I should have known better. I’m just not the type for casual. That’s the last time?—
Just then, a notification dings on my phone.
From Cassie.
My heart starts to hammer.
Cassie:You up?
I stand up and look around.
Logan:Excuse me?
Just then, I hear a sound. Music, maybe. Coming from…the ocean?
No.
It’s “Stepping Stone,” the version the Dust Devils covered.
What the hell?
I can distinctly make out the lyrics:
I don’t wanna put my heart on a spire
Just to wind up another fleeting desire
Whereon earth is that sound coming from? I pace around my patio toward the ocean, then double back, walking around to the front of my house.
My jaw is on the floor at what I see.
It’s Cassie.
She’s wearing blue cowgirl boots, short shorts, a crop top, and big sunglasses.
A cowboy—cowgirl—hat to top it off.
And she’s holding up a gray, Bluetooth boombox like it’sThe Lion King,which is playing “Stepping Stone.”
“Hi,” she says with a grin. “Any chance there’s a hot cowboy who lives here?”
I can’t help but laugh.
“What onearthare you doing here?”
“Just happened to be passing through.”
“Passing through. You were passing through south of Tampa?”
She shrugs. “Yeah, you know. Just decided to go for a drive and…whoopsie. Must have turned off my GPS.”
My expression tightens. “No, seriously. What are you doing here?”
Her smile softens. “Mind if I come in? This cowgirl is awfully thirsty. My canteen ran out of water. And this Florida heat is something else.”
I swallow, letting a beat pass while I process.
She breaks the silence. “Can we…talk?”
