Page 43 of Forever After Fall

Waiting for you.

Deal.

But I mean it. Only me.

Wasn’t that the point of the Kansas girl costume getting burned?

Didn’t burn it yet.

But I will.

Technically the same costume as one someone’s seen you in before. Even if that one was a little more…

Wholesome?

They were both wholesome in their own way.

I grin down at my phone.

ANSON:

So still a deal?

Still a deal.

My stomach tumbles again. This time it’s with butterflies at the thought of us taking another step over our imaginary line. Anything that leads me a little closer to merging the two Ansons I know, the one I can count on and the one I can’t stop thinking about, has my heart skipping beats and daydreaming about other possibilities. Like a future beyond Halloween.

NINETEEN

Anson

“So how long has that been going on?” Bo asks when I look up from my phone.

“Not sure what you mean.”

“You know exactly who and what I mean.” Bo gives me a look that tells me I’m not fooling anyone.

We haven’t talked about the incident in Bristol’s shop the other day, but the look he gave me the next time I saw him made it clear he knew I wasn’t alone in the changing room.

I refuse to answer him for a long minute hoping he’ll drop the inquiry. I’m not that lucky.

“You’ve been grinning at your phone like you just won a lottery.” He prods again.

“Don’t you dare say a word to Hazel.”

“I would never. Cade on the other hand…” He smirks and lets me know he’s kidding.

“I mean it.”

“I gotta share the gossip with someone.” The quirk of his brow and the grin he’s trying to suppress tell me he’s having way too much fun with this. I worry he might not actually be able to contain it.

“Not even Ramsey,” I warn, worried about a Stockton finding out more than anyone else.

“Ramsey might as well be Hazel these days. You know they tell each other everything. I’ve barely got anyone to tell my secrets to anymore.”

“It’s probably for the best.” I shoot him a look.

I love Bo, but I hoped he’d slow down and figure things out for himself sooner rather than later. Decide what he really wanted and work toward it. He’s got some of the big things down—the house and the business. But I’m not sure he’s found the happiness I wish he would. And neither of us is getting younger.