"Thursday," he says.
"Thursday's perfect."
He nods once, like a decision made, and goes back to his bourbon. But he smiles.
There it is. The actual smile. The one the shadow has been standing in for all night.
I am in so much trouble.
My suite is absurd. Fireplace, soaking tub, cashmere throw blankets, floor-to-ceiling windows with a mountain view that makes me feel like I'm sleeping inside a snow globe. After the day I’ve had, I should be asleep the moment I reach it.
I am not asleep.
I'm lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling, listening to the wind off the mountain, thinking about a water glass getting refilled without asking, about the way his hands looked working those gloves off on the side of a mountain road. I’m thinking about Anthony talking to calm a frightened animal with nothing but his voice and his patience.
About the way he said my full name. Maya Daniels.
I grab my phone.
Me: Going to his ranch Thursday
The chat detonates.
HOLLY: I KNOW.
EMILY: She is GONE.
CHLOE: This is already a love story I'm not taking questions.
LILY: Wait what happened at dinner? I need a full debrief.
MADISON: She went to dinner and now she's going to a ranch. That's character development.
AMBER: What kind of ranch?
MAYA: Wildlife rehabilitation. It's for CONTENT.
EMILY: She typed that so fast.
LILY: CUTE OUTFIT!
MAYA: It's a ranch. There are animals. I will be in barn clothes.
HOLLY: Cute barn clothes.
CHLOE: The cutest barn clothes.
MADISON: You're going to fall in love on a ranch in Colorado.
MAYA: That is the most dramatic thing anyone has ever said to me.
HOLLY: Madison is not wrong.
MAYA: Goodnight, everyone
EMILY: She didn't say Madison was wrong.
LILY: Noted
