When Love Hit Zero

The Thanksgiving family dinner—Ethan had promised to come home with me to meet my parents.

But the night before we were supposed to leave, he roped me into his number game again, this time with my best friend Chloe.

"Zero to ten. Pick a number."

I picked zero. Chloe picked ten.

The next second, Ethan turned to me with a grin.

"Then tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, I'll spend zero hours with your parents. Sorry, Claire—I can't go home with you."

Before I could even react, he turned to Chloe.

"Your mom's coming to Boston for the holiday, right? I've got ten hours for you guys."

"Amazing!"