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Calder is there a moment later entering from the driver’s side, just as the dark sky opens up with rain.

I release a heavy breath. “So, you have me in your truck. What now?”

“Now,” he says, starting the engine, “I take you home.”

I sit back, watching as he pulls out of the lot. “I live down Conall Street,” I tell him. “At the run down cabin looking place.”

From here, I notice his brows furrow. “That doesn’t sound safe.”

I stiffen. “The house belonged to my grandfather,” I snap. “It’s all I have left of him.”

Calder’s features soften as he looks at me. “I’m sorry,” he replies softly. I don’t say a word until he looks back at the road, but even then, I try to keep my mouth shut.

“Look,” he starts, taking the wet roads carefully. The rain comes down harder, batting the windshield dangerously. “I get I didn’t make the best first impression. But Iris means a lot to me. To a lot of people. And if she says she wants a grand funeral planned by the two of us, then I’m sure as hell going to give her that.” He glances at me but turns away just as quickly. “Now, I will warn you, she’s doing this for a reason.”

Frowning, my resolve loosens. I try to blame curiosity, and not because I’m comfortable with him. “Why?”

“She likes to play…matchmaker, sometimes,” he admits hesitantly. “Like, once upon a time, everyone called her Cupid.”

I tense up immediately. Something rises within me, an emotion I can’t identify. It doesn’t quite feel like panic, but it’s not far from it.

This is the last thing I wanted when I came to Willow Ridge. I wanted a quiet fresh start. To find my footing and forget about what happened back home. I’m not looking forloveor anything like it, and I don’t want it forced on me, either.

But as soon as I think it, guilt washes through me. I shift, turning in my seat to stare at Calder. His eyes remain locked on the dark, rainy night. The light of the dash isn’t much to see by, but despite how dull it is, it manages to highlight the sharp line of his jaw, the slight bump in his nose. There’s the start of a beard lining his jaw, dark hair covering his cheek down to his chin.

I don’t want to, but my heart flutters when his eyes flicker to mine. In the dark, with his words still hanging in the air, I still blush.

I draw in a deep breath, but don’t take my eyes off him. “I need you to tell me exactly what you suspect,” I say, voice low. “No beating around the bush. Tell me everything.”

Calder shifts, maybe a little uncomfortably. But I don’t get the feeling that he’s lying or intends to. It’s a little strange, but regardless of only knowing him for a day—if that—I do trust him.

“I think Iris is trying to set us up,” he tells me. “That’s the feeling I get. And the wedding comment? That, to me at least, was a hint. She wants to witness one soon.”

My stomach does a little flip as his words sink in. It’s like my worst nightmare wrapped up with a childhood dream. Only, itfeels worse because my grandfather isn’t here. He’d always been part of the fantasy of what it would be like to get married.

Of course, that usually meant falling in love with the right guy, doing it all nice and slow. Maybe not being a virgin at the time.

But here I am, sitting in the truck of a virtual stranger, wondering why my new charge suddenly wants us to not only get together, but also get married before she dies.

I can read between the lines of what he’s saying—and I don’t like it.

“That is entirely audacious,” I reply, scoffing. My heart pounds from all the different, conflicting emotions rushing through me. “And delusional.”

Who in their right mind says that to a complete stranger?

Calder pulls into the driveway of the cabin, but he doesn’t shut the engine off. He doesn’t even look at me when he says, “Just think about it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

I fall for you, I think.And you break me more than I already am.

But I don’t say it aloud. I just sigh. “Thanks for the ride home. Really.”

“See you in the morning, trouble.” He winks, that charming smirk falling into place.

I shake my head as I slip out of the truck. The entire walk up to the cabin, my stomach does flips, and I consider what he says.

It’s ridiculous, and yet, it stays replaying in my mind, even as I try to sleep.

Match making. What have I gotten myself into?