Josie picks it up. “Here.”

I don’t even say thank you. I fumble with it for a second before tossing it into my chair. “I can’t stay. Sorry, Grandma Lulu. I’ll call you later.” I nod in the general direction of Harper and Antonio.

Then I’m striding away from the table as if the devil is on my heels.

I search around for a restroom and dart inside. It’s empty and I lean back against the wall, studying the gray wallpaper. It blends with the gray tile floor. There’s not a splash of color in the place. It’s depressing and bleak.

Somebody needs to liven this place up a bit. Put a color on the walls. Stick a fake plant on the washbasin counter. It’s a senior citizen’s facility, for God’s sake. It’s like death in here.

I splash water onto my face and take my tie off. My face is pale, despite the heat I feel flushing my skin. Maybe I’m getting sick. That has to be the reason I feel so unbalanced. Plus, Josie and Grandma Lulu probably got together and decided to teach me a lesson with Antonio. Josie’s unhappy that Harper and I broke up. That’s it.

And Grandma Lulu loves Harper, too. It’s evident from the way she brings her name up every time we speak.

It’s a conspiracy between the females in my life. That’s all it is. I force a smile to my lips. I’ve been fighting a battle against those two since I was a kid. I dry my face with a paper towel and study myself in the mirror.

My smile fades. Of all the things I love about Harper, it’s her smile that I love most, and I don’t think she smiled the entire time I sat across from her.

Antonio isn’t making her happy. She was crying the last time I saw them together.

My pulse thumps louder, so loud I hear the undeniable truth in each beat. She’s happy with me. I’m the one she’s supposed to be with. If I don’t stop allowing Tori to influence how I think about Harper, I’ll end up like this gray bathroom—colorless and dead.

I know things can be different. My parents were different. They loved each other madly until the day they parted this earth. Together. They’re the ones who should color my view of love. Not Tori.

Get yourself together, man.

I leave the restroom a determined man. When I return to the dining hall, there’s an empty chair where Harper was sitting. I glance around and hope she is okay.

Antonio stands before I can take a seat. “The ladies. They tell me there has been a misunderstanding.”

That damned Italian accent. That’s probably what lured Harper in. I may be a guy, but I know women love European accents.

“Oh?” I attempt to sound disinterested. If he’s going to offer that we be friends or something, I’ll have to inform him that I’m now officially the competition.

“I’m not trying to seduce Harper,” he says.

Even Grandma Lulu has the decency to look embarrassed.

Antonio looks bashful. “Seduce is not what I meant. I’m saying that this is not a date. Josie invited me.”

“Josie.” I turn to my sister. “Where’s Harper?”

Josie cocks her head. “She left. I tried to get her to stay, and she was upset. She didn’t know we would be here.”

“Are you happy now?” I shake my head at Josie and then glare at Grandma Lulu.

Grandma Lulu stands and places her hands on her wide hips. “You had this coming. Now go fix it.”

I look at her, feeling like a school kid. She’d still chase me with a flyswatter if she could find one. “You’re right.”

Antonio gets to his feet. “Should I go find—”

“Casanova,” I say, raising one eyebrow. “Don’t even think about leaving this room.”

He throws me a grin. “Catch her. Go.”

I sprint to the parking lot and find she’s already left. Damn she’s fast. There’s only one option for where she’s going. I throw my car into reverse and peel out, heading home. Just in case I’m wrong, I try her number. It goes straight to voicemail.

When I pull into the apartment parking lot and see her car, I feel as though a giant weight has been lifted. I’ve been Atlas, carrying around a burden for weeks.

It takes all my self-control to slow down when I walk up the stairs. I’ve driven so fast that she was probably only minutes ahead.

When I finally unlock the outer door to the building and step inside, my heart stops. She’s crouched over a box in front of my door with her hand covering her mouth.

“What’s wrong?” I race to the door and pull her up.

She’s shaking her head frantically and backs away. “I know how bad this looks.”

I don’t release my hold on her shoulders. “Calm down.” I glance down and look inside the box. It’s a copy paper box filled with electronic parts and a smashed appliance. There’s a disc drive and a motherboard. A small fan with cut wires.

Recognition settles in slowly. It’s a destroyed laptop. On top sets a piece of paper with “XXOO, Harper” written on it.

“No. I did not do this.” Harper takes a step back. “I’m so sorry. But you know I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.”

I’m speechless. I look over my shoulder and down the hall. The heavy outer building door is firmly shut. Only someone with a key can enter.

“I know you wouldn’t.” I stare down into the box. I’d been trying to figure out the mystery of my missing laptop. Running over the events of Friday again and again, hoping to come up with something. I’d assumed that I’d left my apartment unlocked or that the culprit had found my key.

But I’d honestly forgotten about the new lock on the building’s outer door. Until now.

She turns away from me. “I have no idea what’s going on. I didn’t steal it. And you say you believe me, but I have this awful feeling that deep down, you don’t. I’m going to find a new place to live. You won’t have to worry about running into me.”

“I don’t give a shit about this,” I say, kicking the box. I kick it again for good measure. “And you aren’t going to move.”

She closes her eyes. “I saw your face when you walked into the dining hall this morning. You can’t stand to be around me. And now when you see me here, you’re going to picture this thing. This smashed up laptop you’ll always associate with me. I have no way to prove I didn’t do it.” She steps away from me until her back hits her apartment door.

“Babe.” I lower my voice and walk across the hall to be closer. “You didn’t. I just know. Today at the senior facility? I wanted to jump over the table and beat Antonio’s pretty face. I came back from the restroom to find you gone. I wanted to tell you that there was going to be trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Antonio might have all the moves, but I have all the right words.”

She stares at me. “There’s nothing between me and Antonio,” she whispers.

I grab her hand and press it to my chest over my heart. “Feel that? It’s full of all these sappy words I haven’t said. Emotions I couldn’t handle. But I think it took realizing I could lose you. I’m not going to let fear win. I can’t.”

Harper’s lips tremble and she looks away. “I want to believe in you. I do. But it’s too big of a risk.”

“Look at me, Harper. I’m crazy about you. I’m a sure bet. “

She gives me a half-hearted smile. “No. You’re a high-stakes gamble. I did want to trust you before. Now, it’s just too late.”

She turns, enters her apartment, and leaves me standing in the hallway—my world turned gray.

I stretch my arms out above my head. It’s still early, but the sounds of the bakery already drift up through the vents. Today, I begin my new life as a romantic. A hopeful. A believer in forever.

I pull on my clothes and walk downstairs. James is working the counter and Erik is in the back this morning. I examine my choices and my mouth waters.

“Morning. What’ll you have?” James stands poised with a waxed paper ready.

“Cinnamon rolls. Four, please.”

“Coming right up.” He grabs the pastry and a white box. “Did Harper’s friend find her?”