Page 89 of The Voice We Find

“August,” I chide. “Shhh!”

“When didthathappen?” he whisper-shouts.

“Last week, on their group date when they went to that drive-in movie with closed captioning. She video-called me later that night to tell me.”

His eyes double in size. “And you didn’t think that was information I should know? Why am I just now hearing about this?”

“Stand down, big brother. If you keep looking like a deranged meerkat every time something new comes up, she’ll never tell you anything.” I reach out the car window and pat his shadowed cheek. I quite like his nine o’clock shadow. “It was only a little peck on the lips. It was actually super sweet, and kind of an accident.”

He squints his eyes at me. “Sorry, sweetheart, but there are no accidental kisses when it comes to teenage boys. I should know, I used to be one.”

“No really, it was,” I chuckle. “They were sitting in the back of the pickup truck, sharing a pack of gummy worms, and there was this double worm so Gabby suggested—”

“Nope. N-o-p-e.” He shakes his head. “I need this story to end right now.”

I laugh in full. “Fine. But other than that, they’re both being incredibly respectful of the physical boundaries you and the Pimentels have set for them.”

He releases a long exhale.

I pat my open window frame until he shrinks down enough to plant his elbows inside. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

“No,” he huffs. “But I do know why my dad went gray so young.”

“I think you’ll be a super sexy silver fox whenever that day comes.” What I don’t say is that I hope I’m here to see it.

It’s these unprompted thoughts that make me question my promise to Dana. Even scheduling a callback seems ludicrous when I can’t imagine leaving him. Not with how my feelings for him have grown.

And yet, lately, I’ve wondered if those feelings are still mutual.

There are moments, much like this one, when August’s gaze seems to spell out the same three words that burn inside my own chest for him. But instead of speaking out the declaration I long to hear most, August will always find a way to break the connection. A deliberate distraction. A change of subject. A physical separation.

Tonight, he does all three.

When he straightens and crosses his arms over his chest, I can’t even pretend not to feel rejection’s sting. “Is your brother still out of town?”

I sigh. “You really want to discuss my brother?”

“No, but can you blame me if I sleep better at night when I know he’s not around?”

Confusing as this man is to me at times, a tiny vibration purrs in my chest at his protective tone. August’s Jasper-radar flipped on the day he came to collect the van, and it hasn’t turned off since. Thankfully, my brother’s been out of town for nearly a week, reducing the usual tension around the winery to nonexistent. Other than the estimate he invoiced me for his van repairs, that is. Natalie says she’ll keep working on him to make an insurance claim, but so far, it hasn’t happened yet.

Due to my brother’s absenece, my father hasn’t come around much, and my mother has popped in for “brunch with her girls” twice. And while our conversations are never more than surface-deep, I can be thankful there’s no contention between us.

“He’s still gone,” I confirm to August.

“Good.” He nods. “It will be a relief when you’re out of there.”

I study his face in the moonlight, wishing he’d say more, wishing he’d tell me where he sees this going. Wishing for a commitment outside the ambiguous terms we agreed to when he’d asked me to “give this thing between us a try.”

Only now I’m way past try.But where is he?

“I’ve been praying something amazing will happen withMistletoeMatrimonyso I can afford to move out and find something a bit closer to...”—you and Gabby—“all my activities in town.”

“That would be nice.” August squeezes my shoulder reassuringly and nods. It’s the closest he’s come to affirming my prayers. “Text me when you’re home, okay?”

“I always do.”

He leans through the open window and presses a kiss to my lips. I cherish every heartbeat we share until he pulls away and says good-bye. I’m so lost in thought after I leave his driveway that I startle when I hear the chime of Gabby’s voice memos downloading to my phone.

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