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"You say with a level of drama as if he isn't here every few weeks."

"Rose!" His face lights up as heavy footsteps appear in the hallway. He nudges me aside to lean down and say hi.

I relax. He didn’t notice. Thank the universe. "Sure, we're coming."

"We?" he asks excitedly and glances up at me.

"Yeah, we." I point at the other three dogs gathering in the entranceway, staring at Evan with wagging tails. "I was about to let them out for one more potty round before going to sleep, so I'll combine the two."

"Yay!" He waits in the doorway as I put their harnesses and leashes on. Once they’re clipped in and ready, I hand Evan the leashes to Rose and Dorothy, and we trudge our way through the mud. The cabin is quite a way off from our main house, with no real paved way connecting the two, only a desire road, etched into the ground by Micah’s car. We follow it way past the barn, office space and the farm store, right next to the maple forest.

"How was your night with Kieran?"

"Good," I say way too quickly and with my voice an octave higher than usual. "It was good."

"Sorry again about the misunderstanding," he utters. And he means it, because otherwise he’d be joking a lot more about us spending the night together.

"Maybe I was also jumping to conclusions too quickly." I let out a deep sigh and shake my head. "Annoyingly enough, my loyalty to you appears to run quite deep.”

“And I'm thankful for it." He nudges me with his elbow. "Really though, I'm sorry if it came out wrong, but Kieran is a good friend of mine. And a stand-up guy." The glance he's casting my way turns pointed. "And I’m so over him. Just saying."

"Uh-huh." My cheeks fill with heat. Thankfully, he can't see them turning red in the dark.

"And he's bi." My eyes jump to him. "In case you want to know."

"Any particular reason you're telling me? Because I figured his sexuality out by the time you told me he was sleeping with half his university class and enumerated a bunch of names of both genders."

"Oh, you know." He shrugs with a mischievous grin. "Well, I thought you should have the info confirmed. He's very into women."

"He seems to be into everyone." Whenever I see him, he’s flirting with whoever is in his vicinity, after all.

"There you go again." He flicks my forehead.

"Ouch." I punch his upper arm in retaliation. "What was that for?"

"You're judging him way too early. Or at least without all the facts. Stop it."

"Are you trying to set me up with him?" I grab his sleeve and make him stop. "Seriously?"

He avoids looking at me. "I would never." His lie is betrayed by the twitching of the corner of his mouth. "Please, you can tell from a mile away he's got you in a chokehold. Trust me, I know the feeling."

"So do another five million people," I point out and click my tongue. "Get that smirk off your face. Hannah showed me his TikTok profile."

Even if I was finally brave enough to admit to myself and to Evan, and maybe even Kieran, that not only do I think he's insanely hot, but my heart also flutters whenever he directs one of his genuine smiles at me, it wouldn’t change a thing.

He has five million followers. He could probably have with barely as little effort as a fucking DM.

Why would he pick me? His ex's prickly sister, who has been kind of an asshole to him so far.

"You know, the whole TikTok thing doesn't mean much to him," Evan shrugs and evades a huge puddle. "It's a means to an end. You might not relate much because you love your job."

"Hell yes, I do."

"But you've never been homeless," he points out, and the words promptly make my stomach drop. "And never been kicked out of your childhood room before you were ready. Cut the guy some slack, sis."

"I know," I say with a sigh. “I’m trying.”

Rose appears next to us. Paws muddy. And the rest of her probably too. It’s hard to say in the dark. Of course, even with most of the ground frozen solid, she would find the one muddy spot to bathe in.