I used my key to enter her house, then knocked as I always did on the inside of the door.

“Yoo-hoo! It’s Farrah!”

It was quiet, and I wondered if perhaps she wasn’t home, although that wouldn’t have been good, since her mother always instructed her to come straight here after school.

Nora finally emerged from her bedroom. She looked a bit sullen.

“What’s up?” I asked. “Is something wrong?” When she didn’t immediately say anything, I pried. “Did something happen?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“You look sad.”

Nora hesitated. “I saw something today, and I’m afraid to tell you what it is. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

My pulse raced. “Okay…um…well, don’t be. I can handle whatever it is you saw.”

“I saw you and Jace.”

Oh.

It hit me.

Oh no.

What?

I gulped. “Uh…me and Jace. You mean…what…what do you think you saw?”

“I had a fever this morning, so my mom let me stay home sick. We ran out of stuff to put on the pita bread. I saw your car, but I wasn’t sure if you were home or if the car was just broken down. So, I went to my yard and peeked through the screen thingy by the pool. I could see you and Jace in the kitchen through the glass door.”

Shit.

I no longer had to wonder what it was she’d witnessed. I was absolutely mortified. “I’m sorry you saw us. I wish you hadn’t peeked into the house, but it’s not your fault.” I finally looked up. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “I know what it was. I ran into my mom and her ex-boyfriend once.”

“Obviously I didn’t know you were home at that time of day. I didn’t even think you could see that clearly into my house. I’m sorry.”

“I thought maybe you would be mad at me.”

“No, of course not. You were looking for me. You didn’t expect to see anything.”

“Is he your boyfriend now?”

“We’re…spending time together. My brother doesn’t know, and it’s important that it stays that way. I’ll make sure to be more careful. Thank you for teaching me an important lesson today.”

Several seconds of awkward silence ensued, and I wondered if perhaps this was no longer the best time to whip out the tickets.

I might’ve scarred you for life, but here are Shawn Mendes tickets to make up for it?

Ultimately, I decided the change of subject would be a good thing to take the attention off one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

I took a deep breath in. “You know what would be great?”

“What?”

“For us to both forget about that thing you saw and focus on something that’s definitely for you to see.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have a surprise.”

“You do?”

“Yes. It’s why I came by. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to give it to you.” I reached into my pocket and grabbed the envelope.

Nora took it from me. “What is it?”

Rubbing my hands together, I smiled. “Go ahead and find out.”

She opened it, lifting the tickets out, and when the words seemed to register, her eyes widened.

Then she started trembling. “Is this really happening?”

“It is.” I bit my lip. “You’re going to see him.”

“Shawn tickets?” she cried. “How? When?”

“I have a friend at the ticket office,” I said proudly.

Nora burst into tears before wrapping her arms around me. This distraction had indeed helped alter the mood, thank God.

“Oh my God!” She kept jumping up and down. “I just can’t believe it! I’m going to be in the same room as him!”

“You think your mom will let you go, right?”

“She has to. I’ll die if she doesn’t.”

“I’m sure she’ll want to take you, but if for some reason she doesn’t, I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Farrah! This is the best thing that ever happened to me in my entire life!”

It felt amazing to make her so happy. I could certainly relate to that feeling of giddiness after my morning with Jace—getting something you always wanted but never thought you would have. I was still in a state of euphoria, even if realizing that Nora had seen us put a damper on things.

“Put them in a safe place, okay? Make sure you let me know what your mom says, and if she wants me to take you.”

“Okay!”

Grateful that the tickets had taken the tension in the air away, I hung out at Nora’s for about twenty more minutes before heading back to my place.

Jace pulled in at four on the dot. Excitement ran through me as I watched him exit the truck. We’d only have a couple of hours in the house together before Nathan came home, but I planned to cherish every second. First, though, I’d have to tell him about Nora.

Before I could get the words out, he walked through the door and came straight at me, enveloping my mouth in his as if he’d been dying to kiss me all day. His heart thundered against mine, the intensity of those beats giving me hope.