“Okay.” It would work. It had to work.

“There’s something else we could do that would probably permanently cure you of this crush you’re carrying,” Adele said.

“What?”

“Introduce me to him.” Adele smiled. “I’ll fuck him.”

Chapter 26

26

“Is it true if someone keeps popping into your mind, it’s because they’re thinking about you?” Katie asked over breakfast one Saturday in early October. “That’s what Grandma says.” She hadn’t seen or heard from Matt since Ryan went away to college over five weeks earlier, but she still thought about him all the time.

“Maybe,” Lina said before taking a sip of her coffee.

“I believe it,” Logan said. “Girls are always popping into my mind.”

“Yeah, right.” Katie rolled her eyes.

“What?” He smiled. “It’s true.”

“To be safe, you should just assume everything your grandma says is false,” Phil said, not looking up from the article he was reading in the newspaper.

“Ignore him,” Lina said.

“I think it’s true,” Katie said.

“I hope it’s not the kid with the tattoos,” her father said. “The one that keeps popping into your head.”

Katie looked down at her cereal. “I wasn’t talking about me.” She hated the way he could read her mind. Grandma was right, he was definitely psychic. She could feel his eyes on her but refused to look at him.

“If you say so,” he said, sounding less than convinced.

“If they pop into your head while you’re showering, does it mean they’re thinking of you naked?” Logan asked.

“Gross.” Katie scrunched up her face in distaste.

“What is wrong with you?” Phil slapped Logan with his newspaper. “You don’t say things like that in front of females.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that at all,” Lina added.

“Sorry.” Logan dropped his eyes, but the smile remained.

“Think before you talk,” Phil said.

“Okay, sorry.” He stole a glance at Katie. They both started laughing.

“Don’t encourage him,” Phil said to Katie.

“It was funny.”

“It was crude.”

“It was a serious question,” Logan insisted.

“Hey, look at me,” Phil said and waited for Logan to meet his eyes. “Enough.”

“I’m going to start going to an astrology class with Grandma on Saturday mornings,” Katie announced, hoping telling them instead of asking would make them agree.

“No you’re not,” Phil said. “Absolutely one hundred percent, no.”

“Why not?” She frowned across the table at him.

“It’s against our religion.”

“Your religion, you mean,” Katie fumed. “I should be able to explore other ideas. I don’t need you to think for me.”

“When you’re an adult, you can explore whatever ideas you’d like. Until then, the answer is unequivocally no.” His attention shifted to Lina. “Do you want to talk to your mom or do you want me to?”

“I will.”

“You can’t imprison my thoughts,” Katie said.