Page 71 of What I'm Looking For

I scan my mental calendar. “The Saturday of Fourth of July weekend.”

Will squints as if studying his own agenda. “I don’t have a show then.All’s Wellcloses next Sunday, and then the two weekends after that, the kids’ camp has a show. I’m not working on that because of the film. And the movie wraps on the thirtieth.”

“Oh.” My hands twist in the bedsheet. Should I ask Will to go with me? But what if he thinks that means that we’re serious?

Are we?

He gently knocks on my skull. “What’s going on?”

“Ugh. It’s just—my family. They’re… a lot. A lot of people. A lot ofconcerns.” I wave a hand in the air. “I love them and all, but they don’t really get me. I just hate all the questions that I don’t have answers for.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Will asks, as if it’s no big deal.

“You don’t want to do that.” I pull the sheet over my head.

“Why not? It’ll be fun.”

“They’ll think we’re dating.” My mouth makes a damp spot on the thin fabric.

“Well, aren’t we?”

I drop the sheet. “Well, yeah, but?…”

Will looks so comfy lying in my bed petting Frankie, who purrs contentedly on his chest. I’m happy with what we have right now, and I don’t want to risk losing it. “But it’s awedding.”

He eases my hand open from its stranglehold on the sheets and squeezes it. “Kate. It’s not that big of a deal.” Frankie bumps his wrist, and Will goes back to patting him. “It’ll be fun.”

“It’s in Virginia.” My heart pounds away in my ears. Suddenly, I’m all in.

His hand stills. “Can we drive?”

“It takes a whole day. I’d rather fly.”

“Oh. Well.” He looks like he just tasted something off. “I don’t know about that. I can’t really afford a plane ticket right now.”

“My parents would pay for the tickets.”

The muscles at the sides of his mouth tighten. “Yeah, I’m not comfortable with that. Sorry.”

I tamp down my impatience with his habitual risk aversion. “Will, seriously.” I squeeze his bicep and try to channel my argument through his skin. “They have plenty of money, and they want me there. If you would go with me and fend off my relatives, it issoworth the price of a plane ticket that I’d pay for it myself. Cheaper than therapy, right? Which I’m going to need if I have to suffer through another family wedding solo.”

I’ve kept my voice light, but I’m not kidding.

He talks to the ceiling. “I don’t know, Kate. It feels weird.” Tension has crept into his voice. “If we drove, it’d be one thing. I can’t afford a hotel either.”

Even though I get why financials are such an issue for him, I wish he weren’t so stubborn about it. “We wouldn’t have to stay in a hotel. Everybody has giant houses down there, and you could stay with a cousin if it’s too weird to stay at my parents’ house. That part is easy.” He just stares at the ceiling. I bite my tongue. Let him get used to the idea before pushing further.

“What’s the actual date?” he finally asks.

I hop up to grab my planner. “Saturday, July second.” I tap on the date. “Yeah, Monday is the fourth. An actual holiday for me. Another reason I have to go, since I can’t really use the work excuse.”

As much as I’d love to have him there, the look on his face tells me I need to backpedal. “You know what, I’m a big girl. I can face my family on my own.” I drop my planner on the nightstand and paint a smile on my face. “You don’t have to come. I better call her back though.”

I pick up the cordless phone and stare at it, psyching myself up for the conversation. I have to ward off my mom’s worries that I’m always on the verge of a nervous breakdown. My parents never quite got over how I fell apart after the mess with Jonathan.

Will grabs my hand. “Wait. You want me to go with you?”

“Um.” My head and heart haggle for a moment. Heart wins. “Yes?”

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