Page 55 of Making New Plans

“Yes, ma’am.”

Coffin-like silence rang in my ear. A coffin filled with everything we should say to each other, that we wanted to. But each thing would cause a ripple of arguments, which would then dredge up things in the past that should remain buried.

“Tomorrow night then, Chloe.”

“Bye, Mom.”

We ended the call. Forgetting where I was for a moment, I laid back on Hunter’s bed. Even after I thought about how inappropriate it was for me to be lying on his bed, I took a moment to close my eyes and inhale deeply.

His rich, almost chocolatey scent mixed with the smallest hints of salt and mint did wonders to calm my mind. My breathing slowed. My pulse steadied. Would this be how I’d feel waking up next to him? I’d seriously reconsidered after a long night of tossing and turning. I’d felt like a to-do list wasn’t completely checked off or like I’d forgotten to add crucial notes to my planner. Like I’d missed something.

I hadn’t even answered any of my friends’ texts, begging for details, beyond a simple “details later.”

I registered the sound of the doorknob turning a split second before I launched off the bed and the door opened.

Hunter stopped dead at the sight of me wildly whipping his bedsheets around the room.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice deep with curiosity.

“Oh, you know, cleaning your room, stripping your bed.” I heaved an armful of his sheets into the cleaning cart I’d parked next to his table.

He stepped into the room then turned back as if to close the door but then thought better of it and left it open. “I can see that, but you really don’t need to. I should’ve put the sign on the door. I can take care of it myself.”

I smiled, brushing hair out of my eyes. “Of course. I mean, you know how at this point. Benefits of training a guest, I guess.” I chuckled awkwardly at my lame joke.

His eyes wandered around the room like he was searching for things out of place.

“I didn’t snoop, I swear.”

He assessed me a moment before his lips relaxed into a small smile. “Good. Wouldn’t want you to find my stash of extra shampoo bottles and Milky Ways.”

“Milky Ways?”

He shrugged. “One of my weaknesses.”

I grinned. “Noted.”

We shifted around for a moment before he blurted out, “Why does your mom want me to come to dinner tomorrow night?”

I blanched, all panic buttons pushed. “What?”

“I ran into her about fifteen minutes ago in town, and she invited me to dinner tomorrow night. She said you’d be there.”

Nice. Good one, Mom. Lure Hunter to dinner before even bothering to strong-arm me.

I sighed and rubbed an ache under my left eyebrow. “I’m sorry about that. You really don’t have to go.”

“I’m going.”

I looked up in surprise. His expression was completely serious.

“But why?” I sputtered. “You have no idea what these dinners are like. Imagine eating dinner with a mob boss slash lawyer on top of a minefield. And the only nice part about it is the bread rolls she serves with every meal.”

His dimple emerged for a millisecond, but he stepped away from me to rifle through some papers on his table. I hadn’t looked through them, but I caught sight of something that looked like a sketch. Had he drawn it?

“I think I’ll survive,” he said, stowing the papers in a folder and facing me again.

“But why?” I pressed.

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