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Chapter 15

Phoebe

Jonathan had given Phoebe his parents’ address and instructions to meet him there at six p.m.

“Don’t forget about the dress code,” he’d said before they’d parted. Apparently, it hadn’t occurred to him that Phoebe might not have packed formal wear in her suitcase.

Phoebe stood before Arden’s small closet, flicking through hangers. Arden’s wardrobe was adorably teacher coded: brightly colored cardigans and soft, flowing pants. Among the comfortable clothes, Phoebe found a dark green sparkly gown that screamed Christmas, almost as if it had been waiting for her. But she didn’t dare even remove it from the hanger without asking Arden first.

She flopped onto Arden’s bed, wondering how she was going to while away the time before the Lees’ dinner. She felt like the little-kid version of herself who thought that an hour was an endlessly long time to wait.

Thinking about the fact that she was about to go to Jonathan’s parents’ house for the first time—about the fact that she and Jonathan Lee were reunited—made her sort of dizzy with happiness. Disbelief and happiness.

She’d thought about him enough over the years to come to the conclusion that she’d been an idiot. When she was twenty-two, she felt like she had endless opportunities ahead of her, for work and adventure and friendship and love. She didn’t know how to spot a rare, incredible thing when it was in her grasp. She didn’t have that perspective yet. So she just… let it go.

But she’d never actually considered the possibility that they might be friends again someday. She’d figured he was part of her college experience, something magical and fleeting that she would always remember fondly but could never get back.

And now, here she was. Counting down the minutes until she needed to get dressed to go to his parents’ house. To sit next to him all evening amid the warm glow of a holiday dinner, wine flowing and family chattering all around them.

Phoebe sat up, startled by the sudden fluttering of her heart.

Then her phone rang.

“Hi, Sam! How’s it going?”

“How’s Florida?” her brother asked.

“Wait, I asked you first. I heard you took Arden to the party.”

Sam paused. “Yep.”

“What? You sound weird. Did something bad happen?”

“Not bad, no.”

The tilting of her brother’s voice told her this was going to be an interesting conversation. Phoebe jumped up and went outside, striding off across Arden’s property. Juicy conversations always made her want to walk and talk.

“Tell me everything.”

“I don’t know if I should.”

“Sam!” Phoebe roared, scaring a couple of birds from a nearby tree.

“Okay, well, I’ll tell you, but… don’t let her know that I told you.” Sam took a breath. “I think I like her.”

Phoebe stopped in her tracks. “You think… you like her?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know I do. She’s awesome. And beautiful. I know you haven’t met her, but trust me.”

“I’ve seen her picture.” Phoebe resumed walking, unable to stop smiling to herself. “Sam, this is adorable. I haven’t heard you say that about anyone in forever. Do you think she feels the same way?”

“I think she definitely might.”

He sounded so smug that Phoebe demanded, “Did you kiss her?”

“A gentleman never tells.”

“Oh my God, Sam. I cannot believe this. Did anything else happen?”