Page 19 of Getting Lucky

She hugged him tighter, as though hanging on for dear life, and he wondered once again if he’d screwed up by coming to Asheville, because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’d screwed up by leaving her.

He wouldn’t let her down again.

Chapter Seven

Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Jack Durand had spent the night at Maisie’s house. So why was she still dreaming about him? Why was she still smelling his scent, which had long since faded, on her pillows?

She hadn’t seen him a single time in the interim. It was surprisingly easy to avoid someone when you really set your mind to it, something she’d already discovered in her months-long avoidance of River after he first hooked up with Georgie. But that had been a mistake, one that had hurt both of them, and her sister Molly was adamant that this was too.

“You don’t know what the rest of that note said, Maisie,” she insisted. “He probably said that he wants to keep f—”

“Little ears,” Mary interrupted, covering her toddler son’s ears.

Maisie felt a press of longing. It was Thanksgiving morning, and the O’Sheas were all supposed to be together—they were all supposed to behere, at their family house—but Molly had been given an assignment about holiday dating that required her to go on five Tinder dates on Thanksgiving Day (a huge opportunity, she insisted), and Mary and her husband had decided at the last minute to bring Aidan along to visit his paternal grandparents. So instead, she was sitting at her dining room table, looking at them through a computer screen.

“You might want to inform him he had another set of grandparents,” Maisie had snapped upon learning the news. “Or that, I don’t know, his aunt actually has a life outside of visiting him every few months. I promised to take him to the shelter. You said you were coming.” That last sentence had gotten a little more pitchy than she would have liked. Dammit, she hated showing her cards—she much preferred knowing what was in everyone else’s hands.

Mary had just shrugged as if it was out of her control, but Maisie knew better. Just like she knew Molly didn’thaveto do Datesgiving, as she was calling it.

They didn’t want to come. And she knew they thoughtshewas the one who needed therapy, that her wish to live at home, among their parents’ things, was weird, bordering on creepy.

But her thoughts digressed.

“How did you know I was going to say something naughty?” Molly complained.

“Because I know you,” Mary said with an eyeroll. “What are you going to do when you see him, Maisie?”

For a second, she almost askedHim, who?

Because she was going to see both of them today: Jack and River. Which had to be the worst idea she’d ever come up with.

But her sisters had bailed on her, and Adalia was hosting a big Thanksgiving extravaganza at Beau Buchanan’s old house, and she hadn’t really beenallowedto say no. Adalia had told her in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t hear of it. Plus, she’d seen River and Finn on Tuesday night, and they’d agreed they would hunt her down like a couple of bounty hunters if she bailed.

To her surprise, River still hadn’t told Finn about his engagement, which probably meant it hadn’t happened yet. But it was going to happen soon, and she’d feel like she was sitting on the edge of her seat until it did. Which was, all in all, a very good reason to stay home today.

But you want to see Jack, a little voice insisted.

She did. But she wasn’t sure what it meant, and they’d be surrounded by other people. By River and Georgie, Finn and Adalia, Dottie and whomever she’d been allowed to invite (although surely she’d gone rogue and invited some people on the Do Not Call list), as well as Jack’s kid sister Iris. It had all the hallmarks of an awkward situation.

“Well?” Mary pressed. “What are you going to say to him?”

“I guess I’ll start with hello.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “Or you could pull him into the bathroom and lock the door.”

“You seriously might have an s-e-x addiction,” Mary said, scowling.

Aidan had run off, and it felt like Molly was meeting Maisie’s eyes through the camera, the two of them sharing the same thought: why was their sister spelling it out if her son wasn’t there to hear her? They both burst out laughing.

“It might not be a bad idea,” Maisie said, pretending to think about it. “Wedidhave some pretty great s-e-x against the bathroom wall.”

“Oh, you two,” Mary said, as if they shared an affliction and she pitied them. Truth be told, Maisie felt a little sorry for Mary, what with her husband Glenn’s dad jokes and endless stories about his boring job in middle management. Which was judgmental of her for sure, but she’d never pretended to be a people pleaser.

“The truth is I don’t know,” Maisie said honestly. “I’m going there with no expectations other than to bring home some gross turkey for the dogs.”

“And what are you going to eat?” Mary asked. “A dish full of potatoes?”

Maisie rolled her eyes. “I’ll carve some delicate pieces of Tofurky, white meat only.”

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