Page 72 of Resisting the Grump

“All that stuff is produced,” Noah said. “He can’t be that bad.”

I stared at him.

“What?” he asked when he felt my eyes on him. “He can see how special you are, right?”

“A blind man can see how special Avery is,” Grace interjected. “Would you open the box already?”

Noah scowled like he didn’t appreciate being taunted but turned his attention back to the puzzle.

“Remind me what I get if I figure it out?” Colin asked, his face giving the game away.

“Unbelievable,” Noah muttered under his breath.

“Just open it!” Grace and I cried in unison.

Colin flicked part of the handle on one side before slowly sliding out a skinny slat of wood no wider than a pencil. Then he spun the box ninety degrees and pushed the pin through the side of the padlock, making the latch pop open.

The rest of us looked on in amazement.

“My dad’s an engineer,” he said with a shrug. “He used to make these for fun.”

Grace and I descended on the box until the four of us were huddled around it like a Ouija board.

Dear God, let it not be a sex toy, I thought. I didn’t want the fact that I got free lube for spending over thirty-five bucks on that negligee to be the joke that refused to die.

Fortunately, it appeared to be a tiny scroll of paper.

Everyone fell silent, but their impatience was tangible.

I plucked the paper out and unrolled it, my eyes scanning the page.

“What does it say?!” Colin cried.

Grace shushed him, and he groaned like a sour schoolboy.

“Dear Avery,” I read aloud, Oliver’s familiar cursive comforting me like an old friend.

“You don’t have to read it out loud, if you don’t want,” Grace said.

“Maybe she should, though,” Noah argued. “Since this can only go one of two ways.”

I raised my brows in his direction.

“Either it’s sweet, and you forgive him,” he explained. “Or he flubs it, and Colin and I learn a valuable lesson.”

“Never give a girl a puzzle box?” Colin guessed.

“Dear Avery,” I started again. “I’m sorry about the advanced puzzle box. I looked at a few easier ones, but I didn’t want to insult your intelligence.”

Everyone nodded like they agreed it was a strong start.

“That said, I know I screwed up, and I am truly sorry. Not just because I haven’t even scratched the surface on all the ways I want to have you…” Heat rushed to my cheeks. “But because I miss being with you. Learning about you. Falling for you.” A lump rose in my throat. “You make the falling part so easy.”

Grace reached over and rubbed my back.

Noah and Colin exchanged glances like they weren’t sure if they wanted to hear more or be sick.

I cleared my throat and kept reading. “Nothing excites me more than thinking about ways to spoil you, impress you, and make you feel good. In the bottom of the box, you’ll find twenty-five business cards, belonging to my favorite restaurants. Each one represents a date I hope to take you on in the future, and I want to visit all your favorite places, too. Most of all, I don’t just want us to go to new places together. I want us to go everywhere together.”

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