Chapter 5 – One month later
Chapter Five
MAGNOLIA
ONE MONTH LATER
Standing next to Griffin Dupree, a guy I’d met volunteering at the rescue squad earlier that summer, I took in his childhood bedroom.
I already knew he was firefighter-obsessed.
But this was straight out of a childhood daydream.
Framed firetruck schematics, a helmet hanging on the wall like it was ready for duty, and a ceiling rope that had probably seen more than a few pajama-clad fire rescues.
There was even a fire hydrant nightlight, glowing in the corner like an eternal flame.
Whenever I teased him about his nonstop firefighter talk, he always said, “What do you expect?” Then he’d tousle that thick mop of hair that was honestly more auburn than orange.
He twined our fingers together and I smiled.
He’d asked me out the first night we met but I’d turned him down.
Not because he wasn’t cute or because I didn’t like his personality.
He was and I did. But he was a Virginia Tech Hokie and I was a University of Virginia Cavalier—both rising juniors.
Being pre-med was rigorous. I didn’t have time to be tied down in a long-distance relationship.
Or tied up, stalking his location or social media—which I knew I’d do, being two and a half hours away.
He was confident we could do the non-exclusive thing—date whenever we were both home and give each other space during the semester. I wasn’t sure I was capable of being someone’s part-time girlfriend. But he wouldn’t stop asking.
Two weeks ago, I was still smarting over the rude disappearance of my Sole Mates date. So when Griffin invited me to the new Marvel movie, I figured, why not? I needed a distraction. A cute one at that. We had so much fun, I’d seen him every day since.
I guess he thought we were getting serious because last night he’d asked if I’d come over for dinner to meet ‘the fam’.
When I’d hesitated, he assured me this branch of the family tree was the least celebrity out of the entire group.
‘Famous by association’ were his exact words.
Which did put me a bit at ease. But I’d seen pre-med students’ social media posts go wrong, killing their lifelong dreams in less than a day.
Med school admissions committees looked at everything.
Yeah. I did not need to end up on TikTok with a Dupree.
He was watching me again.
I smiled, trying to act casual. “Ever think of redecorating your room?”
He chuckled. “My mom almost cries every time I bring it up. So…” He shrugged.
I melted a little. My dad always said you could tell how a guy was going to treat his future wife by the way he treated his mother.
I’d met her when we walked in. Lemon was gorgeous, sweet, and perfectly hospitable.
It was no wonder that Griffin adored her.
I’d meet everyone else in a few minutes—except for his younger sister, Sophie, who was away at her church camp job, and his brother, Bowen, who I was honestly kind of nervous about.
Griff said I should steer clear of him. Apparently, Bowen was very good-looking, but he was the kind of guy who made it his mission to break the heart of every girl he dated.
It was all I knew about him since he was basically a ghost online.
He’d made an Instagram about six years ago, but the profile picture was of Classic Steve from Minecraft, and he’d never posted a single time.
Yes, I’d stalked Griffin’s entire family. It’s called research.
Griffin said Bowen was adamant that none of his family post any pictures of him online. When I asked why, he gave me some vague answer about Bowen hating social media and the drama it brings.
“Griff!” his mom hollered from the kitchen. “Can you help for a sec?”
“Sure thing!” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Be right back.”
I watched him jog out of the room and smiled. The boy was tall. Like six four. On the skinny side but his broad shoulders were a promise that he’d fill out, no doubt.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time and found two texts from my best friend, Abilene.
Abilene
There is nothing wrong with you. NOTHING. You hear me?
Girl, forget him. 167 is human trash. Probably keeps a spreadsheet of all the girls he’s ghosted. #walkingick #emotionalscammer
The thing was, he hadn’t seemed like a scammer. He’d seemed like a good guy. One who could probably have any girl he wanted, but he was waiting for the right one to come along.
But it was more than that. I would never admit it to anyone—not even Abilene—but when he walked into the hall and I saw him for the first time, it was like my soul said, “Oh, there you are.” It had tripped me out at first. But as the evening went on, it only grew more intense.
A feeling of rightness and peace. Just like Mom promised.
Up until Sole Mates, I’d always thought I was an exemplary judge of character. So imagine my devastation when—after hyping myself up for what I knew would be the kiss of my life—I walked out to find him gone.
At first, I convinced myself he’d just run downstairs to give his friend the keys to his car and he’d be back in five minutes, tops.
But then ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
By thirty, I stopped watching the door and started imagining full-blown emergencies.
Maybe his grandmother had died. Maybe he’d eaten bad shrimp. Or been abducted by aliens.
I hated to admit it but Abilene was right. Because even if any of those were true, if he’d actually liked me, wouldn’t he have left a note with his number, at the very least? Or come back later to explain, since he knew where I lived?
I rubbed the center of my chest, trying to evict the ache that I was afraid had made a permanent home in my heart. Why did it still hurt? Sole Mates was weeks ago, and it was one date. And I was here. With Griffin. Wonderful, handsome, crazy about me, Griffin.
Maybe I was so awkward that he couldn’t handle it.
Maybe my breath was bad.
Abilene
STAHP.
You’re the least awkward person I know. Graceful? Refined? Brilliant? Gorgeous? Hilarious? YES.
And the only time your breath is bad is when you eat tuna. Everyone’s breath is bad when they eat tuna. You just got unlucky and picked a boy who was too pretty. Gray Eyes probably loves to run around breaking hearts. That’s what too-beautiful people do. It’s a game to him. Obviously.
He didn’t feel like a heartbreaker.
Or at least it felt like he was being super careful with mine.
Abilene
Until he vanished like a puff of smoke. Stop giving that boy grace!
Fine.
Abilene
Girl, you know what you need?
A steamy make-out with your hot ginger. DO IT.
Yeah.
But Griffin deserved to kiss the version of Maggie who couldn’t think about any guy but him. I had an hour, two tops, to get my head in the game. Our first kiss was coming. I’d felt it all day.
A family picture in the hall caught my eye, and I slipped out of the room to sneak a peek—anything to take my mind off 167 and refocus on the family I was about to meet.
It was an old beach photo. Griffin couldn’t have been more than twelve.
I pressed my fingers to my lips and smiled. His cowlick stuck up, even back then.
My gaze flitted to the brother next to him—his younger brother, Bowen. His gray eyes met mine from behind the glass, and I swayed where I stood.
Because Bowen Dupree looked exactly how I imagined 167 would’ve looked at that age—the eyes, the hair, the smile.
I reached for the wall to steady myself.
There was no way. Was there? My stomach hardened as I ran back through every bit of info 167 had shared.
He’d said his dad and brother had the same eyes.
My gaze darted over the picture. Dad? Check.
Brother? Check. Not Griffin though. He had his mom’s eyes.
The same green as sea glass: mellow and muted.
167 had also said he mucked out stalls at his grandfather’s barn when he got in trouble. I knew that Griffin’s grandparents had a ranch a couple of miles away.
I rubbed my temples as I tried to remember more of our conversation. “What are you afraid of? That I won’t like you once I get to know you?”
He’d exhaled and said what?
“I’m afraid you will. For the wrong reasons.”
My chest tightened. Griffin always talked about how hard it was to find a girl who wasn’t enamored with his last name.
He said ultimately most girls didn’t want him.
They wanted what he could do for them. To meet his Uncle Ford, or Anna’s husband, Blue, or his aunt and uncle, who were famous authors.
Or his brother Bowen.
I looked around, trying to locate the nearest bathroom just in case. There was a definite possibility that I was going to be sick. I jumped when Griffin peeked his head around the corner.
“Sorry.” He chuckled, deep and warm. “Everyone’s here. You ready to meet them?”
I forced a smile, so relieved that his younger brother couldn’t make it tonight. “Yes.”
When we walked into the kitchen, his dad, Silas—who was extremely tall, by the way—was bent over, washing his hands in the sink.
That was obviously where Griff got his height.
Lemon ran a hand over her husband’s back.
I only saw part of Silas’s face. Enough to see him smile up at his wife like he hadn’t seen her in a year and her presence gave him life.
Okay, that was sweet.
“This is James,” Griffin said.
I turned to meet his older brother…and the air whooshed out of me.
He looked so much like 167 it was insane.
His good looks were more understated, but there was no denying it.
They had the same nose, eyes, jaw, and the same colored hair.
167’s hair was wavier and his cheekbones more pronounced—but everything else was identical.
Holy crap holy crap holy crap.
My gaze flashed to Griffin and I felt so stupid. Maybe his nose wasn’t as strong and his forehead a touch smaller, but their jawline and smiles were the same.