Twenty minutes later, headlights swept across the driveway. Grant met Riley at her car, and they fell into step together, walking the familiar path around the property.
The night was cold and clear, and stars scattered across the sky like someone had spilled sugar.
"I'm sorry," Riley said after a while. "For calling and freaking out."
"Don't be. I get it."
"It's just a lot."
"It is."
"Everyone's so...invested."
"They always have been. We were Pine Valley's golden couple in high school."
Riley glanced at him. "Were we?"
"You didn't know?"
"I knew people liked us together. I didn't know it was a whole thing."
Grant huffed a laugh. "It was definitely a thing. When we broke up, half the town acted like someone died."
"Oh god."
"Yeah. So now that we're 'back together,' they're treating it like Christmas came early."
"Literally." Riley shoved her hands in her pockets. "What are we going to do?"
"Keep going. Like we planned."
"And when it ends?"
Grant's chest tightened. "We'll deal with it then."
"They're going to be devastated."
"Maybe. But it's better than the alternative."
"Which was?"
"You showing up alone. Me being everyone's plus-one. Both of us embarrassed. Miserable."
Riley stopped walking. "Are you miserable now?"
Grant turned to face her. Snow clung to her hair, her cheeks pink from the cold. She looked like something out of a dream.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm not."
"Me either." She bit her lip. "That's the problem."
"What is?"
"This doesn't feel so fake anymore, Grant. With all the town gossip… It feels—" She stopped.
"Real," he finished.
"Yeah."
