Page 113 of You've Got Male

“I think there’s something you need to see,” Mr. Karlson said, walking over to him. He pulled out his phone, opened the app, and searched for @YouveGotMale, then handed him the device.

His breath caught painfully in his chest when he saw Evie’s face on the screen. She was standing in front of Grinder wearing that blue dress he’d seen in her room all those weeks back. Her hair was hanging in long, silky waves, she was worrying her lower lip, and there was this vulnerable expression that got to him. She was so beautiful it hurt just to look at her.

Only, he couldn’t explain what was happening, but something a whole hell of a lot like hope flickered in his chest.

“Hi,” she began and her voice wobbled. “It’s Evie again, and I need your help. Which is huge for me because I have a hard time asking for help, but I’m working on that. Because I’m learning that part of love is being vulnerable and admitting when you’re scared. And I was scared. I guess I still am, but I’m not going to let my fear control me.

“When my friend posted that video, she did it because she wanted to see me put myself out there and find some of that happiness I’d lost. But happy is terrifying because once you capture it there’s a chance you might lose it. I thought it was safer to avoid finding real love than find it and lose it. But I was wrong.”

“Loveisscary,” one of his neighbors said and Jonah shot him azip it or I’ll zip it for youlook. The guy went palms up as if to say,Well it is.

Jonah went back to the video. “I never meant to lie to you,” she said, and Jonah knew that she wasn’t talking to America anymore. She was talking to him. “We did have a relationship. A beautiful friendship that turned into something more. Something to treasure, something worth fighting for. I thought if I gave into what we had, I’d lose myself. But I realize now that falling for you helped me find parts I thought I’d never get back. It also helped me find some of that happy. A lot of happy, and I want to be happy again.”

She took a step closer to the camera and it was as if she were standing in front of him with her heart in her eyes. “You are worth fighting for, and I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren’t. You are kind and thoughtful and everything I could want in a partner. But you know how sometimes when things get messy I try to organize them but end up making a bigger mess of things? Well, I messed up.”

“So did I, sunshine,” he whispered.

“I know how it feels to be walked away from. I know how much it hurts. Just like I know how much I hurt you. But I promise that if you give me another chance, I’ll fight for love every day. I’ll fight for you every day. Please let me fight,” she said, and he could see the emotion well up and line her lashes.

Jonah hadn’t thought about that before now. He’d been so fixated on his own hurt and insecurities, he forgot that Evie hadbeen left with a huge responsibility she had to shoulder all on her own at a young age.

He hadn’t just made her miss her exam, he’d made her miss out on something she’d already lost once.

“I’m going to be where this all started, where I handed you an invitation that ended up changing my life, with my heart open and yours if you want it. If it’s not too late. I’ll be standing right here at one forty-three, with my final rose, hoping my prince charming shows up to claim it. Not to save me, but to love me and let me love him back.”

God, he wanted her love, almost as much as he wanted to love her.

He looked at the time on the phone and felt his palms sweat and his heart race with panic. It was 1:38 p.m. and the shop was ten blocks away.

“Do you need a ride, son?” Mr. Karlson asked. “I’ve got my car running and ready to go.”

“With traffic there’s no way I make it.” Jonah didn’t even stop to think, he just took off in a dead sprint.

Chapter Forty-Three

Evie

Evie looked at the crowd that had gathered. There were so many people, they were spilling out onto the street. Phones were recording, the air hummed with anticipation, there was even a giant countdown clock someone had strapped to the top of their car.

One forty-one it read and Evie felt sick. What if he didn’t come? What if her public apology and plea had only made things worse? And why had she put the stupid timer on it?

She gripped the rose in her hand so tightly that a thorn pressed into her thumb, breaking the skin. But the pain was nothing compared to what she was going to feel if he didn’t show.

“He’ll be here, Mom,” Camila said. “I know he will.”

“He will, Mrs. G,” Ryan assured her, but she didn’t feel reassured. She felt terrified. Terrified that she’d found and lost love all in the same week.

“What if he didn’t see it?” Even worse, what if he had and decidedshewasn’t worth the fight.

“He saw it,” Moira said. “Karlson promised me he’d take care of it.”

Evie choked on air. “Since when do you and Mr. Karlson team up?”

“Since we’re going out on a date tonight. Seems I’m finally ready for a man.”

“I’m really happy for you, Mom.”

“Can we put a minute on the clock?” Tasha’s voice interrupted, and that’s when Evie realized that the next sixty seconds were going to define the rest of her life.

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