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whispered.
    â€œBetter not just stand there,” her neighbor said, and a mere glance into his eyes, even now, made her breath go shallow. But don’t give him so much credit—­maybe it’s all of this making you feel unable to breathe.
    Regardless, she looked back and forth between him and the sound of Jared’s voice, then gave him a rough shove toward the bedroom. “Get in there,” she said under her breath. “And be quiet. I don’t want him getting the wrong idea.”
    Then she rushed toward the stairs in bare feet and bad hair. She was far from ready, but she had no choice. She didn’t want Jared to leave, after all.
    Reaching the head of the stairs, she peered down to find him staring up, looking all clean-­cut and well-­dressed—­and also perplexed. “Hey, hi!” she said, pasting on a smile. “I’m so sorry about the mess down there. Minor disaster when I got home today.” She forced a laugh. “And I’m running a little late, but I’ll be down in just a minute, okay?”
    That’s when she realized he actually looked a little surprised to see her—­like maybe he was hoping he had the wrong place. At the moment, she couldn’t blame him. “So . . . what happened to your door? Did someone break in or something?”
    It was tempting to say yes—­that would be a good reason, after all, for a door to be off its hinges. But that would only lead to further lies and make a bad situation worse, so she just said, “No, nothing like that.” Then she tried to laugh again, more lightheartedly this time—­but it came out sounding as fake as it was.
    He looked back at the door. “Then what happened?”
    Sheesh, what was his obsession with her door? Even if it was weird—­couldn’t he just go with the flow here a little?
    â€œIt’s the funniest story,” she claimed, trying to blow off his concern. “I’ll tell you over dinner.”
    That was when he narrowed his gaze on her, or more precisely, it seemed, on her sweater. Was he staring at her chest? “What?” she said, blinking.
    â€œIs your sweater inside out?”
    She glanced down. Looked at the sleeve. Saw the thick seam running up to her shoulder. Oh God. Another laugh echoed automatically from her throat. It sounded a little maniacal to her this time. “Oh wow, looks like it is.” Then she rolled her eyes. “You won’t believe what a crazy day I’ve had.”
    By now, Jared had begun to look a little skeptical—­about everything. “I’m . . . not sure I really want to know.”
    â€œHuh?” she asked, the confidence she’d so desperately tried to keep afloat beginning to waver.
    His expression turned dark, disappointed, judgmental. “And did I hear a guy’s voice up there with you just now?”
    She tried to breathe. “Yes, but that’s just my neighbor.”
    And now it was Jared throwing up his hands, clearly ready to back away from this situation. “You know what? I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”
    And as he turned to walk away—­stepping awkwardly past the fallen front door—­Christy said, “Jared, wait—­I can explain. Really!”
    But Jared didn’t wait. He just kept working his way past the door, until he stepped out into the evening sun now hitting the front porch, then disappeared from view.
    And her heart dropped.
    She couldn’t believe it. All she’d done to try to pull off this date. And it ended like this? And he’d seemed like a really good guy, too—­the kind who would maybe be wild about her and want to help her. And the kind who—­perhaps wisely—­steered clear of wild ­people. Her hopes plummeted as she stared at the spot he’d just vacated.
    â€œThat’s a