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Some things she just couldn’t undo.

CHAPTER 16

On Wednesday evening, Marlowe stood in front of her mirror with a blue sweater in one hand and a red one in the other. She had just decided that nothing in her wardrobe looked remotely like something a successful business owner would wear when the doorbell rang. She glanced at her watch. Couldn’t be Jace. He wasn’t supposed to be here for another forty-five minutes.

Grandma called out, “Your boyfriend is here. And he didn’t come early to see me. Stop primping and come out.”

She wasn’t primping. She was panicking. She was questioning her life choices, which had become a far too frequent activity lately.

She tossed the sweaters on her bed and went out in her Yellowstone Do Not Pet the Fluffy Cows T-shirt.

Jace stood in the family room, his hands behind his back. Tall, handsome, and unattainable. The very reason for the far too frequent questioning recently. Really, it was going to be a relief when he left for California again. Okay, that was a complete lie, but one she needed to repeatedly tell herself because part of her brain had rebelled against common sense and was falling in love with him.

He smiled at her, a warm familiar grin. Several more of her brain cells quietly joined the rebellion. Falling in love wasn’t quite accurate, she realized. The deed was in the past tense. She’d already fallen.

“I have something for you,” he said.

Yeah. Pain, heartache, regrets. “What?” she asked brightly.

He kept one hand behind his back. The other held out a pink gift bag.

“What is it?” she asked, taking it from him.

“A school care package,” he said.

“Ah, you shouldn’t have.” She peeked inside and saw her favorite protein bars, the salted caramel kind. It also contained a bag of cheddar popcorn, a diet Dr Pepper, a paperback dictionary, and a little pink ball. She took the ball out for a better look. “What’s this?”

“A stress ball,” he said with a shrug. “I wasn’t sure what to actually put in a school care package. That was more your area of expertise.”

“It’s perfect. I can fidget with it if I’m stressed or chuck it at someone if I’m annoyed.”

“No to the second option. I’m usually the one you’re annoyed at.”

She laughed, placed the ball back into the bag, and pulled out the dictionary. “I feel like this ought to come with an explanation.”

“Yes. That’s for when the teacher starts throwing out words you don’t know. Maybe if he sees you whip out the dictionary every time, he’ll get a clue and explain terminology better.”

“Practical and passive-aggressive. This is so sweet of you. Thanks.” More brain cells were deserting to the wrong side by the second. “What else is behind your back?” She could see the corner of something sticking out near his hip.

He brought his other hand around to reveal a cork bulletin board. A piece of paper across the top read: Marlowe’s vision board. A row of colored pins lined the bottom. Nothing else was on it.

“Oh,” she said as she took it from him. “It’s empty. Is that an indictment or just an observation?”

“I came early so you’d have time to print out some pictures to put on it.” He sent her a knowing look. “I want to make sure you really do it. Picturing your goals will help you know what you’re working for, so the next time things get difficult you won’t want to quit.”

It was such a kind gesture. He’d thought of her and wanted to help. Her throat felt tight and she was afraid her words would waver. “You mean tonight at class. That’s the next time they’ll get difficult.”

“Then we’d better hurry and print out some pictures.”

And just like that, changing clothes for class didn’t seem as important. The two walked over to the kitchen table and scrolled through images on Marlowe’s laptop. They went through pictures of hair salons until Marlowe found one that was bright, beautiful, and cozy. Jace hit the print button and pulled a key from his pocket. “One day you’ll get the key to your own salon. Having something physical on your board will make it seem more real.” He handed it to her. “Pin it on.”

“What’s it actually a key to?”

“If I tell you, you’ll think about that when you see it instead of your salon.”

She pinned it on. “It’s not the key to your parents’ house, is it?”

“No.”