I rolled my eyes, not surprised for a second that my dad and his big mouth had already told my mom everything.
“Let me guess, your best advice is to say sorry?”
“No, it’s to stop being a dumbass, actually,” she said, crossing her arms. “That girl’s the only one strong-willed enough to putup with your bullshit, and you managed to screw it all up before it even started.
So, sure, you could apologize till the cows come home, Jace. But something tells me getting back in Cassie’s good graces is gonna take a lot more than a couple ‘I’m sorries.’”
I stood there, nodding my head. My mom was right. The problem was, I had no idea where to start. I didn’t even know what to say to her to get her to forgive me, let alone what to do.
“Whatever you do, better make it come from the heart,” she said before walking away, disappearing back into the crowd of people on the dance floor.
My first idea was to send her a bunch of flowers. Was Cassie a roses kind of girl, or maybe she liked tulips or sunflowers better? Hell if I knew.
But deep down, I knew even a bouquet of the best roses this side of the Mississippi wouldn’t get me anywhere with her. She’d probably look at them once and toss them in the trash.
Liam walked up to me, playfully punching me in the arm.
Liam was my childhood best friend. I met him for the first time in middle school, and we’d been basically inseparable ever since. He knew all the skeletons in my closet, and I knew his.
So he knew exactly why I was standing here staring off into space, trying my best not to seem so distracted.
“After we leave here, I was thinking about going to Maggie’s and grabbing a bite. You wanna come with?”
“Anything to get away from Cassie Blake and that damn dress she’s wearing.”
“Killing ya, huh?”
“Just put me six feet under already, will you?” I begged, stomping off like a toddler going to time-out.
After saying goodbye to Colt and Ellie, Liam and I hopped in his truck, headed for food. Nothing cheered me up like a greasy cheeseburger and crinkle-cut fries.
“You managed to pull off an entire day around Cassie without pissing her off to the point that she broke your other foot, so that seems like a win,” Liam joked, pulling into the gravel lot in front ofMaggie’s Diner.
“As soon as we walked out of that place, I let out the deepest sigh of relief I probably ever had in my life. I spent the entire day walking on eggshells. If I ruined Ellie’s day, Colt would’ve kicked my ass—followed by my mom, Molly, then Ellie herself.”
“Your sister has never been afraid of a fight, that’s for sure,” Liam said, his smile extra wide for some reason.
“Maybe if we’re real nice, Maggie will bust out the peanut butter pie from the back that she likes to pretend she doesn’t have hidden in the fridge,” I said, pulling the door open, the smell of cooking food encasing us as we made our way to our usual booth in the back.
“Special occasions call for special pie,” Liam said, sliding into the booth, scanning the room for all the exits like every cop who walks into a room does.
“Don’t worry, we left the danger back at that wedding venue,” I laughed.
“You can never be too careful.”
“What can I get you two cuties?” the waitress said, smacking extra hard on her gum.
“I’ll take the special, please,” Liam ordered, not even opening the menu.
“I’ll take a cheeseburger and crinkle-cut fries,” I said, handing both menus back to her before she walked away.
“You broke in that cabin of yours yet and brought a lady back to it?” Liam asked, giving me an exaggerated wink.
“Hell no. Last time I went out on a date, all that chick did all night was talk about her damn self. Kept going on about her job and her dog. Something else about how her Cancun vacation got canceled last second and it waslike the end of her life as sheknew it. After that, I tuned her out until the waitress brought us the check, then I bounced and got the hell out of there.”
“How many times did Cassie talk about herself when you guys went out on your date together?”
“It wasn’t a date,” I reminded him. “And for your information, not a single time. We talked about normal shit—like our similar taste in music and sports. We even talked about serious stuff like life and our goals. But you know how the ending goes, so let’s change the subject, OK?” I begged.
