“She wasn’t the right one for you.” Her heart raced. She knew where he was going with this because she’d thought it already. “You don’t think Mark is the right one for me.”

“What kind of marriage can you have when you can’t share the things that are important to you?”

The kind built on secrets and lies, she thought glumly.

“Do you think you’ll go through with it?” he asked.

“Marrying him?” She slipped her hand from Dylan’s. She wasn’t sure. “This trip hasn’t been anything like I expected,” she said.

What she had expected was an uneventful drive across country, checking off the Route 66 Bucket List items along the way. She’d arrive in New York with a little peace on her mind, having completed one of Judy’s lists. She and Mark would live happily ever after as she worked her way through her sister’s other lists. Questioning her engagement to Mark and whether he was the right man for her hadn’t been part of the plan.

She looked down at the engagement ring that still felt foreign. “I have a lot to think about.”

“I know, but not tonight. It’s late, and there’s plenty of time to figure things out tomorrow.” Dylan tugged her blanket up to her chin. “This trip might not be what you expected, but I’m glad we met.”

“Me too,” Joy agreed. She wasn’t sure what tomorrow held for her and Mark, but there was one thing she was sure about: she was falling hard for Dylan.

Dylan reached across the seat and, this time, touched her hair. She sighed. It felt good, his hand on her. His fingers brushed gently across her cheek and her eyes closed. Then his hand sought hers and his thumb absently caressed the skin between her thumb and index finger.

“Good night, Joy,” he whispered, still holding her hand. He then hummed the tune he’d played on the guitar and the notes seared their mark on her heart. She’d never forget that song, she thought, surrendering to sleep. She’d never forget Dylan either.

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 20

AFTER

Joy

Settling onto the couch in the front parlor of their Chelsea neighborhood town house in Manhattan, Joy rips out a page from the monthly singles review in the most recent Rolling Stone. The magazine has been a guilty pleasure since Judy gifted a subscription on her twelfth birthday. It’s the one thing she kept when she gave up everything else: skateboarding, surfing, and the belief that her likes, such as lazy summer afternoons chilling with the guy she’d been crushing on and soaking up the sun with friends, didn’t matter. Not yet.