This Changes Everything Read Online Free PDF

restrain his reasonable complaints about the six-minute wait that turned into twenty. And then, when the bus finally did arrive, they were forced to stand again with several people between them during the slow journey up Sutter and Van Ness Avenue. Eventually they were able to grab seats together, watching the cobalt-blue water of the bay to their right dotted with sailboats, ships, and ferries, and the blood-orange span of the bridge that had inspired the color of Cleo’s new car.
    And then they were there. As she stepped off the bus, the ocean breeze whipped her ponytail into her face. Smiling into the wind, she reached back, retrieved her pink hat—he was still wearing it, though he’d turned the brim around—and replaced it on her head.
    “Do you realize what time it is?” He tucked a loose strand under the cap behind her ear. Her eyes were a brighter, lighter blue than the sea behind her, more like the cloudless sky above. “That took almost two hours. We could be in LA by now.”
    “Why would we want to be?” She stretched her arms wide to take in the cliffs of the Marin Headlands, the famous bridge, and the sparkling sea. “I never get tired of this.” With a deep breath, she spun around and headed for the walking side of the bridge.
    Even in October, the area was overrun with people, tourists and locals alike. He considered putting off asking her for the favor until they were done, but they’d already wasted hours getting here, and the hike over and back would take at least an hour more, and then the snail-mail return pace home…
    No, he’d just have to talk to her here.
    “So, I’ve got a favor to ask,” he said. Had to shout it, actually, because a family with thirteen million children and a dog, all on scooters (including the corgi), cut between them.
    Cleo waved at him over her shoulder, not looking as if she’d heard him. If she had, she’d probably be rolling her eyes and walking faster.
    “Did you see the dog on wheels?” she asked him when they were finally reunited.
    “This is the walking side. Wheels should be over there.”
    “Yeah, because Lassie is totally about to win the Tour de France.”
    “Lassie was a collie, not a corgi.”
    She elbowed him. “Come on, Sly. Try to enjoy the moment. Real life. No screens, no Internet, just reality.”
    Nodding, he fell silent, walking with her in the stream of people, breathing in the cold, salty air, trying to be patient. But when she stopped to tie her shoe, he seized the moment. “Cleo, I need to ask you a favor. It’s making me kind of tense.”
    “You? Tense? That’s not like you.”
    “I know you’re going to mock.”
    “As if I would ever mock,” she said mockingly.
    “But I’m going to press on.”
    “Of course you are. I bet I’m on your to-do list and you want to check it off.” A blast of wind hit her from behind, blowing the ponytail into her face again. She hugged her arms around herself. “I wish I’d brought my jacket. You’d think I’d know better by now.”
    He reached for the zipper at his throat. “You can borrow mine.”
    “It wouldn’t fit. But thanks.”
    “Sure it would. It’s at least a large.”
    “Please, Sly. I’m fine.” She put her hands over his and tugged the zipper back up to his throat. “I just like to complain.”
    “I’m going to ask my favor now, all right? Brace yourself.”
    She lowered her hands, eyeing him warily. “You’re making me nervous.”
    “First of all—your date today,” he began. “Was it a date date or just a friend thing?”
    “Why?”
    “Just curious.”
    She continued to stare for a moment. “Just a friend thing.”
    “Great, then you can help me,” he said.
    “Don’t get carried away. I’ve already got a bad feeling about this.”
    He smiled in an attempt to soften her up. “So, there’s this charity auction. In Carmel next weekend.”
    “Oh God, they’re auctioning you off again,” she said, clapping her hands together.
    He’d once