Page 159 of Chasing Hope

“I doubt she is. She’s always been a liar.”

“But what if she’s not lying?” My eyes all but bug out of my head. “She’s only thirteen…”

“So?”

“So…aren’t we a little young for boyfriends?”

“Not according toEmma.”

My heart is in my throat, hammering so wildly I can hear the rush of my blood in my ears.Does he like her? Is it true?

Today has been the best day; any day spent with my best friend and Matteo is. Honestly, Caleb too. I know we pick on each other sometimes but it’s always good-natured. It’s just that Matteo…always seems to make me happier than everyone else. But now…

Why didn’t he tell me?

Thank God for my sunglasses, because to my utter horror, tears begin to fill my eyes.

“Want me to ask him?”

“No!”

She lowers her voice. “You know, I think he likes you. Always has. He’s smitten.”

A sniffle escapes me as I whisper back, “Well, clearly not. He likes Emma.”

“Ask him before you believe her word.”

That’s true…

Before I can blink, Sarah is turning over, sitting up and calling out, “Hey, Caleb!”

Catching the football, Caleb shields his eyes from the sun with his hand, squinting. “Yeah?”

“Can you explain to me what a hat trick is? Lexy during cheer practice said it’s when a player can keep their helmet on and?—”

“Shewhat?” Caleb barks as he makes his way over before Sarah can even finish her sentence.

She snorts under her breath, muttering to me, “Predictable as always.”

I frown at my best friend. “What are you doing?” I whisper-hiss.

“Want to go for a paddle?” Matteo calls over, looking directly at me.

Before I can respond, Sarah grins at me. “Waiting for that to happen.”

As Caleb comes over grumbling about hockey, I eye her, standing. “You’re evil.”

“An evil genius,” she says smugly, sitting straighter as Caleb’svoice grows closer. “Now let me sacrifice some brain cells. But you owe me one.”

I let out a bark of laughter but it promptly dies as Caleb plops beside Sarah and frowns in my direction. “Not sure why you’re laughing. Why didn’t you correct Lexy? You know what a hat trick is.” His eyes plead with me. “Please tell me you know what a hat trick is.”

Shaking my head, I drop my sunglasses, turn on my heel, and chuckle to myself. “He’s all yours, Sarah!” I call over my shoulder.

Making my way to the lake, my throat closes up, my good humor from Sarah and Caleb fading as I slowly approach Matteo. We’ve always paddleboarded together. I’m not sure when it started—perhaps when I was around seven? Hiking has become a new hobby of ours but we’re never alone. I try my hardest to organize it that way but Caleb loves hiking too much not to tag along and I don’t want to make it obvious that I just want to hang out with Matteo.

The only person who knows how I feel about Matteo is Sarah. She’s the only one I trusted to tell that my heart has always belonged to Matteo.

Which is why as I slide onto the paddleboard, sitting at the front with my legs crossed and Matteo standing behind me, my heart hammers wildly in its cage. I don’t talk for the first lap around the lake, but on the second, the peaceful setting overtakes my nervous system.