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Contents (126)
  1. The Meeting Point
  2. Olivia Lara
  3. Contents
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. A YEAR LATER
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. June 2
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. June 3
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. June 4
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. Help Wanted: Seasonal employment, June–August
  37. Twenty-Nine
  38. Thirty
  39. Thirty-One
  40. June 5
  41. Thirty-Two
  42. Thirty-Three
  43. June 6
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. June 7
  47. Thirty-Six
  48. Thirty-Seven
  49. Thirty-Eight
  50. Thirty-Nine
  51. June 8
  52. Forty
  53. Forty-One
  54. June 9
  55. Forty-Two
  56. Forty-Three
  57. Forty-Four
  58. Forty-Five
  59. Forty-Six
  60. Forty-Seven
  61. Forty-Eight
  62. Forty-Nine
  63. Fifty
  64. Fifty-One
  65. June After Midnight: By Ethan Delphy
  66. Chapter 15
  67. Fifty-Two
  68. June After Midnight
  69. Chapter 20
  70. Fifty-Three
  71. June After Midnight
  72. Chapter 21
  73. June After Midnight
  74. Chapter 22
  75. Fifty-Four
  76. June After Midnight
  77. Chapter 28
  78. Fifty-Five
  79. June After Midnight
  80. Chapter 29
  81. June After Midnight
  82. Chapter 30
  83. Fifty-Six
  84. Fifty-Seven
  85. June 11
  86. Fifty-Eight
  87. Fifty-Nine
  88. Sixty
  89. Sixty-One
  90. Sixty-Two
  91. June 12
  92. Sixty-Three
  93. Sixty-Four
  94. Sixty-Five
  95. June 13
  96. Sixty-Six
  97. Sixty-Seven
  98. Sixty-Eight
  99. Sixty-Nine
  100. June 14
  101. Seventy
  102. Seventy-One
  103. Seventy-Two
  104. Seventy-Three
  105. Seventy-Four
  106. June 15
  107. Seventy-Five
  108. Seventy-Six
  109. Seventy-Seven
  110. Seventy-Eight
  111. Seventy-Nine
  112. Eighty
  113. Eighty-One
  114. June 16
  115. Eighty-Two
  116. Eighty-Three
  117. Eighty-Four
  118. Eighty-Five
  119. June After Midnight
  120. Chapter 28 (Draft 1 Version)
  121. Eighty-Six
  122. Eighty-Seven
  123. Eighty-Eight
  124. Acknowledgments
  125. About the Author
  126. Also by Olivia Lara

“Has he? By me? I read your novel and that’s not what happened.”

“I’m not even going to ask what strings you pulled to get an advanced copy.”

“I wouldn’t tell you anyway.”

“So what is the lie in my story?”

“Everything about how it ended.”

Sixty

“Really? Let’s see then. Did you and your boyfriend hug?” Ethan asks.

“Yes, but—”

“Did you and your boyfriend kiss?”

I stare.

“Did you go to meet Max like you said?”

“I was on my way.”

“You were on your way. I see. And a hurricane came and took you away and back to New York. I read this story, the Kansas version. I expect more from a writer. Anything else?”

“You’re twisting it all.”

“How? It’s what happened. He followed you around all day, watched out for you, fell for you, and when he got the courage to ask you to meet him, you chose your boyfriend.”

“There’s an explanation for that.”

“Keep it for someone who cares,” he says snappily.

“I thought he changed his mind. He wasn’t where we agreed we’d meet.”

“Was he supposed to show up, shake your boyfriend’s hand and then walk with you… into the sunrise? Of course he wasn’t there. He’d just watched you two kissing.”

“This is not fair.”

“No, it’s not. When is love fair, Maya?”

My eyes are brimming with tears.

“You didn’t care enough to take a chance on him and now you’re back. So let me ask again. Why?”

“To explain.”

He makes a noise like a buzzer. “Wrong answer! You already tried to explain to me and look how that went.”

“He’s not going to have the same reaction. Max is not like you. He’ll understand.”

“You’re wrong,” he snaps back.

“I’m not wrong. I know him better than I know most people in my life.”

Ethan starts laughing. “You never even saw him that day. You don’t know his name. What makes you think you know anything about him?”

“Because I do. Because—you don’t have to see someone to fall in love with them.”

“Love? We’re talking about love now? If you loved him, you wouldn’t have left like you did. That’s not love. You were not here after that. I had to pick up the pieces.”

“I did love him. I still do, a year later. I never forgot him or our day together.”

I wipe a tear with the back of my hand. Ethan is so cruel.

“Does your boyfriend know you love another man then?”

“What boyfriend?”

“The one who keeps calling you. The same one you left Carmel with last year.”

My nostrils are flaring. His words spin around in my head.

“How do you know it’s the same guy who’s calling me now?”

He stares for a moment. “Because I saw his name on your phone. I’m not dumb.”

“Not that you’d care, but my ‘boyfriend’ and I are over.”

“Weren’t you over before and then you weren’t?” he says coldly. “I expect this David fella will show up here, promise you the moon and the stars or whatever he does to change your mind, and you’ll be back on the boyfriend express; direction: New York.”