"Thanks," I said again. My vocabulary had suddenly shrunk to one word.
Common Thread was a ten-minute walk. Fifteen if I went slow. I was early. Way too early. Desperately, obviously early.
I walked anyway.
The Sleeping Giant was visible across the bay, dark against gray sky and ice. My breath fogged in the air, and somewhere across the street a snow blower roared to life.
Thunder Bay in January—beautiful and brutal in equal measure.
My phone buzzed.
Jake:You're not allowed to leave town.
Jake:Also you got this
Jake:Also if he's mean I'll fight him
I smiled and shoved my phone back in my pocket.
The Common Thread's windows glowed warm against the gray afternoon, and I saw people inside—students with laptops, a couple sharing a sandwich, and Margaret from the yarn store holding court near the back with Edith and the rest of her knitting circle.
At a table by the window, with broad shoulders in a dark jacket, was Rhett. He was turning his coffee cup in slow circles, watching the door. Not his phone. Not the street. The door.
He was early too.
He looked up as I approached and smiled. Not the polite kind. Something warmer. Real.
My heart began to race.
I could turn around and text him that something came up. It would save us both from what was about to unfold.
Or I could walk through that door and find out if he was brave enough to want all of me.
And if I were brave enough to let him try.
I pulled open the door. The bell chimed. Warm air hit my face along with the smell of coffee and cinnamon rolls.
Rhett stood as I walked toward him, and his smile filled his entire face. "Hey."
"Hey," I somehow made it to the table without falling.
This was happening. Right now.
I pulled out the chair and sat.
Chapter four
Rhett
Ipicked the window table.
Twenty-seven minutes early, coffee already cooling in front of me, and I'd folded the same napkin under the wobbly table leg three times. My phone sat face-up next to the mug—his text still visible.
Hog:Yeah. Been thinking about it since midnight.
I'd read it at least a dozen times. Still didn't know what kind of thinking he meant.
The door opened. Two students stumbled in, looking like they'd been awake since the new year started. Not him.
