Page 158 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Seven

“That seems reasonable.”

I pull out of the spot while Violet cleans her hand with a wet wipe and then digs around in another bag, producing a container of french fries.

“I can’t believe you actually thought something happened with me and Buck,” she muses as she pops a fry into her mouth. “He’s got a lot of chest hair for a seventeen-year-old and, logically speaking, he’s only going to get fuzzier with time and hormones. Also, that he takes out his front teeth to entice random girls is a little weird.”

Her phone buzzes and she spends the next minute trying to find it. “Buck texted me.” She frowns and pops another fry into her mouth as she reads the message.

“What did he say?”

“Oh, this is interesting,” Violet mumbles.

“Interesting how? What did Buck say?”

“He apologized, then asked what happened last night, and followed it up by saying he hopes he didn’t do or say anything inappropriate.”

“So he doesn’t remember? Poor Sid. I need to call him. He must be losing his mind. Apparently Buck is a real Casanova.”

Violet snorts. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.” She punches in a message in response.

“Are you messaging him back? What are you saying?”

“That he owes me for making sure he didn’t die last night, and that he didn’t do anything inappropriate.” She pops another fry into her mouth. “I would have made him sweat a little longerif I didn’t feel bad for Sidney. No wonder you two were freaking out so hard. I bet Buck is going to be grounded for eternity.”

“Yeah. Probably.” At least we don’t have to call off the engagement.

* * * *

“How’s Violet?”

“She’s already in bed. She was exhausted.”

“I bet.”

Sidney ushers me inside the house and I follow him through the kitchen, which has been cleaned, to the backyard, which I’m also assuming has been cleaned since there are no red cups littering the lawn. “How’s Buck? I mean, Miller.” Violet is now insisting she call Miller by his nickname rather than his given name.

“He’s banished to his room with no TV and no devices until the end of time. He cried when Violet texted. He really couldn’t remember what happened.”

I press my hand to my chest. “It’s sweet that he cried, but scary that he couldn’t remember.”

“Hence, his being grounded for life.” Sidney’s gaze drops to my bare ring finger.

“It’s in my nightstand drawer. I figured we should probably let the dust settle before we go sharing the news.”

“That’s a good idea. He was really worried that he’d messed things up. So was I, to be honest. I can’t tell you how relieved I was when Violet texted.”

“I cried loudly in a fast-food parking lot, then relief binged on burgers and fries.”

“That sounds like a reasonable thing to do.” He wraps his arms around me. “Lesson learned, huh? Miller will stay with his grandparents when I go away, since I can’t trust him on his own.”

“How does he feel about that?”

“He knows he has to earn my trust back after this.”

Sidney releases me when there’s a knock on the sliding glass door. I turn to find Miller standing on the other side, looking a lot like a sad golden retriever. His big shoulders are hunched, one of his thumbs is tucked into his shorts pocket and his bottom lip slips through his teeth.

Sidney motions for him to open the door.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I saw Skye’s car in the driveway. I can come back later, though. Or maybe you don’t really want to talk to me right now.” He drops his head and stares at his feet.

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