felt the same way she had when she’d left for college at the end of the summer after Zev had gone away. She’d been afraid to leave in case he came back, and at the same time, she’d been afraid to stay in case he didn’t.
She refused to be that lost girl again, stuck in a middle ground. She tore open the envelope and unfolded the paper, needing to know one way or the other. Her eyes fell to the middle of the page, where Zev had written, Hey there, beautiful. I dare you to sing our song.
Like magic, the twangy fast beat of “Life Is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts played in her head. He’d drawn an arrow along the bottom of the paper all the way to the edge. She turned the paper over and read what he’d written. You’re in my blood, you’re all around. Sing it, baby. I love that sound. Z
Happiness bubbled up inside her, despite all that lay in their pasts.
Leaving the envelope taped to the door, the dare, and the cheesy rhyme born from their song was all quintessential Zev. They’d always taken lyrics and twisted them into their own. She set the paper aside, humming the song as she preheated the oven and began mixing the ingredients for the crust of the cheesecake. It had been forever since she’d thought of their song. It felt so good, she began swinging her hips and whispering the lyrics. She pressed the crumble crust into the pie pan, washed her hands, and queued up “Life Is a Highway” on her phone. She turned it on repeat and began combining the ingredients for the cheesecake.
By the time she poured the batter into the crust, she was full-on dancing, adding in a spin every few lines. The chorus rang out after she put the cheesecake in the oven, and she grabbed the spatula, using it as a microphone, dancing across the kitchen singing and whipping her hair from side to side. She belted out the lyrics and twirled around—stopping cold at the sight of Birdie in the doorway watching her, holding an enormous gift basket full of sugar-cereal boxes. Carly’s heart skipped. There was only one person who would send a basket of cereal.
“Who are you?” Birdie asked with a laugh. “If this is what kissing Zev Braden does to a girl, then let me in on that action.”
Carly pointed the spatula at her and said, “Back off, Birdie. I’m not afraid to use this thing.”
“Let’s just hope you’ll let him use his thing, because if his kisses put you in this kind of mood, imagine what docking his boat in your harbor will do.” Birdie set the basket on the counter and plucked an envelope from between two boxes of cereal. “I think treasure boy has struck again.”
Carly knew exactly what making love with Zev would do to her. There would be no going back. Reality rolled in. She wouldn’t want to walk away again, and she wouldn’t survive making love to him and then watching him walk away, either. She turned off the music, disappointed in herself. She’d totally lost her mind over a dare and a song.
She tossed the spatula in the sink and said, “What am I doing, Birdie? I can’t fall for Zevy again.”
“You’re not falling. You’re dancing, having fun.” Birdie went to her and said, “Carly, I’ve known you since you moved here, when you were so sad I wanted my mom to wrap you in her arms and not let go until you were better. I’ve watched you become an amazingly strong woman. You’ve taught me so much about being resilient and standing on my own two feet. You’re my best friend, and I love you. You taught me everything I know about this business and what it takes to run it. You should be proud of everything you’ve accomplished. Especially with the shop.”
“We’ve accomplished, Birdie. We did it together.”
“I followed your lead. I love who you are every day, Carly, but I’ve never seen you look or sound as happy as you did when I walked into the kitchen just now. I think Zev might be good for you despite all the darkness.”
Carly sighed. “We were good together, but he’s the one who broke me.”
“I know you think that. I’d say that maybe he’s the only one who can unbreak you, but that sounds bad, because you’re not broken. But I’ve never seen that girl I just saw, so