DECEMBER 21
CHAPTER 17
GEORGE
I grope blindlyon the nightstand for my phone to silence the alarm. The sleep mask seems to have done the trick. That or all the excitement yesterday just knocked me out. Ipassed out cold right after sending those emails.
Now that I’m sort of awake, anxiety gnaws at my stomach, and I sit up to check my inbox. God, I hope Owen will be understanding about my little incident last night.
Sure enough, there’sa reply waiting.
From: Owen Wilde
To: George Knight
Date: December 20, 10:59 PM
Re: NOT an emergency
Thanks for letting me know. So you met Allie, huh? Yeah, you’re going to want to stay on her good side. She’s a stickler for regulations, but she’s kept us from burningdown the town more than once, so we definitely listen to her.
Seriously, though, no sweat—it could happen to anyone.
I let out a snort.I very much doubt that.
Just for future reference, it sounds like you might have tried to light a fire with wet wood, which, if you did, is kind of a no-no.
Owen
I findmyself smiling at the email.
“No-no.” Cute.
Also… No, I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t.
I should just leave it alone.
But….
CHAPTER 18
OWEN
From: George Knight
To: Owen Wilde
Date: December 21, 8:12 AM
Re: NOT an emergency
I don’t think we know each other well enough to be discussing the wetness of our wood.
Alone in George Knight’skitchen, I feel my face turn what must be crimson.
Before I can even begin to consider how I could possiblyrespond to that, another email comes in.
From: George Knight
