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“You’d better” He grabbed her hand and squeezed “It’s all gone by so fast This fling, us,me”

“You probably didn’t have to black like nor you to do that, Miss Pricklepants, rees and voicemail”

“Oh yeah” She pulled her hand away and folded it into her lap “It’s been good I’ve h contacts to keep me in paid work for about two years, with the proreat and you deserve it You just needed a chance”

“Matt?”

“Yes”

“There’s so I need to tell you”

The expression on her face made his blood run cold It was super-exposed, super-earnest, and she didn’t look like the sael and his heart flipped over “You’re not going to tell me you’re in the Princess Aspen way, are you?”

She looked confused for a moment “No! Oh my God, no You know I can’t—that I wouldn’t—”

“Sorry” He shook his head and chuckled “It seemed like such a loaded state “I need to tell you that…I really wish you didn’t have to leave Passion Creek so soon”

He pressed his lips together to stop a heartfelt, uncontrolled, and honest response froo, it’s the right tiht?”

He heard her intake of breath “Yes, of course I will”

She wasn’t very convincing, but what had he expected her to say? She had her dignity “And this is hoe planned it all along” He nodded, willing her to agree

“I don’t think I ever got consulted during the planning phase”

“Okay, sorry, but we have to be honest about this You chased ht happened and then I chased you back We had a few struggles along the way, but noe’re even, I think”

Her eyebrows lifted “I guess I made out a lot better in the end”

He rubbed his chin for aof honesty, there’s so you should know about the stuff you told me in Sanibel, about the scandalous secrets I pretended to know”

Her face dropped “Pretended to know?”

“I tricked you I’ you really toldThe purple penis…”