Page 53 of After All This Time

“When did it start?”

“Today. That’s why I left the house. I went to the bookstore to see if I could get an inkling of inspiration. Instead, I ran into Violet which distracted me even more than I already was.”

His eyes grow wide. “You ran into Violet? As in Violet Prescott?”

I nod. “I’m honestly surprised I haven’t run into her until now. Sunset Cove is a pretty small town.” I pause. “She told me she’s been keeping in contact with you all these years to get updates on Grayson.”

He nods. “Yeah, she has.”

“You know he’s going to kill you when he finds out, right?”

“You mean if.”

“No, I mean when. This is a pretty big secret to keep from your best friend, Noah.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

noah

“Okay, hold on. You’re changing the subject. Let’s go back to your writer’s block. What triggered it?”

She takes a deep breath, staring deep into my eyes. “Your dad.”

I swallow deeply. “Oh.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to blurt it out that way. The same thing happened when my dad passed away. It’s like my brain doesn’t want to work with me. I hate it so much. And…I never used to be such a pessimist like I am now.”

“Hate to break it to you, but you’ve always been a pessimist.”

“Hey!”

I shrug my shoulders. “What? It’s the truth.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“Don’t tell me something I already know.”

I wink at her as Marina walks over to us with our food.

Her usual is a bacon cheeseburger. Of course, it is. This isn’t helping with my conflicting feelings.

“See, I was nice enough to not subject you to any kind of torture.”

Yeah, but you’re finding other ways to torture me.

I should’ve expected a burger because she talked about how she’d come here with her dad on Burger Wednesdays.

I cross my arms over my chest, while my mouth parts and eyebrows lower.

She picks up her burger, but her eyes land on mine before she takes a bite of it. “What?”

“Nothing.”

I dive into my burger and it’s so fucking good.

I forgot how good Marina’s burgers are. I haven’t been here in years.

The last time I was here was with Mom, Dad, and Lizzie right before I went off to college. It’s one of the most recent memories I have of Dad. A happy memory that makes me sad to think about right now.

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