Page 66 of A Thousand Second Chances

I don’t let him off the hook that easily. “You realize it doesn’t even matter, right? Unless by some miracle we break the time loop this cycle, your bank account will never feel that hit.”

Hethunkshis glass back on the table. “It was symbolic!”

“Uh-huh…”

I eye him, and he groans. “Yeah, yeah. Rub it in how ridiculous I was being.”

The server returns with Chris’ card, and he appends his signature to the final bill before standing. As I join him, I note the tip he wrote in, and my eyebrows shoot up. “Holy shit, that’s one hell of a tip.”

He shrugs on his coat. “Well, like you said—the only way it matters is if this is our last day here, so I figure, why not sweeten the pot a little with a bribe to karma.”

I chuckle dutifully, but inside, my guts squirm like they usually do at the thought of all this ending. Not that I don’t still want to break free. I do. It’s just, somewhere in all these repetitions, I’ve started to enjoy myself. And looking across at Chris’ familiar face, his firm cheekbones and silky black bangs and round hazel eyes, I can’t fool myself anymore into pretending I don’t know why.

Without giving myself time to second-guess what I’m doing and chicken out, I reach over and snag Chris’ hand. His breath catches, eyes staring at our locked grip.

“Perce? What—”

“Come on,” I say, tugging him toward the exit. “The night is still young. If we’re going to tempt the universe with a date, then we’re going to make damn sure we do it right!”

twenty-seven

Chris

I let Percy dragme out of the restaurant and onto the starlit street, my mind still reeling.

What the hell just happened?

Dinner had been a disaster. We’d barely been able to say a word to each other without cringing, and I’m sure even the poor servers could’ve cut the awkwardness with a knife. I swear I caught one woman at a neighboring table giving me a sympathetic smile like she wanted to reach over, pat my head, and whisperpoor thing.

Then, to top it all off, we’d argued over the bill. Which, as Percy so kindly pointed out, was ridiculous. Not only is it a pretty stupid thing to get so worked up over in the first place, itdoublydoesn’t matter since money is meaningless as long as we’re trapped in a time loop.

But that abysmal dinner had left me so on edge that I’d seized the first opportunity I could to unleash my frustration. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted our date to go well until I was sittingthere, watching it crumble around me. And not only because it had been my plan, though that’s part of it.

I’d just thought…well, it doesn’t matter what I’d thought or hoped or whatever. The whole stupid thing had been an enormous mistake. Trying to force something to happen between us will only lead to more heartache.

Except…

Except now, we’re standing outside the restaurant, and Percystillhasn’t let go of my hand. “Look,” he says, gesturing down Main Street with his free hand.

I follow his gaze and hiss in a breath. For the first time since arriving on Mackinac Island, I reel beneath the full impact of its charm. During the day, it’s easy to get lost in the touristy shops and seas of screaming kids. But here at night, with the crowds thinned out, the old-fashioned streetlights illuminating the cobblestones and white clapboard buildings, and not a single car engine to be heard, it’s downright magical.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper. He squeezes my fingers. I’m not sure if he means to do it or if he’s as enraptured by the moment as I am, but either way, I squeeze back.

“I’d sort of forgotten why I fell in love with this place as a kid,” he admits, eyes wide as he slowly pans up and down the street before turning to smile at me. “It’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been. It’s special.”

I swallow and nod, but it’s his face I’m looking at now, not the town, no matter how idyllic it might be. “Yes. It is.”

We hold each other’s gaze for a long moment, and my breath quickens as Percy’s eyes half-close, his lips parting slightly as he shifts closer. Almost like he wants me to—

Hooves clomp over cobblestones, and we both spin in unison to see a literal carriage twinkling with string lights pull up outside the restaurant. A man with bushy eyebrows dressed in a heavy black coat and wide hat smiles down at us.

“You boys care for a ride?” he calls.

“Um…” I glance at Percy, but he’s staring at the carriage with something akin to wonder. “We don’t have anywhere we need to go.”

The man chuckles and reaches out to pat the horse’s mane. “Why, that’s the best time to go for a ride! I can do a slow loop around downtown, give you a chance to relax and take in the island at night. What do you say?”

Sometime in the last minute or so, Percy had dropped my hand. My fingers feel cold without his warm touch. I glance at him, and he gives me a little shrug, but I’m not fooled. He might be feigning nonchalance, but his excitement is palpable.