Page 102 of Butter My Biscuit

“You said the whole town’s talking. What are they saying? I haven’t caught wind of it yet.”

“That you two are in love with each other and you’re with me to get over it.”

I nod. “Ah. Then, I look forward to throwing everyone a curveball.”

“What does that mean?” she asks when I walk around to the driver’s side and get in. I crank the truck and reverse.

“You gonna make me your wife?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

21

GRACE

Love is stupid.

Lust is stupid.

Life is stupid.

Harrison Valentine is stupid.

Shit, add me to that list too.

I’m in a grumpy mood as I park at the airport and look out at the security lights, making the garage not seem so damn scary this early in the morning. It sucked to drive to El Paso alone, but I managed fine, even though I left so late at night. It was just me on the road, and it was okay, thankfully.

Once I’m through security, I find my gate and sit, kicking my feet up on my suitcase, hoping I can sleep the entire flight because hours after I get there, we’ll be going straight to the rehearsal dinner.

Tomorrow, I’m supposed to give a speech about my sister and love. How am I supposed to do that when I’ve become very much anti-love?

I think about Joey and how Houston was one of the biggest mistakes of my life that created a domino effect on unfortunate events.

When the sun rises, I put on my sunglasses, and I’m tired as hell. I try to get comfortable with my neck pillow as I sneak peeks of the couple in front of me being flirty. Their arms brush together. She draws circles on his palm. It reminds me of Harrison. And I wonder if they’re best friends too.

Soon, it’s time to board, and I scan my ticket and then get on the plane. The window seat gives me something to focus on, and the only reason I have it is because I canceled Harrison’s ticket.

“We’ll finish boarding in about three minutes, just waiting for one more,” the attendant says.

Doesn’t matter to me. I just wish they’d hurry the hell up so we can get this show on the road. I’m ready to get this over with, and the quicker this plane takes off, the better. Especially knowing that Landon couldn’t join me on this trip either.

For a brief moment, I think maybe Harrison might step on and tell me he was stupid. When the flight attendant greets someone, I sit up, and my heart pounds as I wait for my movie moment.

As soon as I see an older woman boarding with a cat carrier, I slump back down. She sits in the aisle seat on my row, and I grab my sleep mask and pull it over my eyes, wanting to block the world out.

Right now, I just need to survive the next three days in Hawaii.

Never been so grateful to have canceled an extended stay at a resort in my life.

After the announcements are given and the cabin lights go off, I drift to sleep and have anothernightmareabout Harrison. Things are how they used to be, but my subconscious can’t take it. I wake up in another panic with a racing heart and a heaviness I can’t explain. My mouth is dry, and I’m hungry, but all I want is for my feet to be on the ground.

When the plane finally lands, I grab my suitcase and make my way to the resort, where my sister’s ceremony will be held. Palm trees are everywhere, random chickens are on the side of the road, and the sun is high in the sky. I got enough sleep, but still feel tired.

“Can I roll down the window?” I ask the driver.

He presses a button, and the glass slides down. The warm air brushes against my cheeks, and I close my eyes, trying to take it all in. I might be in Hawaii alone, but I’ll be damned if I don’t have a good time.

I promise myself that I’ll take some time to do whatever the fuck I want before going home. Maybe I’ll get a tan and go back to Valentine, glowing with sun-kissed skin. The thought brings a smile to my face.

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