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45- Lincoln
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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
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 46.1
Tall, Dark & Silent Heartbreaker: They say you need to take a leap. Will you leap one more time for me, Hannah?A section of my hair fell out of my ponytail and slid in front of my face. I pushed it quickly behind my ear and read the message a second time. Then a third. It still made no sense.“Take the leap, sweet girl,” Pam whispered.My head flew up and I saw her push something across the table toward me, that same hopeful smile on her face. She stood and left without another word or a backward glance. My gaze fell on the table.A frog.One of Lincoln’s blue frogs that he’d painted at Paint It, Pal. And there was something stuck to the bottom.I picked it up carefully and flipped it over to see a picture of Solano Bistro. My heart thumped so loudly I thought the whole town might hear it. I flopped back against the chair to think. What was this? It felt a lot like some sort of crazy scavenger hunt with half clues and a prize at the end. Could this be the opposite of a breakup?Could
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING Lincoln
If I’d thought it was hard actually talking to Hannah face to face about feelings before, it was nothing compared to getting the blow-by-blow Boston was texting me as he, Dalton, and Mom tracked Hannah through the frog hunt step by step.The first step had been the trickiest. From what Robin had told us about her conversation with Hannah, everything had been a pretty big misunderstanding from about the point her ex had arrived and hired the guys from We Like to Move It, Move It without even talking to her about it. Hannah didn’t want to leave. But she had been convinced Mom and I wanted her to go, thanks to my own misunderstanding with Mom about when would be the right time to make an offer to lease Hannah’s land.My gut clenched as I waited for her, thinking about how I’d hurt her without wanting to, how the very thing that she feared—a man choosing his mother over her, or letting his mother push her around—was what she thought was happening here.When in reality, it was the complete
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 47.1
Hannah’s smile faded for a second before she tilted her head and asked, “Me?”“You were beautiful and friendly, and seeing you every time I went on one of those stupid dates was the high point of my day. I could tolerate just about anything if it meant getting a couple minutes to interact with you.”She shook her head slowly. “You never said anything.”I pressed my lips together and then let out a sigh. “I should have,” I told her. “I should have said something to my mom to make her stop, I should have asked you out after the first time I saw you. But I’ve never been the most confident guy when it comes to words. They don’t come easily to me, and so often, the ones I come up with are the complete opposite of the ones I need.”“You’re doing okay so far,” Hannah said, one of her hands landing on mine as it rested on the counter. Her encouragement and willingness to listen to me work things out warmed my heart, calmed my nerves.“But you saved me,” I went on. “From the bad dates, but als
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 48- Hannah
“You’re sure about this?” Lincoln asked me, a sledgehammer poised in the air over his shoulder.I sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “Absolutely.”Without the wall there, the kitchen area would open up to the living room. We’d already checked, and it wasn’t a load-bearing wall. I wanted to eventually raise a family here, with little ones playing in the living room while I cooked. I could see it all play out in my head as if it was happening now. This house would take a lot of work to bring up to the present, but Lincoln and I were willing to put in the sweat equity. Besides, doing home improvements was turning out to be a fun way to get to know each other better. Nothing like drywall falling from the ceiling on our heads to bring a couple together.The first crash brought me back to the present, seeing Lincoln’s muscles flexing as he swung the hammer down over and over until only a few two- by-fours were left standing. The framed painting of two little girls on the beach hung on the
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 48.1
I got so busy organizing all the supplies on the other side of the room, I lost all track of time and never started my own craft. It wasn’t until I heard the smack of a paintbrush hitting the little tray at the bottom of the easel that I turned around.“Lincoln!” I admonished. There was paint everywhere, like the little tubes of paint had exploded somehow. He had a rainbow of colors on his shirt, in his hair, and even on the disgusting carpet we thankfully intended to replace. He looked exactly like the toddlers I’d supervised at Paint It, Pal. “What?” He lifted his hand to swipe some hair from his forehead andleft a streak of yellow behind.I came over to check out his work, thinking he was incredibly adorable all covered in paint. Glancing at his canvas, I did a double take.“Lincoln!” I said for the second time. This time because his artwork shocked me. Based on his monochromatic frog creations, I’d assumed Lincoln didn’t have much artistic ability.And I was dead wrong.The canva
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 49- Lincoln
Things were busy in the two weeks leading up to the opening of Merlot Masterpieces, but they were busy in the most satisfying way possible. Hannah and I each spent long days pursuing our passions—her building the business she’d dreamed of and me in the vineyards, consulting with Jacques and helping my mother develop the wines she’d dreamed about. The evenings were spent together, building something else entirely.“I’m nervous,” Hannah admitted to me the night before her grand opening.“What is there to be nervous about?” I asked. She had planned every detail, and the buzz around town was promising. The event had been sold out almost since she’d first announced it.“Oh, I don’t know,” Hannah said, snuggling into my chest as we sat on the couch in her cottage. “Failure?”“You won’t fail,” I assured her. “You’ve got too many people on your side to make sure you succeed.”She sighed, and I knew it wasn’t a sigh of frustration, but one of contentment instead. I’d begun to understand this w
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 49.1
“I’m very proud of you, honey,” Mom said, clearly trying to be supportive. “Oh, look how beautiful the shop looks!”We parked across the street from Merlot Masterpieces and got out of the car. The place looked incredible. Hannah had strung dangling lights in arcs beneath the striped awning out front and set up four bistro tables where people could take their projects outside on the sidewalk to work. The huge glass panes of the front were glowing with the warm light inside the shop, and from the street, the place looked inviting and beautiful.“It looks great,” Dalton said, and then rushed off to one side of the big windows and began making faces at his phone, nodding and shaking his head, and putting a finger to his mouth like he was thinking. I’d never understand Tiktok.Hannah stepped out onto the sidewalk and pushed open the door for us. “You made it!” she cried, and Mom rushed in and hugged her.“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”Hannah showed us the craft stations she’d got
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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’
