way and move on.”

Faith’s brows furrowed. “Well that doesn’t see—”

There was a knock at the door, and Hope squealed. “Will you get that? I don’t want Dad embarrassing me.”

A tall, gangly redhead stood on the porch. He stiffly introduced himself as Rex. His tuxedo pants were two inches too short, which made the white socks he wore even more pronounced. Hope didn’t seem to mind one bit. In fact, she appeared to really like the kid. And as long as he was law-abiding, Faith wouldn’t judge.

“Just a few more,” their dad said, doing his fatherly duty of taking as many pictures as possible.

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