Page 11 of His North Star
“You said you liked them. Iknewyou were lying.”
“I don’t know how Lys eats them. Anyway, I have pretzels, popcorn, M&M’s, soda, chips and dip, and peanuts.”
Since when did he become a minimart? Regardless, I could already smell the buttery popcorn calling my name.
“Come on in when you get here,” he said. “The door’s unlocked.”
“Will do,” I replied. I turned the ignition over and headed to Ty’s condo. Kelly Clarkson and I sang an anthem about how someday I would feel stronger for moving on from Blake. I wanted so badly to be okay. The more I said it, the more it would happen. Right?
“You rocked that,” Ty said when the song ended.
“Ah!” I scrambled for my phone, which was still on speaker with Ty. I thought I’d hung up. “Why didn’t you end our call?”
“I was having fun listening to you try to sound like Kelly.”
I wasn’t the best singer in the world. “You mean you enjoy having your ears bleed?”
“You’re not as bad as you think you are, Mare.”
Liar. I pulled into the parking lot. “I’m here.” After parking and running up the stairs to the top floor, I hollered “Delivery!” as I entered Ty’s place.
“Back here.” His voice floated down the hallway.
I unzipped my boots, then walked toward the open-concept living space. His condo bordered on the small side. The view more than made up for the lack of square footage though. His oversized sliding glass door framed the sparkling waves of Whitefish Lake.
I tore my gaze from the water and sat on the opposite end of Ty’s gray couch. “What’s Lys doing tonight?” I asked.
He looked at me. “Something with her mom. What were you doing earlier?”
I got up and walked toward the cupboards, replying while searching for something to eat. “Community center. Where’s the popcorn and M&M’s?”
“On the second shelf to the left—catch that ball!” he hollered at the TV.
I smiled while rifling through the pantry. I became a huge sports fan when watching with Dad or Ty because of the entertainmenttheyprovided.
The microwave beeped, announcing my popcorn was ready. I dumped some caramel and peanut butter M&M’s on the bottom of the bowl, then shook the popcorn out of the bag on top of the candy. I carried my snack to the couch and settled in with my feet tucked under me for the last few innings. If I only allowed myself ten bites, I wouldn’t need to run tonight. Any more than that, and I’d need to burn off the calories to keep my current jeans fitting comfortably.
Ty reached an arm over, digging around the bowl for an M&M and two kernels of popcorn, the perfect ratio of soft chocolate and salty goodness. Except his hand fished around for a ridiculously long time.
“Need a little help?” I asked, as if he were a two-year-old who couldn’t quite get what he wanted on his own.
He moved his hand out of the bowl and motioned me to scoot closer to him. “It would help if you weren’t sitting so far away. Besides, they’re my snacks. The least you can do is share.”
I leaned farther away from him, taking the bowl with me. “I don’t mind sharing if you ask politely. Andyoucould’ve made them a while ago if you really wanted some.”
He lunged toward me, his hand aiming for the popcorn. I shifted my weight to stand, but Ty was too quick, and my feet got caught, trapping me in a mid-kneel position. His face landed inches from mine. I held the popcorn bowl above us in my left hand, my right hand gripping the back of the couch. He smiled so big, his dimple appeared. His eyes shined in triumph.
I smiled in return.
He stayed close to my face far longer than necessary. The smile fell from my lips.
“Ty?” I asked. “What are you doing?”
His eyes bore into mine. He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. He moved his head back a few inches before whispering, “You are stunning.”
Heat flooded my cheeks.Uhhhhh. That was totally out of the blue. Complimenting one another came easily, but this packed more emotion than normal. Not sure how to handle what had just happened, I playfully pushed his shoulder, getting us back to familiar territory. “Thank you, Mr. Suck-up. You can have some popcorn.”
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before slowly sitting back on the couch. He didn’t slide over to where he was before. Instead, he stayed in the middle, close to me.
