“I resisted at every step. Acted out in public. I thought if I became enough of a liability, they’d cut me loose.”
“Is that the truth behind all the bad rumors?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “Just like when we were kids, remember? My parents were always off somewhere—business trips, important meetings. And I thought . . . maybe if I got in enough trouble, they’d come home. Punish me. Yell. Anything.”
The memory stings more right now than it did back then. Funny how that works.
“You should’ve told me when I first asked you,” Maisie says quietly.
“I was afraid you’d think less of me. That you’d lump me in with all the rumors, all the worst headlines.” It feels good to be honest with her.
Her eyebrows lift. “Reject you . . . for being human?”
“For being a screwup,” I correct, a humorless laugh escaping. “For never figuring out how to be a grown-up.”
“Like when we were kids?” The corner of her mouth curves ever so slightly.
She might be the only woman who truly knows me, who saw the beginning of my down spiral to infamy and still hasn’t run away. “Yeah, I was afraid you’d think I never grew up.”
“You were pretty mean to me back then.”
“I know.” I pause, checking for a reaction. “You never thought about why?”
“You said it yourself,” she reminds me. “You were a jerk.”
Coming from her, that stings a lot more than I would like. I slow the car, veering onto the shoulder of a quiet stretch of road. The tires crunch softly on gravel as we come to a stop. To our right, tall trees sway in the afternoon breeze, casting dappled shadows across the dashboard. The only sound is the ticking of the cooling engine.
I shift in my seat to face her. I wasn’t this nervous even when performing in front of tens of thousands of people. “I was also just a kid trying to get your attention.”
“What?”
“You were the smartest girl in class. Kindest. And you dressed really cute.”
“I was a nerd,” she proclaims, but there’s a hint of pink in her cheeks.
“Not to me.”
Maisie looks a little flustered. I love that about her—how easily I can read her emotions.
“Why do you think I moved into your old neighborhood?”
She stares at me, lips slightly parted, eyes wide with disbelief.
“I didn’t know you lived with your parents, but I had hoped to run into you eventually.”
“What about the contract you insisted we sign?”
“That was me panicking you’d say no to us hanging out. With all the bad rumors about me swirling . . .”
Maisie looks away, focusing on something beyond the windshield. “Logan, we’re from different worlds. I’m just a small-town girl who likes peace and quiet. I can’t be trending.”
“It’ll pass,” I say softly, hoping I’m right. “The attention. The headlines. But us? We could last.” She doesn’t look convinced, her fingers now worrying at a loose thread on her blouse. I gotta do better. “Come away with me.”
Her head whips toward me. “What?”
“Just for a while. Let’s disappear. Just you and me.” This is it. My last chance to quell her doubts. “Let me show you how we could make it work.”
I reach for her hand. She doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t say yes either.
