I decline anything to eat or drink. My mouth is too dry and my stomach too unsettled. She doesn’t seem happy. Definitely doesn’t seem to appreciate my grand gesture. Fuck me. Listening to Earl was maybe a mistake? I don’t know. I can’t go back now, though. I’m here, so I’m going to tell her what I feel.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I tell her. “Nobody’s sick, nothing bad happened back home. In Star Falls.”
Her shoulders visibly sag, and I think she’s relieved. “Oh, okay. Thank goodness. Then why are you here?”
I am still holding the bouquet of roses for Mrs. Harkin, so I drop them on the coffee table in front of us and just let her have it. “I’m an asshole, Chloe. When I didn’t hear much from you after you left, I started panicking. Thinking of everything I’ve done wrong in the very short time I’ve been lucky enough to be with you. And I started thinking that maybe I’ve been treating you more like a fuck buddy than my girlfriend.”
She’s listening and nodding, her crystal-clear green eyes wide.
“I want that, Chloe. I don’t know if I’m ready to live together full time, but I think you’re going to have to push me. I’m set in my ways, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to change. I want to change if that means I’m going to be better. Better for you.”
I pause to take a breath and see if she’s going to react at all.
“So, you drove all the way to Pennsylvania to tell me that?”
Mia is sniffing around curiously. I look from the dog to Chloe to my clenched hands. “Yeah,” I admit. “I realized that I might lose you. And I couldn’t let that happen without trying to show you how much you mean to me. Because you do, Chloe. I should have said it a thousand times a day, so you know. I’m falling in love with you. Fuck, I might be in love with you already.” I know I am, but this doesn’t feel like the way to tell her. Certainly not the time.
She worries that bottom lip between her teeth. “Franco, I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you took off work. You drove all this way?”
I nod. “I couldn’t wait another minute without saying those words to your face. I didn’t want you sitting in your hometown, thinking about moving away from Star Falls, without knowing exactly how I feel. This shit’s never happened to me before. I’ve never second-guessed shit, but here I am, wondering if you’re second-guessing us.”
When I say that, she crumples, and tears well up in her eyes. “Oh, Franco.” She shakes her head. “You’re already everything I want. I wasn’t mad about anything. My visit here has just been hard.”
“Hard? How? What’s going on?” I’m immediately worried that something happened. “I’ll take you home if you want to get out of here.”
“No, it’s not that,” she says quietly. She chuckles. “It’s so funny. All the years my mom sacrificed to put up with my dad and his bullshit. She’s sure making up for lost time. I know she loves me, but she’s been so busy with her friends that we haven’t spent much time together. It’s fine. I mean, I’ve had a lot of time to think and go through stuff. Mom gave me this.” Chloe gets up and walks to her purse, which is sitting on the edge of the coffee table. She pulls out a check and shows me the amount.
“Three thousand dollars? Your mom is giving you three grand? What for?” I ask, folding it back up and handing it to her.
Chloe shrugs. “Mom was never able to have friends or her own money. She’s living her best life now, and she wants to share some of what she can with me.”
I wonder if this money means that Chloe has been thinking about not coming back to Star Falls. “A little cash must make coming home and leaving the robbery and all that behind you a lot more attractive,” I say. I can’t even look her in the eye. I don’t think my heart can take it if she actually says she’s been seriously considering not coming back.
But she shakes her head. “It’s the opposite,” she says. “I can’t wait to get back. I’ve already spent all this money in my head. I figured I’d pay you back as much as I could first, and then after that…”
I stop her right there. “So, you’re definitely coming back to Star Falls? And what about us?”
She shakes her head. “Franco, I’ve known from the moment I met you that you were the one.”
“So, you’re not mad that I’m here?” I ask. “Was it stupid to come?”
She shakes her head again. “It wasn’t stupid,” she giggles. “Babe, I’m in love with you. I want you and have since at least week two when I stole your tank top.” She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t really steal it, but I might have noticed that I scooped it up with my stuff when I was packing and just decided that tank would be happier with me.”
I laugh but don’t interrupt her.
“My mom wants to introduce me to her friends. They’re all coming over tonight. Everybody is bringing something. I’m supposed to start the turkey in about an hour. Mom plans to work on the actual holiday.”
“And I’m crashing the party. Fucking everything up,” I fill in.
“You haven’t fucked everything up,” she teases. “But I’m putting you to work now.”
“I’m all yours,” I say, and I mean it.
19
CHLOE
Franco left before me,needing to be at his parents’ for Thanksgiving dinner. I needed time to prep the store for the big reveal and sale tomorrow.
