Page 81 of Every Chance After

“What? No dramatic take-this-job-and-shove-it thing?” I whine. “Come on, Marina. Pirates don’t craft resignation letters.”

“I’ll make it snarky,” she whines, making her cuter than usual.

“Snark is good. I have some time tomorrow. How about I help you with errands or whatever you need? The mall, grocery shopping, anything.”

“Oh, Grady, you want to paint the town red with errands?” she teases as I turn onto her road. “Do you get a lot of dates like this?”

“Um, date?” I glance at her coy expression, surprised by the word.She’s just teasing, Grady.“Not a date. Just friends, spending a Sunday together.”

“Something tells me you wouldn’t normally do errands on a Sunday.”

“No, I’d usually fish on my dock with my dogs, and I’ll still do that… after errands,” I say, pulling up to her house.

She considers my offer, nibbling her bottom lip again. “Grady, want to know what makes me sadder than finding out about the house?”

“What?”

The porch light gleams in her eyes as she turns to me. “Becoming another chore for you.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I quickly defend. “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to.”

“Whatever this is between us, I like it. I likeyou,” she says, “but we shouldn’t spend time together if I’m another item on your to-do list.”

I shake my head, pissed for sounding that way and even angrier with myself that there’s truth in it. Ihaveturned her into another chore, though she means more than that. Uncomfortably more. I grip the steering wheel, twisting it in my hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

A soft smile later, she reaches for the door. She’s on the top step of the porch when I stop her.

“Wait, please,” I call, jumping out of the truck.

She turns on the porch, planting her smile weakly, like she no longer has the energy to keep it up. At the bottom step, I take her in unsurely. I should be driving away with my Sunday open and my conscience somewhat cleared.

Instead, I say, “I like you, too.”

Her tired smile widens. “Wow, Grouchy Tripp. Did that hurt?”

“A little,” I chuckle. “Iwantto spend Sunday with you doing errands.Truth.”

“In that case,” she says slowly, “errands sound nice.”

“Ten too early?”

She scoffs. “Only for vampires. I’ll be ready.”

“Good night, Marina.”

“Good night, Tripp Grady Tripp.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

Marnie

Grady smilescoyly from the driver’s side of The Beast when he pulls up to the house the next morning, and finds me waiting on the porch for him. My stomach erupts with little somersaults over his unabashed smile—I love that he’s no longer stingy with them.

“Ah, Grady. The Beast? For me?” I coo, descending the stairs.

He slaps the side of the old truck, grinning. “Thought you’d prefer it.”

Grady Tripp considered my preference?A bit tickled by the gesture, I feel my cheeks flush. I circle the classic truck and climb onto the leather bench seat.

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