Only he would’ve preferred there to be some spark left in Stone’s eyes.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t there. And Nico had no idea how to get it to shine again.
Twenty-Eight
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
After leaving Stevie’s house yesterday morning, Stonehad put his spare time to good use. He started calling his cousins, requesting time to talk. Once he was able to nail that down, he’d put a few finishing touches on his business proposal.
While he focused on the critical task that would outline his future, he thought about Stevie and the conversation they’d had on Sunday night. Or rather, the heated words that had been exchanged. He wished more than anything that he could change the past so he didn’t have to hear the venom spew from her beautiful mouth. She hated him. Deep down, he knew she did, but despite all his wishful thinking, he wasn’t sure she could get past it. Maybe one day she would come around, but he got the feeling she was still pretending. Until she stopped doing that, progress may not even be an option.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to fix it, so he did what he usually did. He focused on what he could fix.
That was why he was in his truck, heading to the diner to meet Travis, Kaleb, and Sawyer. When he talked to him yesterday, Travis told him that a discussion wasn’t necessary—he had Travis’s blessing already—but Stone insisted on seeing him. Travis relented after a bit of persistence—something his cousin never would’ve done before the events that had changed his entire life.
As he was pulling into the diner parking lot, his phone rang. His caller ID flashed on the truck’s navigation screen, and he nearly ran over the parking stone.
“Hey,” he greeted, hitting the brake and putting the truck inpark.
“Hey back,” Stevie said, a smile in her voice. “Whatcha doin’?”
Stone tried to play it cool, to pretend he wasn’t shocked as shit that she had called him. Or that she seemed to be in a chipper mood. Up to now, he’d been the one to initiate all their phone calls and texts.
“Meetin’ my cousins for dinner. What’re you doin’?”
“Takin’ some sage advice and callin’ you.”
Stone smiled. He was sure it was the first real smile since their argument the other night. He’d been in a weird place since then, unsure how to move forward but unwilling to stop trying. This felt like an olive branch, and he wasn’t about to pass it up.
“I’m glad you did.”
“Really?”
The vulnerability he detected in her tone made his chest ache. “Yes, really. I miss you, Stevie.”
A brief pause filled the truck with silence before Stevie finally said, “I miss you, too.”
Stone stared at the diner. It was busy for a Tuesday night, but through the windows that lined the front, he could see several tables open.
“I’m gonna have dinner with Nico,” Stevie said after another long pause. “After, I was wonderin’ if I could come over.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be done here, but yeah. I’d like that.”
Another pause, followed by, “Stone, I want to spend the night. Just the two of us.”
He swallowed hard and shifted his gaze to the screen as though he would be able to see her. His chest expanded and filled with a longing so powerful he was grateful he was sitting down.
“Stone?”
“I’m here.” His voice was rougher than before. “And I’d love for you to spend the night.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
The smile in her voice returned. “Okay. I’ll see you in a coupla hours?”
“I’ll text you when I’m leavin’ here so you’ll know.”
