It was on the tip of Della’s tongue to say no, but she’d just resolved not to feel sorry for herself, and it wasn’t like anybody else was likely to drop by. Not anymore. “Okay, yeah. I’d like that.”

“Yaaas!” The genuine enthusiasm in Ruth’s voice made Della laugh. “I’ll see you about seven?”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

Della ended the call, feeling better. Before she could talk herself out of it, she reactivated the Tinder app, thankful that she’d listened to Tucker that night and not deleted it from her phone altogether. The man had been good for something, at least.

She blinked as about a hundred notifications flashed up and then settled into the couch. They would keep her busy for a while, and that suited her just fine. Except one of the first notifications she came across was from Tucker.

So…he’d also reactivated his account. Ack! She really wished she didn’t know that. Della stared at his face for the longest time, ignoring how much it hurt to do so. She hadn’t seen him all week, and she missed him despite everything. Missed his big lumberjack head and those prickly whiskers of his and the way he smiled like that, with those dimples on display.

Betty whined as she shoved her nose at the screen and licked Tucker’s face. “Yeah, Betty Boop.” Della petted the dog’s head. “I miss the jackass, too.”

Her hand hovered over the screen, trembling a little as she debated about whether to open it or not, but, putting on her big girl panties, she took a deep breath and tapped on the notification.

It took her a second or two to realize his bio had changed—dramatically. It was very different to the short one-sentence bio from the past. And what she read there just about stopped her heart in her chest.

Things I am—

An idiot of the first order

Really fucking sorry I screwed up

Becoming disconcertingly attached to a red-and-black lacy thong

Hopelessly in love with my best friend’s sister

Things she is not—

Incapable of making her own decisions

Too young

Only temporary

My dirty little secret

Things to do—

Confess all to her brother. Check.

Grovel on a public platform. Check.

Take her to Disneyland. Tickets purchased. Check.

Tell her I love her. ASAP.

Tears streamed down Della’s face. He loved her? He loved her. He’d told Arlo about them! That had to be love, right? He wanted to take her to Disneyland. Her heart, which had been a broken-down, crumbled mess, barely beating enough to keep her alive, kicked to life.

He loved her. But…