Page 58 of The Friendly Fall

She laughs. “Right, so you should know that your plan is terrible.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s a grown woman. But…” her voice trails off for a moment, and I can almost visibly see the wheels turning in her head. Mara’s blue eyes snap back up to mine. “If you want to give your plan a real shot, you’re gonna have to kiss her.”

“No, she made it clear that—”

“I don’t care what she said,” Mara cuts me off. “You said there’s real tension between the two of you, and I’ve seen those pictures. I bet in the moment, you could’ve kissed her. That’s what you have to do. You have to create a moment, kiss her, and then leave her to wonder.”

“Leave her to wonder?” I feel stupid for questioning the plan that my mastermind-of-a-sister is scheming right in the middle of my mom’s living room. “Don’t you think that’s a bit … much?”

She shakes her head. “No, I think that pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend just to keep her parents from worrying is too much.But, if you want to make it clear that you can betheguy, then you’re going to have to make her realize that she has feelings for you. You’re just going to give her the full experience of what itcouldbe like—and you gotta kiss her. It’s the icing on the cake.”

I nod, but I still don’t know that I agree.

My mom’s voice keeps either of us from carrying the conversation forward. “You ready for pie?”

Mara gives me a knowing look, and I just shrug, the two of us heading back for the kitchen.

Mom’s eyes bounce between us suspiciously. “What were you two doing in there? Planning some kind of world takeover?”

Mara giggles. “Kind of. You could call it Nick’s World Takeover.”

“I don’t think I even want to know,” Mom makes a funny face as she hands me the plate with a large slice of pie on it. To make it even more appealing, there’s a towering mound of whipped cream, too.

And it’s got my mouth watering.

“I think Nick should just take the bull by the horns,” Mara says as I stab my fork into the slice, not even bothering to take a seat. “He’s just too nice, sometimes.”

I shoot her a glare, and she shrugs, slipping past Mom and me and heading for the living room. Her husband’s voice and the kids’ laughter echoes through the house, and I can’t help but smile. No matter how annoying and scheming my sister is, it’s nice when she’s home.

“I don’t know what you two were doing, but I think you should be true toyou,” Mom says, her voice quiet. “Mara has always been the kind to take something by storm. You’ve been the kind that thinks it through. You don’t want to do anything rash—whatever it is you were talking about.”

“Well, maybe Iamtoo hesitant,” I admit, thinking of the moment Eliza and I were taking those pictures. I wanted to kiss her with every fiber of my being. I also wanted to kiss her when we danced at the Pumpkin Festival.

MaybeIneed to stop overthinking it so much. What’s the worst thing that could happen?

Ruining our friendship and never talking again.

I shudder at my own thought and brush it off. I’ll just have to play the evening by ear. I can be a great boyfriend—and prove that to Eliza—without pushing the physical boundaries. I’m a respectful guy.

“You look perplexed,” Mom says, taking a bite of pie. “And that’s never a good thing.”

“I’m just a little nervous about meeting Eliza’s parents,” I say, which is a partial truth. Iamnervous about it.

She nods. “You should take some flowers for her mom—like in the old days. People don’t do things like that enough.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Don’t you think that’s kind of … trying too hard?”

She shakes her head. “I’ll tell you what I think, Nick.” She sets her fork down and I know it’s about to get serious. “There’re not enough people in the world whotryat all. Simple, sweet gestures go a long way with people, and showing kindness is agood, honorablething. Your generation seems to have no sense of that these days. Take the woman some flowers.”

I raise my brows but don’t argue at the unsolicited advice—which I’ve gotten a lot of this evening. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

I finish my pie, my mind roaming with thoughts of what it would be like to actuallybewith Eliza…

And the idea only makes me more determined to make this plan work.

Chapter Twenty-One

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