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He looks like he belongs on a white horse, wielding a sword.
“Are they burning or something?” he asks. “The pies?”
“No, they’re fine.”
“Oh. I thought for sure because of the way you busted in here that they were ready to come out. Was gonna see if you needed a hand.”
“Nope. All good.”
“You’re upset about something.”
“I’m not.”
“Maddison, come on. You are.”
“Really, I’m fine. I just needed a minute.”
“Okay… you sure?” He walks around the counter so he’s standing beside me. Then he places a hand on my shoulder. “Promise?”
I look into his eyes.
Behind his glasses, the chocolate brown irises are flecked with gold. His nose is straight and perfect, his jaw strong. His hand is warm on my shoulder, and we’re standing closer than we should be.
In his bedroom, when we were kidding around, he wrapped his arms around me. I let him hold me because it felt so good. But here in the diner, I’m not sure we should be standing this close.
Hana’s right outside.
Roxie or another of my advice-slinging family members could walk into this kitchen at any moment, and this would only fuel their gossiping about me and Nick. And, it’s not easy to be this close to him.
I want to reach out and touch him in the ways I shouldn’t. Touch his arm, or his chest, or reach for his hand, pull him toward me…
I want him to lean in and kiss me.
So, I take a step back. Then another.
Fight for him.
That’s what my family recommended.
But they don’t know the entire story. They don’t know that we’ve overstepped the boundaries of our friendship before and it was a total disaster. They don’t know that this time around, we’ve both decided to play it safe.
“We better get back out there, hm?” I say, avoiding his eyes.
“Yeah. Guess we should.”
We fall into step together as we head for the swinging doors.
“Who are you up against?” he asks.
“Um… Roxie. I’m going to play Roxie.”
“Hope you win.” He holds his hand up to me, palm out.
I give him a high five. “Thanks. Hope you have a fun game with Hana.”
The words are bitter on my tongue. I push through the doors, and Nick follows.
Chapter 15
