Page 59 of Better Luck Next Time

But that was easier said than done. Her phone was the worst, with an old battery that needed constant recharging.

“Thank you.” Georgie paused. “So you spent the day with Finn?”

Adalia heard the unspoken question in her sister’s voice, but she wasn’t taking the bait. “We had a lot of work to do for the art show.”

She was proud of herself for not sounding defensive. Given what Georgie had said about him, it was clear she didn’t approve, but she also didn’t want to act like she was ashamed of her association with him. Or that she agreed with Georgie’s assessment of his character. Because even though her sister was often right, on this one issue she was very wrong.

“Yeah, I’m sure you did…” Georgie said, but the way she left it hanging promised there would be more interrogations in the future.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? But not too early,” Adalia said. “I plan on sleeping in.” Or maybe seeing if Finn was interested in coming over for brunch, but she wasn’t sharing that tidbit either. She quickly hung up and handed the phone back to River.

He shifted on his seat as he turned onto the road where her car was parked. “I know she seems overprotective,” he said tentatively. “She just cares about you.”

“I know, and I appreciate it, but…”

“I get it. Nothing like your sister’s boyfriend showing up to bust up your…?” He shot her an inquisitive look.

In return, she gave him a pointed glare, but her teasing tone softened it. “Et tu, River?”

He chuckled. “Sorry, but at least now I can tell Georgie I asked.” He pulled up next to Bessie. “For the record, I’ll be following you home, otherwise your sister will kill me. And she may have a point. Your car looks like it needs to be pushed to your house.”

She rolled her eyes as she opened the car door. “It’s a classic.”

But the word classic reminded her of Finn and their nearly perfect night. No man had ever offered to watch her favorite movie before.

What if she went back to his house to finish what they started?

The idea sent a wave of heat to her core, but River was going to follow her home. While it would be hilarious to drive to Finn’s house, taking River back to the place he’d just left, it certainly wouldn’t be covert. Besides, Finn thought they were taking this too fast, which was likely due to the whole Alan thing. The reason annoyed her—she didn’t want Alan to have any control over her life—but she kind of liked the idea of going slow. She’d never hesitated to jump into bed with a guy if she really liked him, but Finn was different. What they had felt special. If she were honest with herself, that scared her a little—okay,a lot—but she also believed in taking risks and going for what she wanted. Or at least she used to before her arrest.

When she got home, she parked in the driveway and gave River a wave as she unlocked the door and went inside.

Dottie had left a note that said she’d dropped by with more food, and Adalia plugged her phone into the charging cord on the counter, then opened the fridge to see if there was any dessert.

“Ah-ha!” A plastic storage container marked “sassy” held a slice of what looked like lemon raspberry cake. She’d just grabbed a fork to eat it straight out of the container—sorry, Jack, not sorry!—when her phone dinged multiple times with all the messages she’d missed. Shaking her head, she walked over with the container to read her sister’s texts.

Still, it wasn’t Georgie’s texts that caught her attention. It was a text from an unknown number:You seriously blocked me? I’ve tried being nice, Adalia, but if YOU can’t be nice, I’ll have to take this to the next level.

The next level? What did that mean?

She wasn’t sure, but it was clearly a threat, which made her uneasy. She turned off her phone and put the cake back in the fridge, then hurried upstairs and took a shower. She hated being subjected to the stench of Alan on the heels of her night with Finn, and she was desperate to wash it away.

Sleep was slow to come, and despite what she’d said to Georgie, she was up by nine, itching to head to Dottie’s garage—or even the shed out back—except she didn’t want to paint. The mixed media piece she’d seen the day before had stirred something in her, and she might have considered doing something about it, only the memory of Alan’s texts held her back. Not for the first time, she wondered what he’d done to her ruined pieces. They would have been released to him, right? Or maybe they’d just been thrown away.

What did he want from her, anyway? Money? Validation? It was probably time to talk to Georgie again, tell her that he was being more persistent than expected, but she didn’t feel like having that conversation just yet.

Needing a boost, she lay around the living room, watching half a dozen episodes ofFriends, debating whether she should call Finn and invite him over for brunch…and maybe something more.

Then she remembered she’d turned off her phone last night like a coward. She headed back into the kitchen and unplugged it, watching the percentage instantly drop from 100% to 98% when she turned it on. Multiple texts from Finn popped onto the screen.

A warm glow filled her chest, but then she realized it was after eleven a.m. and she still hadn’t responded. Did he think she was blowing him off? She quickly sent him a text.

I can’t wait to hear about your idea. We can hatch an elaborate plan to get me out of the brewery. I’ll tell Georgie I have to go to the bathroom and sneak out the back door to play hooky… No. That’s too simple. Maybe we can come up with something involving that trench coat. Or, you know, I could just take the day off. ;)

Then she added:

Sorry I’m just now responding. My phone was off.

He didn’t respond immediately, and she worried she’d pissed him off. Alan hated being ignored—case in point, his last two messages. She hadn’t responded to his initial overtures, which he’d probably thought were sweet, so he’d started rolling out threats. She knew Finn wasn’t like that. Still, she was nervous until she saw the bubbles in the text box a couple of minutes later.

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