Page 111 of Better Than Revenge

A rush of gratitude washed over me at how sweet he was.

“Well, aren’t you handsome,” Grandma said. She’d said that at both their previous meetings, and he gave me a smirk at the compliment.

“Grandma, he already has a big head. He doesn’t need any more encouragement.”

“I need all the encouragement.”

He really was handsome.

“Don’t mind my granddaughter,” she said. “She’s a sassy one.”

“She definitely is,” Theo said.

“Are you ready to go inside?” I asked.

“I am.”

We slowly climbed the stairs, me and my grandma first and everyone else trailing behind. I opened the door, and she stepped inside.

The sun shone bright through the windows, creating a hazy warmth. Her bracelet caught some light and rainbows bounced off every surface, but she was focused on the board straight in front of her as the group piled in behind us.

“Isn’t that something?” she said.

It really was. We’d shined up the board as best we could, and the colors were vibrant greens and browns, like my grandma’s eyes. Not only did he capture the shape and color perfectly, but Andrewhad captured her character too, her kindness, her curiosity. He obviously knew her and loved her.

“Should I give her a spin or no?” she asked, and everyone laughed. Then she pulled me into a gentle hug. “Thank you, my thoughtful girl, this is very special.”

I looked around the small room, where everyone I loved now stood, laughing and talking, and I couldn’t remember if I’d ever been happier.

Two months later

“DO I HAVE TO TEACHyou all the rules and regulations of the game you want to play?” I teased, quoting him from the first time I’d gone to his house to learn to kick.

Theo barked out a laugh and picked me up by the middle, marching toward the ocean.

“Don’t you dare!” I scream-laughed, struggling to get out of his hold.

We were on the beach with our friends and a bunch of girls from the soccer team. They’d started a game, and Theo had nodded in their direction. “Should we play?”

“Soccer?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Sure.”

“Do they play by the book here? Call out of bounds? Keep score?” he asked.

He didn’t dump me in the ocean now, just set me down, twirled me toward him, and kissed me.

“Keep it PG!” Max called from where he sat under a beach umbrella layering on more sunblock.

“Do you really need more of that?” I asked as Theo and I joinedhim.

“I’m a ginger. Yes, I do.”

“He does,” Lee informed me from where he sat on a blanket, a book in his hand.

“Do you two want to play soccer?” Theo asked.