“I still feel bad I left you at the pool,” Lindsay said as she helped Maizie unload her things from the car.
“It’s all right. It was still a great trip.” Maizie shrugged. She was exhausted. Traffic had been horrible on the way home, and it was already six.
Maizie opened the front door and led Lindsay inside. It was dead silent. A rarity in this house.
“Where is everyone?” Lindsay asked.
“I don’t know.” Maizie dropped her bags and called out for her mom, but there was no response.
“I was kind of hoping Jayce would be here.” Lindsay looked down at her phone.
Maizie walked to the kitchen. There were always people in the kitchen. But instead of her brothers and dad, there were two red roses lying on the counter, each with a card tied to them.
“Linds, get in here.” Maizie picked up the flower with her name on it.
There is an outfit set out for you in your room. Text me when you’re ready.
Text who?
“Mine says the same thing,” Lindsay said, reading over her shoulder. “Do you think it’s the guys?”
“Who else could it be?” They ran to her room and easily spotted the outfits laid out for them.
Lindsay’s dress from the parade and Maizie’s favorite white sundress.
Excitement and dread rippled through her body at the same time.
She couldn’t let this go on with Christian all summer, only to fall apart when he left. But maybe, just for tonight, she could pretend there were no problems. No endings. No fears holding her back.
They took an extra thirty minutes to fix their hair and make-up, then Lindsay texted Jayce.
“He still hasn’t responded.” Lindsay paced the living room carpet. “Maybe it wasn’t them.”
“Who else would it be? My mom?”
Lindsay shrugged like it was a possibility. Maizie really didn’t want it to be a possibility.
A soft knock on the door startled them both.
Lindsay ran to get it, and Maizie watched as the front door revealed two boys dressed in suits.
Lindsay jumped into Jayce’s arms with a giggle, and then Christian stepped around them.
He looked even better than he had at the grad dance.
Christian stared at her across the entryway, the desire in his eyes visible despite the distance between them. He moved toward her, and she felt like she was in a fairytale. He was out-of-this-world handsome.
“You are breathtaking,” he said, reaching for her hand as he took her in slowly, from head to toe, his gaze like a gentle caress.
Maizie’s face flushed. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” she teased.
“I’m glad you’re back.” His voice dropped to a whisper.
“Me too.” Maizie bit her lip. “But what exactly is going on?”
“We are going on a date.” Christian’s fingers mingled with hers.
“I don’t remember you asking me.”
