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FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 41- Lincoln
I hadn’t heard from Hannah in twenty-four hours. I’d sent her four texts and had finally called her late before I’d gone to bed, but the call had gone straight to voicemail.I laid in bed that night, my mind working its way slowly through all the various reasons why Hannah had gone silent, and then throwing up evidence to support the idea that I hadn’t gotten it all wrong all over again. Even my mother thought there was something real between us.Had the muppet appeared in his nice truck with his shiny hair and swept her off her feet so easily? Was everything we’d said to one another nothing more than words, easily spoken, easily forgotten? Had I somehow misinterpreted Hannah’s words or actions?When daylight began to stretch across the sky, I was already up, sitting on the tiny balcony facing the parking lot outside my building, a cup of coffee in my hand and my mind dark. It was times like this when I really didn’t enjoy being myself. When my own mind felt alien to me, like it was w
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 41.1
“You learn,” he said simply. “Let your tongue to decide. The grapes are ready? Or no, they need more sun.” Jacques had a habit of omitting certain words when he spoke in English, though I’d heard him speak fluently when talking to other winemakers at a meeting we attended recently. When he was flustered, words dropped.“I know how to read the refractometer,” I told him, hoping we could just fall back on the science of numbers. Those, at least, were clear.“That is half,” he said, huffing out a breath. “Maybe less than half. Wine . . . it is art. It is shadows of certainty. The winemaker, he is decisive and smart. He—or she—must trust the heart, the mind, the mouth. You decide.” He poked me in the chest, hard.I stepped back and pulled a grape from another bunch, closing my eyes and letting the juice burst on my tongue. I knew I was supposed to be measuring the sugar content to determine whether these grapes were ready to harvest or not, but I didn’t have a lot of experience trusting m
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 42- Hannah
Tall, Dark & My Boyfriend: Goodbye, Hannah. I really do wish the best for you.That’s it?Goodbye, good luck, and thanks for everything?So he and his mom wanted me gone. Well, that solved that mystery.The brownie chocolate chunk ice cream turned to dust in my mouth reading the latest text from Lincoln. I had a shift at Paint It, Pal starting in an hour, but for the first time since I started, I planned to call in sick. But first, I needed to change Lincoln’s contact name in my phone. Maybe that would help me accept that Lincoln had broken up with me via text in the vaguest way possible. I mean, I knew he communicated better via text than in person, but I firmly believed some things should be said face to face.My phone rang, startling me as I hit save on Lincoln’s new name: Tall, Dark, & Silent Heartbreaker. It was my boss, Barb, the old lady who ownedthe paint store and who I hadn’t talked to since the first day she hired me. “Hello?”“Hannah? Is that you?” Barbara said loudly in
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 42.1
Barb’s face fell and I rushed to finish that thought.“It’s the loveliest offer I’ve ever received, but I think I should at least consider it before agreeing to anything.”Barb’s smile came back. “See? You’re a natural businesswoman! You’ll do great! Think on it all you need, but let me know soon. I have a cruise I want to book and I’d like to know the shop is in your hands before I leave.”Barb patted my hand a few more times and then left, leaving me in a stupor at the little café table. People hustled around me, off to work or running errands. I stared at them all, making a list of pros and cons in my head. Should I stay and start my dream job in a town where I’d see the man who broke my heart? Or should I leave it all behind and start fresh somewhere new? No matter how long each side of the list became, I couldn’t seem to make a decision.“Han?” Liam’s voice came from behind me.Oh, for heaven’s sake. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I was invisible. Why did that man have to keep
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 43- Lincoln
“Lincoln, slow down please. This isn’t the Solano Creek Grand Prix.” Mom’s voice carried all the annoyance and irritation she’d had for me all day, and I knew that I should have cancelled our post-birthday lunch plans, given my crappy mood.We’d been arguing through most of the meal, Mom trying to get me to talk about Hannah, about feelings, about life—and me trying to forget seeing the clear evidence of Hannah moving on without a second thought.I knew my life experience had been limited. I knew I wasn’t the most emotionally savvy of guys. But it still hurt to have the evidence of my own shortcomings thrust painfully in my face, and the last thing I wanted to do was chat about it with my mother—or with El’s mom, who had mysteriously joined us for lunch, though I sure didn’t remember inviting her.And I thought lunch had been bad, but at least I’d survived the prying questions and then the irritable silent treatment Mom had given me as we’d finished up. Robin, who had never even heard
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 44- Hannah
When I woke the next morning, the sheets were twisted and nearly sliding off the bed. I’d spent more time awake than asleep during the night. A heavy heart and a racing brain tend to do that to a person.Barb’s offer gave me a nice distraction from the situation with Lincoln. I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around him and me being over, just like that. I’d gone from thinking maybe it was just Pam that wanted me to leave to accepting the fact that he wanted me gone too, based on Lincoln’s texted goodbye and his hurt look at me and Liam at the café.But Barb didn’t want me to leave Solano Creek. She wanted me to grab hold of my dream and put down roots. Problem was, could I do that when I’d be locking myself into seeing Lincoln and his family every single day?“Ugh!” I said out loud, pushing off the rest of the sheets and eyeing the house that still needed major work. “What should I do, Aunt Betty?”The water stain on the ceiling didn’t answer me. I slid out of bed and put on a pair of
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 45- Lincoln
Mom, Robin, and Jacques all stood staring over my shoulder at my phone, which lay silent and cold in my hand.“She’s not going to say yes,” I told them, my heart hammering in my throat. “She’s already made up her mind. She’s leaving. I saw the moving truck.”“I’m telling you,” Robin said, “you don’t have a clue what you saw. I talked to the girl myself.”By the time we’d finished hashing out what Robin and Hannah had talked about and Robin had insisted I give her ‘my side,’ so she could play Judge Judy and pass judgment on the fate of my non-existent relationship with Hannah, the woman had imbibed at least one full bottle of Mom’s chardonnay on her own. And that was in addition to whatever had been in that flask. I wasn’t certain she was the person I wanted to rely on to save my relationship with a woman I was fairly sure I was in love with.Mom’s hand was on my shoulder, and I could feel her tension. I didn’t have children, but I knew enough from having my parents in my life thatmot
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 46- Hannah
With Barb’s blessing, the second I signed the contract from her lawyer—the terms of which had been so absurdly unfair to her that I’d had to call her again just to confirm she was giving me the shop for pennies on the dollar—I temporarily closed Paint It, Pal so I could focus on what I needed to do to reopen as a new artistic wine bar. First and foremost, I needed to get that liquor license approved. Then I could pick out decor, choose the wines, plan a menu, and order in adult art project supplies.Which was all just a big ruse to distract myself from thinking about Lincoln and what his latest text could possibly mean. Did he want to end things again—more formally, I suppose—by saying the words out loud? Did he want to explain why he and his mother were trying to push me out of town? Did he want the T-shirt back he’d left at my house? Because quite frankly, it had become my new favorite pajamas and he’d have to fight me for it at this point.Underneath the confusion and anger of him
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FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 72- Dalton
Me: Guys, we need your help. Rae is leasing the Chest R. Cheeses next month and I’m going to need some muscles to get it into shape for her studio. Can I count on you to help?Lincoln: Dude. I’m almost finished with Hannah’s cottage. I’m practically a general contractor by now.Dillon: Well, I would, but I don’t live here. Maybe I can squeeze in a weekend?Boston: Of course we’ll help. But first, I need to get everyone together for an announcement before Dillon flies out. Can you make it to the winery at seven tonight?Everyone agreed to meet, but I was more focused on the fact that they agreed to help Rae and me. Now that we were back together and better than ever, I wanted to get her set up in her new space as soon as possible. Her business was exploding, especially after someone posted a snippet of the flash mob on TikTok yesterday. Fans were going berserk about us being together in real life.My phone rang and I picked it up, even though I didn’t recognize the number. Quite frankl
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 71- Raeanne
For two days after the flash mob, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Every time I closed my eyes, Dalton was there, dancing and singing with half of Solano Creek. It was the perfect gesture, and I’d heard there was stiff competition between the Cunningham boys when it came to romantic gestures. And every time I wondered if I’d imagined the whole thing, my hand found the little gold key around my neck.We’d gone to dinner after the flash mob, along with Dalton’s family and mine, and the little Italian place we’d chosen had given us all free appetizers when they learned we were the ones who’d been dancing and singing out on the promenade.And after dinner? I’d gone home with Dalton after picking a few things up at my place. And so far, I hadn’t exactly left. We agreed it was too early to make big decisions, so no one was giving up an apartment or anything. Not yet. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to spend every second I could with the man I knew I was meant to find.“You look ha
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 70- Dalton
I didn’t know how Rae did it. Stepping up on stage for dance performances every few months growing up. I thought for sure I’d puke just getting everything set up for my make-or-break moment at the Promenade. If I thought about actually having to dance in front of everyone at the end of this ill-thought-out shindig, I just might lose my breakfast.“Don’t jack it up now, brother,” Dillon clapped me on the shoulder and gave me a shake. “Dude, you look a little green.”I didn’t like the way he was peering at me, like I’d grown a second head. “You try throwing it all on the line for a girl with everyone you know—and people you don’t know—watching you. You’d be a little green around the gills too.”Dillon flinched back. “Yeah, no. No way would I do that for a girl. Nope. The trend stops with you three.”He had a valid reason for concern. Us Cunningham brothers were notorious for putting on quite the spectacle to get the girl. When I’d hatched the original plan with Lincoln, it had grown leg
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 69- Raeanne
The days felt like they were dragging by. Like the kind of dragging weighed down by heartbreak and disappointment, by uncertainty and a little bit of self-loathing thrown in for good measure. The glass on the front of the studio hadn’t been fixed. I’d spoken to three glass shops and the landlord of the building, and evidently there was some kind of glass shortage in Solano Creek.“All those wine bottles we make here,” the landlord surmised.“I doubt that’s it,” I told him, pacing my apartment again. I could see a faint track worn into the brown rug where I’d been pacing regularly for days. Soon I’d probably go right through the floor. I needed to dance. I needed my life back.And I didn’t know if I needed him, but I really wanted Dalton. But my pride was still up and every time I picked up the phone I ended up talking myself back into anger. He didn’t understand me. And if this had been bad, it would only get worse if we dragged this thing out.Or that’s what I’d been telling myself r
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 68- Dalton
Twinkle Toes: I think so.I shut the screen off and tossed the phone on my nightstand. I couldn’t look at it any longer. I’d stared at our last text exchange so many times over the last few days I had the whole conversation memorized. Staring at it didn’t make the pain go away, nor did it provide answers as to what had gone so epically wrong. I mean, that had to be some kind of relationship crash and burn record right there. From I love you’s to broken up in twenty-four hours. Maybe Rae was right. I should probably stick to the light and funny stuff. Leave the grown up, complicated adult things for everybody else who could clearly handle them better.I was late for work, but who would really care? Boston was still on his honeymoon and Leslie was probably organizing his tackle box for the inevitable fishing trip right after his retirement party. My phone vibrated and my heart decided to gallop out of my chest, thinking it was Rae. But it wasn’t. Probably would never be again.Dillon Th
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 67- Raeanne
Inside my apartment I sank heavily onto the little couch I’d inherited from my grandmother. The cheery floral pattern was completely at odds with my mood. I leaned back into the dusty embrace of the yellow roses, my spine releasing some of the indignant tension I’d been holding there.What had Dalton been thinking? Was my studio a complete joke to him? How could he expect me to just pick up the whole thing and drop it down into the center of a Chest R. Cheeses? The place had been a total circus. I could still hear the shrieks of kids screaming over the maniacal music they’d piped in to float above the roar of the arcade machines.I was a classically trained ballerina. And while I didn’t expect Dalton to understand all the various implications of that and what it meant to me—about me—I did think he had respect for what I did. For the fact that I was running an actual business, and doing it increasingly well.But maybe I’d been wrong. Both Dalton and my dad had decided I couldn’t contin
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 66- Dalton
The rollercoaster of emotions over the last twenty-four hours had me up at dawn, energy crackling in my veins when I should have been sleeping in and enjoying my weekend. After we got Rae’s studio cleaned up last night, she’d gone home to her place, stating she was incredibly tired and needed rest. She’d been so busy with teaching and hiring, and now the added stress of a break-in, I didn’t push her to stay at my place. Plus, her parents were standing right there and I didn’t think that would make the best first impression. But her parents were on my mind now.I’d had an epiphany somewhere around three in the morning as I lay in bed trying to sleep. I’d gotten Rae into this mess by choosing her videos to duet to win my bet. I needed to get her out of this mess. The guilt of being the impetus for all of this would eat me alive if I didn’t make things right. I couldn’t undo what had been done. I couldn’t make her suddenly less TikTok famous. The only thing I could do was protect her goi
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 65- Raeanne
I’d never been the sappy type, not really. Sure, I could get a little choked up listening to music or when the corner bakery got the devil’s food exactly right. But this was different. As the Cunningham brothers proceeded down the center aisle with El’s bridesmaids on their arms, a little knot of emotion formed in my throat.Lincoln and Hannah went first, then Dillon and El’s friend Ashley. Dalton appeared next at the end of that long aisle, and my heart expanded inside my chest. He walked El’s friend Gigi down the aisle, but his eyes found mine in the crowd, and held fast nearly the entire time. When he took his place at the front, near the arch of white flowers, I realized I’d been holding my breath, and I let it go just in time to turn back to see El stepping out from the back and to the head of the aisle, her mother Robin at her side. El looked gorgeous—glowing and bright, her hair curled and shiny, and her dress was a satin sheath clearly made just for her. She gazed around, but
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 64 - Dalton
I adjusted the fancy tie around my neck for maybe the hundredth time that morning, unsure if my nerves were for Boston and El, the best man’s speech I’d need to give at the reception, or because I intended to man up and tell Rae exactly how I felt about her today. So many times over the last week, it had been right there on the tip of my tongue. The three little words that seemed so inadequate for what was going on inside my chest whenever I was around her, or thought of her, or caught a sweet jasmine scent that reminded me of her body lotion I was obsessed with. I hadn’t been looking for her, but she’d danced her way into my heart nonetheless.Was it too early to tell her I loved her? I mean, we’d only been dating for just shy of a month, but it wasn’t so much the time, it was the depth of what we’d shared. We were working on a shared goal, each of us supporting the other. To her, I wasn’t just the funny guy. Everything about us together was just plain nice. Maybe the word nice wasn’
