Page 436 of The Winslow Brothers

“You’re not a dumbass,” I respond on a laugh.But the most perfect girl I’ve ever seen? Yes. That you definitely are, Maria.

Though, that’s also a secret I’m going to keep to myself.

“Are you busy?”

She tilts her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“I was planning on taking Winnie to grab some ice cream. Would you and Isabella like to come along?”

“We’re going to get ice cream?!” Winnie exclaims, her presence a surprise to both of us. And Isabella is right beside her. “Oh my gosh, this is the best day ever!”

Maria quirks one eyebrow and whispers, “I take it she didn’t know about the ice cream until now, huh?”

“That would be a negative.” I shake my head on a laugh. “So…would you like to come with us?”

A frown forms at the corner of her lips. “I’d love to, but I really shouldn’t. I promised my mom I’d have Isabella home by lunch.” She glances down at her sandal-covered feet and then back up to me.

“Ah, rats,” Isabella groans. “Come on, Maria. Ice cream sounds so good.”

“Sorry, sis,” Maria says and ruffles Isabella’s hair before meeting my eyes. “Some other time, maybe?”

I smile. “Definitely.”

“Wait…we’re still getting ice cream, though, right, Rem?” Winnie chimes in, and I nod on a sigh.

“Yes, Win. We’re still getting ice cream.”

“Best day ever!” Winnie squeals.

And frankly, as I watch Maria wave and walk away, I can’t disagree with her.

The only thing that could’ve made this day better was if thatsome other time, maybe?would’ve been ayes.

But lucky for you, in two weeks, you’ll have a whole school year to make that happen.

All of a sudden, I’m excited for the start of my junior year.

Friday, August 23rd

Maria

Tap-tap-tap-tap, my index finger bounces off the ledge of the passenger door of my taxi. A vision of what feels like miles of cars assaults my eyes through the windshield.

Early afternoon traffic on a Friday is never optimal, but today, well, it’s downright dismal.

I should’ve never agreed to three showings so close together.

Talk about a real rookie mistake. Or, you know, aClaudiamistake.

“It’s a damn parking lot out here,” my cab driver grumbles, and it does nothing for my anxiety.

Scanning the nearest street signs, I note that I’m only two blocks away from my next appointment, a swanky building located in an area known as Central Park East. But when I glance at the clock on the dashboard, I see my time to get there has dwindled down to ten minutes.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I stay rooted to my seat for about thirty more seconds, but when the traffic doesn’t budge and my taxi driver starts to play a game of Yahtzee on his phone, I know I’m left without a choice.

Full-term pregnant or not, I’m going to have to finish this trip on foot.

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