Page 101 of Really Truly Yours

No little dots appear. And they may never. I lay back on the pillow and close my eyes. My hand vibrates.

Sydnee: Who is this?

Ouch and…ouch. She’s deleted me from her life already?

Me: Gray

The dots blink their little hearts out and then disappear. Welp. Sorry, Donny. We’re on our own.

I close my eyes and pray, convicted by the realization prayer has too often become an afterthought. My words jumble in a way only a mighty God could decipher. Finally, I doze.

Buzz buzz.

I snap awake and read.

Sydnee: Sorry. My phone crashed yesterday and I lost my contacts.

Lost, not deleted. My victory is short-lived, however, when she says nothing else.

Me: Would you come for dinner tomorrow night at Tripp and Avery’s? Watch the game with us?

Talk about burying the lede. I watch my screen, and the dot dot dot is immediate.

Sydnee: Can’t

I’m going with won’t.

This isn’t a game of chess, but I have a move she can’t withstand.

Me: Donny will be here

The dots don’t have a chance to rest.

Sydnee: Are you being serious?

Me: Tripp says he’s decided to forgive. Work in progress. Might help if you were here.

The wait is longer than I expect, and then…

Sydnee: What time?

Me: 6:30.

I start typing details, including when I’ll pick her up, as another message pops onto the screen:

Sydnee: Got my car back. I’ll be there at 6:30.

I free a groan and toss my phone onto Avery’s newly purchased, fluffy comforter that my big butt is presently flattening. I’m not entirely dull-witted. Sydnee barely agreed to come, and I can read between lines. She doesn’t want to be with me any more than she has to.

Freaking figures. The one woman who doesn’t fawn and manipulate to get herself into my presence is the one and only woman I want in it.

Chapter 22

Sydnee

I cry foul.

Despite my best efforts to extricate myself from the web that is Grayson Smith, I’ve struck out.

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