Page 44 of Catch and Release

And then the mortification hit—that he’d entertained worst-case scenarios before realizing it was Friday, and Grams was right.

She probably did have plans.

Plans that didn’t involve him.

Shawn tried not to think about the idea that these plans might involve another guy. One who could give her what she wanted: no-strings-attached sex.

“Here,” Grams harrumphed, handing her phone to him. She’d opened up Willa’s contact information.

He sent it to himself, then saved her contact.

“Sorry, Grams,” he said sheepishly.

“Turn my TV back on if you know what’s good for you.”

Shawn did as she said and went to his room. It was on the second floor of the house, and used to be a guest room. It still had the remnants of what it used to be—a decadent, white comforter, a trunk at the foot of the bed filled with extra blankets, a barely-used desk against the wall.

Since he’d moved in, Shawn had added little touches to make it feel more like his. Pictures of him and his grandparents. A taxidermied fish someone gave him as a thank you for a great tour. Fishing supplies, tools, and a few books were scattered across the desk he rarely used.

He sat on the edge of his bed, opened his phone, and started a new text. He stared at the blinking cursor for a few minutes, debating whether to text her. If nothing was wrong, he’d look like an idiot. But if she had plans and forgot to tell him, he was pretty sure she’d feel bad. And he didn’t want to make her feel bad, even if it was her own damn fault.

His curiosity got the better of him. He had to know where she was. Why she didn’t show up.

He started typing.

Hey Willa, it’s Shawn. Just checking in to make sure everything’s alright since I didn’t see you on the wharf tonight.

That was good, right? Casual. Didn’t come off like he’d been waiting for her like a lovesick fool for over an hour. Which he had. But she didn’t need to know that.

He sent it before he could overthink anything.

A few agonizing minutes passed before she responded to him with several texts in rapid succession.

Shit!!!

OMG I suck. I’m so sorry!!

Out with some girls from work

I forgot to mention it last night

I’m really sorry!!!!!!

He sighed in relief. She was fine.

He was not going to lie to himself and pretend like he wasn’t equally relieved that she wasn’t on a date, she was just having a girl’s night. His phone buzzed again. She’d sent a selfie of her and her friends, each of them with a large margarita in their hands. God, she was gorgeous. Wearing a low cut, white dress and bright pink lipstick. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

Probably the tequila.

No worries

But there were, in fact, worries.

Did she have a designated driver? Catching an Uber in this area was laughable. It got touristy, sure, but never touristy enough that finding a ride back to their rural paradise was easy late at night. There were only a handful of Uber drivers in the area.

Looks like y’all are having fun. Call me if you need a ride home tonight.

She responded with a thumbs-up and a heart emoji. He laid back in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, unsure of what to do with the time on his hands when all he could do was think about Willa.

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