Following the school’s victory, horns were honking down the street, and the Wessmans, who lived two doors away, had put a Hollier banner on their garage. Emma pulled into the driveway and heard a ping on her phone. It was Ethan. TONIGHT WAS UNEXPECTEDLY FUN, he wrote. OR IN THE WORDS OF THE DAILY EMMA: SHY BOY SCORES BIG AT SOCCER GAME. Emma flushed, loving that Ethan had picked up on her headline habit and was writing some of his own. NOT TOO BAD, RIGHT? she typed back, feeling a warm, happy sensation all over. Besides the minor blip with Thayer, Ethan had been awesome: He’d charmed Sutton’s friends and even made a couple of hilarious jokes. By the looks Madeline and Charlotte had given her at the end of the game, Emma knew they’d accepted him. It was nice to know Ethan had accepted them, too. Emma cut the engine and looked around. Surprisingly, she’d beat Laurel back, even though Emma had driven Ethan home after the game. The Mercer parents’ cars weren’t there either, and though Grandma’s car was parked outside the garage, the house was dark.
