Page 18 of Fall Into Me

She was putting her whole soul into trying to move that dog, and he wasn’t budging. “I very much doubt it. He’s terrified of them. Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me?” She huffed, pausing only to run her finger up the bridge of her nose.

“I’m just going to stand here.” I crossed my arms, watching her try to move her dog.

“You’re such a jackass,” Calista mumbled, moving to lower herself eye to eye with Jerry. “Jerry, please. We have to go inside.”

Jerry was clearly aware of what the words that were coming out of her mouth meant, but while her eyes were on him, his were on me, and his tail was thumping like mad on the ground.

“You know,” I said, knowing the words would piss her off and letting them fly out of my mouth anyway, “I think he likes me.”

“He doesnotlike you.”

“Oh, I think he does.”

“He also likes to eat cat shit from Mrs. Antinello’s yard, so I wouldn’t be raving at his exceptional judgment skills.”

“Well, whatever helps you sleep at night.” I dropped my arms and walked toward them. “When you’re done wrestling with your small horse, I’ll be inside the house.”

I strolled by casually. The moment I passed a groaning Calista, Jerry trotted inside beside me, and she landed right on her fine ass, right on the gently packed up leftovers from her mom.

“You haven’t been invited in!” She sounded defeated and angry all at once that the laugh I barked was entirely unintentional.

“Rosie, I forgot how great you are at hosting. Feels like home already,” I said from the top of the steps, looking down at her. Cali just lifted her middle finger up and didn’t even bother meeting my gaze.

7

Calista

After

Fane stood across from me in the small entry room.

The cottage was way too small to have an entry room, but it had one.

So, we stood in the world’s most useless room. This weirdly passive-aggressive stare-off between me and…

What was I supposed to refer to him as now? My new-old-fake-ex-boyfriend?

Whatever he was, he was now in my house, and whatever I did to deserve this, I was very,verysorry.

Fane just stood there, tattooed arms crossed and scowl in place. His chestnut-colored hair was styled differently than I thought it was before. Longer on the top and back and a bit shorter on the sides. Messy and unruly like it had always been, the longer pieces tucked behind his ears.

“I won’t let you ruin this town.” I crossed my arms across my chest, mimicking his position and doing what I thought was one heck of a job making my five foot six inches look somewhat respectable against his admittedly imposing six foot five.

“I know.” His jaw was so stiff it didn’t even look like it moved despite having heard his words clear as a bell.

“I don’t want you here,” I tacked on for good measure.

“Shocker.” His eyes stayed on me. They didn’t drift for even a second. They’d always been intense in every sense of the word. I don’t think there was a way for his violet eyesnotto be intense. No matter what he was feeling, they were clear tells to the extent of his emotions.

Joy, sadness, excitement, nervousness.

Want.

“You could have had any town.” I threw my arms out to either side of me. “Do youknowhow many small towns there are in this country? Probably a billion, and you pickedmine”—I ignored the way my voice broke—“to come and ruin. Like you haven’t done enough.”

My chest was heaving. I was on the verge of imploding, and he stood there, stoic. Giving menothing.

“You really don’t have anything to say?”

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