608 Alpha Avenue (Cherry Falls)

His tone is scratchy and reminds me of how I felt inside when I realized there was nothing between us in his eyes.

“Then what is this?” I ask.

He runs a hand down his face. “I don’t know how I fucking thought I’d be able to walk away from you, but I can’t. But you should walk away from me, Haley. You should shove me off this porch and have a life without the bullshit I bring with me.”

Not a fucking chance.

Even though I’m mad and a little hurt, I’m not going to shove him off this porch. I’m not going to push him away in some childish form of protest—to hurt him because he hurt me too. I’m going to give him a chance to say his piece and then decide whether to knock him off the steps or not.

“I’m thinking about it,” I say, fighting a grin.

He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t bat an eye.

“I mean it,” he says sincerely. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll make me leave. And I’ll go, if you want me to. But …” He growls into the evening air. “I can’t say I won’t make life a living hell for any man who thinks he has a chance with you.”

I can’t help it—I laugh.

“I’m kidding,” he says. “Mostly.”

I reach up to brush a strand of hair off his forehead. “I should make you leave. You really hurt my feelings, and I want you to know that.”

He nods, his eyes pleading with me not to. “I know, and I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, babe.”

“I’m not your babe.”

He closes his eyes. “You’re right. I’ll go.”

Panic courses through me. Although I don’t know how this ends, I know I don’t want him to leave.

“Don’t,” I say.

His body stills. His eyes open.

“Tell me why I should let you stay,” I whisper, the words pregnant with hope. “Tell me why you’re here.”

I hold my breath as he thinks.

What if he gives me a shitty answer? What if he really doesn’t want me but just doesn’t want me going out with someone else tonight?

Or … what if he gives me a great answer?

I lean against the railing and watch him chew on his bottom lip. My hands tremble beside me as I try to stay levelheaded.

“Why am I here? Because when I think about not being with you, it makes me rethink everything I thought I knew,” he says softly.

“Like what?”

He tilts his head to the side.

“Yes. I wanna know,” I say.

He sighs. “I’m as excited at the prospect of having sex with you right now as I was before we did it. The anticipation is probably worse, actually. And the idea of you having a problem and going to someone else with it? It makes me rage.”

My insides melt.

“I have loads of time, energy, and some money—although not a ton—and that’s great. I love the way I spend all of them. But it seems … like a matte finish when I compare it to how I might spend all of it with you.” He leans closer. “That would be a glossy finish, if you wondered.”

“Speak car to me.”

“I was speaking book. Isn’t that a book cover term? Matte or glossy?”

I can’t help but laugh and nod. He made a book joke for me.

He chuckles before being serious again. “I used to think it would be selfish to be in a relationship when I love to do so many things on my own. But now?” He shrugs, his shoulders moving up and down. “Now the idea of spending this weekend alone, and next weekend, and the next—not spending them with you … I can never go back to Wildflower Falls without you.”

We exchange a grin.

“So, if you’re willing to take a chance on a mechanic with grease on every shirt he owns, I’d love to try to figure out how to … be Ed Sheeran.”

“I don’t want you to be Ed Sheeran. Just play me one of his songs every now and then.”

A smile slowly spreads across his cheeks, as a bubble of excitement fills well beyond its means inside my heart.

“Does this mean I can call you babe?” he asks.

I try to play it cool and not let my happiness boil over, but it’s pointless. My cheeks ache from the smile stretching from ear to ear.

He sweeps me off my feet, my legs dangling over his arms. He kisses me again—this time with unspoken promises written on his tongue.

“Hey,” I say, pulling back. “Let’s go inside.”

“I like the way you think, babe.”

He carries me inside, my giggle trailing behind us.

Thirteen

Haley

“I finished my chapter!” I plop down in the booth across from Grayson. “I think I have five or six left. Maybe. I don’t know.” I clutch my heart. “I love my characters so much that I might not ever let them go.”