Page 145 of Romeo

My eyebrows went up. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You can’t just text a girl and expect her to fall at your feet.”

“You think my charm has limits?”

“I know it does.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Twenty bucks says I can make her smile in five texts.”

Jack laughed. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.”

He studied me for a second before reaching for his beer. “You’re on.”

I picked up my phone.

Fiona had been on my mind even before Jack opened his mouth. She usually was. The difference lately was how much had begun slipping through the careful boundaries I’d spent months trying to keep in place.

Sunday mornings with coffee and waffles, because that was her preference.

A secret she wasn’t ready to tell me.

I hadn’t needed to know the secret to hear the fear beneath it. That bothered me more than whatever she might eventually say.

I opened her messages.

Me: I need you to settle something before someone gets hurt.

Ma Belle: That sounds ominous

I glanced at Jack, his smug grin getting bigger.

Me: Jack says my charm has limits.

Ma Belle: Jack is right

Jack saw my face and laughed. “That didn’t go well, did it?”

“Shut the fuck up.” My attention returned to the screen.

Me: Betrayal from Virginia.

Ma Belle: What did you do?

I smiled because she knew me entirely too well.

Me: Told him I could make you smile in five texts.

Ma Belle: You’ve already used four

I laughed. She was playing along—that was all I needed to know.

“Damn,” I muttered.

Jack’s grin widened. “Your girl giving you trouble?”

I ignored him and started typing. I had one message left. Jack expected some bullshit line polished by years of practice. The problem was, Fiona had become nearly immune to those. If I wanted the smile, I knew exactly how to answer.