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Back Counting Down with You Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. Dedication
  6. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  7. Part 1
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. Part 2
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. Part 3
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. 49
  59. 50
  60. 51
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. 54
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I shut the door behind me, then hesitate. I turn back around and knock on the window. Ace peers at me in confusion and I tap again insistently.

He leans over the seat and manually winds the window down. I give him a pointed look but refrain from making a comment about how old the truck is. “Did you forget something?”

I shake my head. “I want you with all your lines, too,” I say and duck forward to press a quick kiss to Ace’s cheek.

In front of me, Ace’s mouth snaps shut. I can’t help but smile at his gobsmacked expression before I turn around and walk to my front door.

His truck continues to idle until I unlock the door and slip inside. Outside, the engine rumbles, and I watch from the window as he disappears down the street.

“Myra,” Dadu says, making me jump twenty feet in the air. I turn around with a hand clutching my heart.

“Dadu,” I say. A small wave of panic pushes at my chest. Did she see me kiss Ace’s cheek? She doesn’t look mad, which is a good sign.

She observes me for a moment before smiling faintly. “Tell Alistair it is 10:02 p.m. He promised me 10:00 p.m. If he does this next time, I might have to make your curfew 9:58 p.m. instead.”

I laugh hoarsely. “Okay, Dadu. I will.”

41

T-MINUS 7 DAYS

A knock on my bedroom door startles me from my failed attempt at yoga, and I hit my arm against the side of my desk.

I’ve moved on to the next coping method. Candles have proven useful, but I want to have as many options as possible.

Hence why I’m trying yoga to help with my anxiety. Not that it’s going well.

“Yo, Myra Apu?” Samir says, peeking his head in the door. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure.” I rub the side of my arm. “What’s up?”

“I need your help,” he says.

I falter and look at him. What could Samir possibly need my help with? “With...?”

Samir lets himself in and shuts the door behind him before sitting at my desk. He levels me with an extremely serious expression. “It’s top secret. You can’t tell anyone.”

“Who am I going to tell?” I ask, exasperated. In the days since his apology, we’ve returned to normal in the way only siblings can after a huge fight. Last night, his help in hiding my date from our parents only proved it further.

“No one can know,” Samir emphasizes.

I roll my eyes. My brother is the world’s strangest specimen. “Just spit it out.”

Samir lets out a deep sigh. “I need to know more about Leah.”

“About who?”