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“Maisey!” My sister is yelling at me, something she rarely does. “Who are you talking to?”

“Fine, it’s Tucker,” I say with a sigh, waiting on his response. I’m a jumble of nerves, anticipation coursing through my veins as I wait.

And wait and wait.

“Are you going to hook up with him while he’s here?” Brooke asks, sounding downright hopeful.

“I don’t plan on it,” I tell her, because that’s the absolute truth.

But maybe…it wouldn’t be such a bad idea?

Okay, clearly I’ve lost my mind.

Another buzz and I read his response, unable to contain the smile that spreads across my face.

As friendly as you want to be pretty girl

Oh. Swoon. He used to call me that all the time when we were together. Pretty girl. I should be offended. I’m a grown woman, not some silly little teenage girl who hangs on Tucker McCloud’s every word.

Yet I can’t help the giddy feeling deep inside me at him calling me that. At the idea of us…what? Messing around? Having a fling? Getting back together?

We can’t get back together. This is all temporary. He’ll leave eventually. My home is here. His is in San Francisco. He has this entirely different life, a life that doesn’t come close to resembling mine, which means we’d never work. And he knows it.

I know it too.

Another text from Tucker appears.

Have you had dinner yet?

No.

Want to have dinner with me?

I contemplate his invitation, ignoring Brooke, who’s going on about reuniting with old loves and how it can work out no matter what, but she and Brody are different. Brody was willing to change his entire life for her to make it work.

Tucker doesn’t even have that option. He’s a professional football player. Why would he toss away his career to move back to his hometown to what? Hang out with me? There are no guarantees in life, meaning there’s no guarantee we’d work. I can’t imagine he’d throw his entire life and career away to try one more time with me.

I wouldn’t want him to do that. It’s asking for too much.

Brooke is suddenly standing right next to me, reading over my conversation with Tucker. “You should say yes. Go to dinner with him,” she encourages gently and I send her a worried look.

“Really?” I almost want her to tell me not to do it. So I can blame someone else on my decision.

Deep down, though, I want to go to dinner with him. I want to catch up, relive old memories, laugh and talk about people we used to know in school. I want to hear what his life is like since he started playing for the NFL, and I want to know if he’s truly happy or not. I want to know all the things that make Tucker who he is now.

My phone rings, startling us both, and we start to laugh.

“Guess he’s anxious to know your answer,” Brooke says when she sees his number flash on the screen.

The moment I answer his call, Tucker’s deep voice is right there, murmuring into my ear, making me shiver. “Come on, Maise. Go to dinner with me.”

“All right,” I say, my voice soft as I turn my back on Brooke.

I don’t want her looking at me while I’m talking to Tucker. This moment, this short conversation feels too big, too intimate, to share it with anyone else but the two of us.

“Really? You want to?” He sounds surprised.

And excited.


Tags: Monica Murphy Forever Yours Romance