Free The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott

slapped his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Of all the days to forget my wallet! I guess we’ll have to skip this one.”
    The woman scowled and Maddy grabbed David’s elbow. “Thanks anyway!” she called, and hustled out the door. She dropped her hand once they were outside and punched him on the bicep. “Nice going, Mr. Suave.”
    David shrugged and grinned down at her. “She’s just mad because her tasting room looks like an old folks’
    home.”
    Maddy realized that they were walking companion-ably down the vineyard path together, side by side, their arms swinging easily and their hands almost touching.
    What had happened this afternoon? She’d been prepared to be furious but then he’d caught her off guard with those cookies. And all of the biking and scouting had turned out to be pretty fun. You’re still in Napa, Maddy reminded herself. “Fun” is relative. Her BlackBerry beeped in her pocket, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced at the screen: Kirsten.
    “Hey,” she answered breezily.
    “Ohmygod, are you totally miserable?” her friend squealed in her ear.
    “We miss you soooo much!” a voice called from the background.
    “Tell Morgan I miss her too,” Maddy said. “Yeah, it sucks up here.” Some part of her felt sort of guilty saying that, like she was lying or something. She didn’t look at David. “I’m, um, getting used to it though.”
    “Do you—” There was a crash on the other end of the phone and some scuffling. Morgan came on the line, panting a little.
    “I told Kirsten I wanted to talk,” she said. “So, have you met any hotties to keep you busy?”
    “Um, not really.” She glanced at David, who had already reached the bikes and was fiddling with his lock.
    Morgan sighed. “Too bad.”
    “Yeah, well, I’ll survive, I think.”
    David looked up at Maddy and opened his mouth to say something. She flapped her hand at him and turned her back quickly. “Look, chica , I have to go—call you later, okay?” She pressed end before Morgan could respond. She walked over to the bikes.
    “So, it’s one already,” David said, glancing at his Swiss Army watch. “What’s our next adventure?”
    Maddy couldn’t believe how fast the morning had gone, and that she’d actually had a good time. She swung her leg over her bike. “I don’t know about you, but my next adventure is to find some lunch—I’m starving.”
    David mounted his bike also and followed her slowly down the road back toward home. “Well,” he said from behind her, “we could go eat at your place, if that’s okay with you.”
    Surprised, Maddy turned partly around to look back at him, causing her bike to wobble dangerously. “Um, sure,” she said cautiously. “That’d be okay.”

Chapter Ten
    Back at the house, Maddy hurriedly peered into the fridge while David was upstairs washing his hands.
    Tuna salad was too messy. Leftover homemade pizza? Not very appealing—she’d smell like garlic. Then she stopped. Why did it matter if she smelled like garlic or stinky feet or Thierry Mugler Angel, for that matter?
    She had just grabbed the jar of Skippy when she heard David’s footsteps thumping down the stairs.
    “PB&J?” he asked, eyeing the jar in her hand. The curls at his hairline were damp from washing his face.
    His skin glowed from the sun and the exertion of the morning. Maddy wondered if he’d somehow brushed his teeth too, because he smelled fresh and minty. She shrugged, frowning at the peanut butter jar.
    “I can’t think of anything else.” She took the bread from the stainless-steel bread box on the counter.
    “Hmm.” David stared into the fridge. He quickly pulled out a plastic tub of olives, a wedge of hard white cheese with a red rind, and a bowl of radishes. He set everything on the counter and gently took the bread from her hand. Maddy stood in the middle of the floor, staring like an idiot. She shook herself and sat down at the table, watching David inspect the