I gesture to the sidewalk, and we fall into an easy stroll as we walk together.
“So there’s one thing we need to clarify,” she says.
“What’s that?” I wrack my brain, trying to remember if I said or did something I wasn’t supposed to.
But Summer turns to me with a playful smile spread across her lips. “You get shoutouts from women in parades?”
I laugh. “Yes, apparently so.”
“I wish I had known that before I made a complete fool of myself in front of my entire family and every other person in earshot.”
“I thought it was cute.” Notcute.It was cute, but she’s my brother’s girlfriend, so probably not how I should describe the moment.
“Did you know that woman?”
“Nope. Never seen her before in my life.”
“Then how did she recognize you?”
I smile, eyeing her. “You’ve never seen my YouTube channel before, have you?”
“No.” A guilty laugh puffs out, dotting the air with her warm breath. “I’m sorry. I haven’t.”
“That’s fine.”
Am I a little disappointed that Summer hasn’t looked me up? Nevermind. I’m not answering that.
“Are you, like, a ‘big’deal in the daredevil world?” Her use of finger quotes is mildly offensive.
“Abigdeal?” I smile while simultaneously shaking my head in disbelief. I’ve never had to prove my coolness factor to a woman before. They just kind of already know.
“Yeah, like, do you have…what did Tommy call it?” She zones out, thinking for a second.
“Followers?” I offer.
“Yes, followers. Do you have followers?” Her voice lowers like she’s afraid to ask in case I don’t. “You know, besides your mom and the woman on the float.”
I flip around, walking backward while I laugh at the irony of the conversation.
“It’s okay if nobody follows you. I think it’s great that you still do what you love.”
“Tell you what.” I lean into her with a smug expression, my face inches from hers. She stops walking, gazing at me with those expressive blue eyes. “How about you look me up sometime and then let me know what you think?”
She swallows. “Look you up?”
“That’s right.” There’s an edge of cockiness to my voice, and I don’t even care.
“Okay.” She steps around me, distancing herself as she continues our walk. “Maybe I will.”
I turn on my heels and catch up to her. “I do think it’s kind of interesting, though. You expect Justin to know every little thing about your family, your brothers-in-law, and your eight nieces and nephews, but you don’t know anything about hisoneidentical twin brother.”
Her brows draw together as she shrugs. “Well, I’m super close with my family.”
“And Justin and I aren’t close?”
She turns her eyes to me. “Are you?”
“Not right now.” I drop my head, embarrassed about how bad that looks to someone like Summer, who lives for every second with her family. “But that’s one of the reasons I came home. I thought we should spend some time together, work on our relationship.”
