I had two equally bad choices.

The first choice was to tell the truth. It would likely put a huge damper on the mood and I'd probably get some half-assed excuse for him to leave.

And the second choice was to lie. I wasn't much of a liar in general, but it seemed cleaner. Less stressful.

Just when I thought I was out of options, a magical third one popped into my mind.

"So what'll it be?"

I took a deep breath and tried to sit up tall on my bar stool.

Come on, Grace. You've secured bigger deals before.

"I'll tell you on one condition."

"Name it," he dared confidently.

"We go outside to see the stars."

His lips broke into an amused smile and he chuckled before passing me the drink. "And here I thought I'd have to enter witness protection..."

He shook his head laughing before bringing up his glass to clink against mine.

"Cheers," I murmured as our glasses made contact and I took the drink in another risky gulp.

I almost spat out my drink at how quickly he downed his and turned to gesture towards the door. But I held on and took a deep swallow.

I clutched my purse to my chest and followed him.

This rugged, sexy stranger.

I never took shots with random men. And I never talked to someone long enough without knowing their name.

But something about the anonymity soothed me.

I could spend one night before I was the grieving daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Reeve.

We stopped at the back of a dark pickup truck at the edge of the lot. It almost appeared to be marking the edge of the forest line.

I hesitated by the rear tires of the truck as he folded down the truck bed.

"Give me just a sec..." He hoisted himself up and dug around, brandishing a woven blanket a moment later and laying it out, stomping out the bumpy parts with his work boots.

"Well, this is fancy..." I joked, not bothering to hide the flirtation dripping off my words.

How long ago was it that I felt so vibrant? Flirty?

The first few years with Logan?

I knew I was circling dangerous territory. So close to spinning out of control.

And I was just itching to light that match.

"Ok, hop up."

He knelt down to the edge and extended me one of those chiseled, strong hands.

I was never one to typically fetishize hands. But this man... even a sliver of chin hair oozed sex appeal.

I reached for him with my right hand, using my left to try to gain leverage against the truck. I stumbled up into his arms and he led me back towards the top of the blanket. Spellbound, I followed his lead and laid down on the blanket, reluctantly guiding my gaze to the sky.

"Do you know the constellations?" He asked, his words cutting the silence.

I shook my head, my eyes scanning across the atmosphere. "No."

"I don't either." We laid still in the silence. I felt our breaths pulse into the atmosphere like waves crashing upon a shore.

I'm still not sure where I sit on ghosts and the afterlife. But this was the closest I'd felt to a kindred spirit.

He turned to face me, laying up on his elbow. I felt his breath cascade over me.

"A deal's a deal."

"Right..." I agreed with a light shiver.

I'd much rather he kiss me.

"I'm here..." I started shakily. The reality still failed to set in for me.

Who knows? Maybe when I turned my phone back on, I'd have a nagging phone call from my mom. Or a fatigued voicemail from my dad.

Saying it seemed too real, too final.

"For a funeral."

For a moment, I thought he'd pull me into his flannel shirt and embrace me. Bury my head in his chest, so I could ignore the world.

That was what I wanted most at that moment.

Instead, he fixed his gaze on me. Soft, but bold. Understanding, but searching.

"I'm sorry." He sighed and rolled onto his back before groaning as he sat up. "We should get you back now."

"What?" I blurted immediately.

Did I miss something?

"You heard me." He sighed and rubbed the gruff on the side of his jaw. "I saw your ring earlier when you were talking to Beth."

Damn.

"Oh, yeah... I'm cleaning it," I struggled to lie.

He stood up and walked over to the edge of the truck bed before hopping out and offering me his hand again.

"Secret's safe with me, princess. But I'd beware of other...wolves in these woods."

I sat up and crawled over to him, accepting his hand and letting him help me down. "Thank you."

"I'll drive you back. You staying at the inn?" He followed me over to the passenger side and opened the door for me to climb in.

"Yeah, but how will I get my rental tomorrow?"

He shut the door on my question and jogged over to the driver's side.

"I'll give you my number. Where's your phone?"

I winced, remembering the powered-off device in the bottom of my tote at the inn.

"It ran out of battery, so I left it back to charge..."

He put the key in the ignition and shook his head. "Here..." He flipped up the armrest between our seats to produce a white business card. "The old-fashioned way."

I received the card in my fingers, studying the font intently.

PAUL GOSCH

GOSCH CARPENTRY

"Paul..." I read back quietly.

He put the truck in reverse and started to back up.

"Oh, wait!" I exclaimed, turning to dig into my purse. My outburst surprised him so much, he put the car back in park.

"What? What's wrong?"

I sighed victoriously when I grabbed one of my stashed business cards and handed it to him.

He laughed and held the card up to his face as he read off the text. "Grace Reeve... Esquire? What's that mean?" He asked, slipping the car into his pocket.

"I'm a lawyer," I clarified quietly.

He nodded and put the car back in reverse. "A lawyer princess. Can't say I see that every day."

With that, we spent the rest of the drive back in content silence.