Page 118 of Meet Dare

The phone clatters to the ground as I shove Cedar away.

“Hey! What’s wrong?”

I answer his question with one of my own. “When are you leaving?”

He scratches his beard. “Leaving for where? I need to pick up some clothes at my house sometime this weekend.”

I growl. “I’m not talking about your fucking clothes.”

His brow wrinkles. “What are you talking about? Are you feeling okay?”

He tries to lay his palm on my forehead, but I bat it away.

“Feeling okay?” I shout. “Am I feeling okay?”

He holds up his hands. “Obviously, something’s wrong. Can you explain to me what it is?”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a baby. I’m an adult,” I snarl at him.

“Then, explain to me what’s wrong.”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong is you’re leaving Winter Falls.”

He rears back. “Where is this coming from? I’m not leaving Winter Falls.”

“Yes, you are! Today marks the end of our dare.”

“I don’t give the first fuck about our dare. We discussed this. I’m not going anywhere.”

I refuse to believe him. “Except you’re still living in your mobile tiny house outside of town.”

He cocks an eyebrow and lifts his chin toward the kitchen table where his laptop and work are laid out.

“You and I both know I spend more time in your apartment than in my house. Thus, the need for me to pick up more clothes.”

I ignore him to continue my rant. “And you’re still working online for some company who knows where.”

“And? Big deal. Lots of people work online nowadays.”

“Because they’re digital nomads. A nomad is someone whodoesn’t stay in the same place for long.”

He growls. “I know what the word nomad means. I’m no longer a nomad.”

His reasonable responses are doing nothing to stop the panic. “There’s nothing tying you to Winter Falls.”

He cocks his brow. “Nothing? How about you?” Diva barks and he smiles down at her. “And you, too, Diva.”

I glare at him. I will not be distracted by his concern for my dog. Distraction is the enemy.

“What if I wasn’t here?”

He flinches. “I’m still connected with Winter Falls through my brother, my sister-in-law, my niece, and my parents. There’s a lot tying me to this small town.”

“I don’t believe you. None of those people tied you to this town before. You left them easy enough for over a decade.”

Hurt flashes in his eyes. “And it was a mistake. A mistake I’m rectifying now.”

“You won the dare. You don’t have to stay any longer.”

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