Page 158 of Come Break My Heart Again

I wasn’t anticipating that response. Or the teasing smile on Ryder’s face before he leans down to pet Scout. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen him since he’s been back. Some of the careful mask has fallen away, allowing a glimpse at the ease behind it.

The last two times we talked were both heavy. Yelling in the kitchen. Breathing on the phone.

Then, there’s the letter, tucked carefully in the bag Ryder’s carrying for me.

He must know I have it. That I read it. Right?

“Yay! You’re here,” Keira exclaims, and I realize the only person I’ve greeted is Ryder. I give her a big hug, and she squeezes me back tightly. “And you are in some desperate need of sun, girl.” She pokes my pale arm, the color of my skin not changing at all.

“I’ve been studying,” I say.

The bar exam is only two weeks away.

“You also have a backyard,” she reminds me.

“I wear sunscreen.”

Keira links our elbows and pulls me toward the car. “Seriously, how have you been? Aside from vitamin D–deprived.”

“I’m good,” I say, glancing back over one shoulder.

Tucker and Ryder are trailing ten feet behind us. Scout is trotting along with the boys happily.

“You look good,” Keira tells me.

“I thought I looked pale,” I tease.

“Pale and gorgeous.”

I smile. “So, what’s the evening plan?”

“I was thinking of going out for drinks, then heading back to the cottage for dinner? Tucker got steaks to grill. We’ll be too big of a group for fancy food tomorrow night. I just bought a bunch of hot dogs to roast.”

“How big of a group are we tonight?” I ask.

“It’s just the four of us.” Keira glances at me, testing my reaction to that response.

My smile isn’t forced. “Okay.”

It’s a surprise. I just assumed more guests would arrive before tomorrow. Not an unpleasant one, but a surprise.

The guys reach the car a few seconds later. Keira insists on riding in the back seat with me and Scout, who spends the short drive straining to stick his head out the window. Tucker and Ryder talk baseball as I stare out at the scenery passing by and avoid getting a mouthful of fur.

It’s even more beautiful here now than it was back in May. Hydrangeas have bloomed. Houses are all inhabited, each clamshell driveway we pass occupied by multiple cars.

Ten minutes later, we stop in front of the Parkers’ house.

“Wow. Nice decorating,” I compliment, studying the exterior.

Keira beams as she climbs out of the back seat. “Thank you.”

Tiny flags have been spaced along the path that leads to the front door. Red, white, and blue lanterns hang from the porch railing. And the pastel pillows on the swing have been replaced by star-and-stripe patterns.

“You should see the inside,” Tucker says. “Took her most of yesterday. And it only required one emergency bookshelf repair that took me all afternoon.”

Keira sticks her tongue out at her fiancé. “How was I supposed to know it would break?”

“Maybe because it’s abookshelf, not a ladder?”

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