Page 105 of A Shot of Pretty Poison

Just like I’ve turned down every other person who has made an offer since it’s been listed for sale. Ramona’s hasn’t hidden her frustration about it either. Then again, I probably wouldn’t either if I was working on commission.

“You did,” she confirms. “But they’ve decided they love the house so much that they’re willing to give you what you’re asking for it.”

Fuck.

I fall silent at the news. When I told Cam I was going to sell the house, I meant it. We need the money to catch the bills up at the bar, and I thought that everything with Laiken was done. And even if we managed to pull off a miracle and end up okay, I thought the house was tainted by the memory of her leaving.

But slowly, over the last few weeks, we’ve been making new memories. Ones that cover the old like a fresh coat of paint. Right now, selling the house feels a lot like giving up. Throwing in the towel and accepting defeat.

And that’s not something I’m ready to do just yet.

“You know, I thought you would be more excited,” Ramona tells me.

“Yeah,” I say with an exhale. “I’m sorry, but I have to say no.”

A strangled noise leaves her mouth. “Hayes, I don’t think you heard me right. They’re willing to give you exactly what you’re asking for. Not a penny less.”

“I heard you correctly,” I tell her. “But I just don’t think I’m okay with selling it anymore.”

She sighs heavily, and I’m sure she’s silently mouthing every obscenity known to man right now. “All right, but you should know that your house was listed over market value. If you try to sell it again down the road, there’s a good chance you won’t get anywhere near what they’re offering you.”

“Well, I’m hoping I won’t end up selling it at all.”

She’s obviously not happy, having wasted hours and hours of her time for nothing in return, and I feel bad—just not bad enough to sell my house.Ourhouse. Because it feels like every day, I start to get back little glimpses of a future I thought was no longer possible.

I won’t lie, it scares the shit out of me, but sometimes the best things are the ones you’re most afraid of.

PULLING UP TO THEBlanchards, I park behind Cam’s Jeep. If he’s here, that means Laiken is, too. She stayed at the bar so she could ride over with him while I went to see my mom.

Every visit with her is well worth it. The time we’ve been spending together is something I’ll hold onto long after she’s gone. But this one taught me something. It showed me what’s most important.

I open the door and step inside, giving Mrs. Blanchard a hug just like I always do. She’s just getting ready to put dinner on the table and tells me to go sit down with everyone else.

The first time Laiken showed up to family dinner, I almost didn’t come in. I saw her car in the driveway and my first thought was to press the gas pedal to the floor and speed away at NASCAR pace. But there was still that part of me that wanted to see her. To sit across the table from her and sneak glances at her to remind myself that it was real. That she was really back, and I hadn’t hallucinated the sight of her after crashing my motorcycle.

So that’s exactly what I did, and even though my chest felt like it was on fire with every breath I took, it was worth it.

As I walk into the dining room, Laiken looks up and smiles at me. It’s the one that’s reserved only for me. The one that Mali calls her hazy smile. And just like that, I’m the same twenty-year-old that fell head over heels for the girl who broke all my damn rules like they never applied to her in the first place.

“Hey, you,” she says happily. “How was seeing your mom?”

Instead of taking the seat across from her, I walk around the table and sit beside her. Three feet is too much fucking space in between us.

“It was really good,” I reply, leaning over and kissing her temple.

Of course, that’s the exact moment Cam has to walk in. He grins teasingly, and I don’t even wait for him to open his mouth before I flip him off, making Laiken giggle. The sound of it sends a wave of euphoria straight through me.

As we sit through dinner, I pay extra attention to Laiken—watching the way she smiles and laughs with her family and with me. Before she left, she was broken. Just the shell of the woman I remembered. But while she was gone, she fixed herself, and it only made her stronger. And then the universe brought her back to me. It gave me a second chance at my happy ending, and I’d be stupid not to take it.

I might not trust her again yet, but after everything my mom said today, I think I want to try.

IT’S LATE BY THEtime we get back home. After dinner, we all sat around and exchanged funny stories, reminiscing about all the crazy things we’ve done over the years. Though, the most shocking was when Mrs. Blanchard admitted to knowing I was climbing up the roof and sneaking through Laiken’s skylight. But judging by the shock that was on Mr. Blanchard’s face, she never shared the wealth of information.

I should send her flowers for that.

“So, what’s in the box?” I ask Lai.

As we were leaving, her mom remembered that a package came with Laiken’s name on it. It’s a narrow box that’s probably about a foot long. I racked my brain the whole way home, trying to figure out what it is, but I came up empty.

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