“Ain’t gonna happen.”
“You never know until you try,” she singsonged. “Just gotta find you the right one. I’ll play wingwoman—I’m excellent, as you may recall—and we’ll get it taken care of. You won’t even remember her name when I’m done.”
He didn’t have a shred of hope that’d happen. Not when he could call up the tiniest detail about Rory. Like how she’d stir cream and sugar into her coffee, set the spoon down, only to dunk and stir once more before taking her first sip. Or how she’d shove pencils in her hair while she was working and pull out four at the end of the day because she’d forgotten about them. Or how she whispered to herself that she was unplugging her curling iron so she wouldn’t panic when she left the house. Or how she closed her eyes and tapped her finger on her lips when she was trying to envision a design. How she smiled up at him when they were watching a movie, or how she looked when she first woke up, or how fucking much he missed her.
“I love her, Nat,” he said, his voice gruff. “I know that’s not what you wanna hear, and you’re clingin’ to this dumb-ass grudge from years ago, but she’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and I’m in love with her.”
“You— You…” Silence carried over the line for long moments. “Oh.”
He ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the too-long top. “So basically, I’m fucked. Completely and utterly fucked. The one time I throw out all my rules, my heart gets put through the meat grinder. I’m gonna need a little more than a weekend trip to Charlotte to recover.”
“I could— Look, you know Havenbrook’s not my favorite place, but if you need me, I’m there. Just say the word. I don’t think I’ll catch fire if I come back so soon. But just in case, you should probably greet me at the airport with a fire extinguisher.”
He laughed. His first true laugh in what felt like forever. “I’d love to have you back, but I don’t need you to come.”
“How about Asher?”
“He’s plannin’ a trip after his tour. Look, I’m a big boy. Y’all don’t need to babysit me.”
She cleared her throat. “Soooo…speakin’ of babysittin’… When did your pervy little infatuation with Rory start? You remember she was our designated babysitter for years, right?”
“I wasn’t gettin’ boners for her at eight, Nat, Jesus.”
“Well, I don’t know how all your boy parts work! And I have no idea how long this has been goin’ on, becausesomeonedidn’t share.”
“Gee, I wonder why.”
“All right, all right, I get it. I’m the biggest asshole in the world. So what else is new? I’m askin’ now, though, aren’t I?”
He shifted in his seat and stared out at the windshield as he passed theWelcome to Havenbrooksign. “It’s been a while.”
“Define ‘a while.’”
“She was definitely my first wet dream.”
“Oh myGod. I cannot believe you just told me that.”
He breathed out a laugh. “Hey, you wanted to know.”
“So that’s, um…that’s a long time, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Nat’s voice softened. “So it’s gonna take a long time, huh?”
He rubbed a hand over his chest, hating the ache that always seemed to be present now. “Yeah.”
“Well, this blows. Just fucking blows. I hate hearin’ you like this. What can I do? Tell me what I can do.”
“Love you, Nattie, but I don’t think there’s anything. Unless you can get that stubborn sister of yours to see how great we are together.” Nash breathed out a laugh. “But since y’all aren’t talkin’, and last I checked you weren’t a miracle worker, looks like all I’ve got is time.”
“Did she give you a reason?”
Yeah, about a dozen. And, in his mind, none of them had been enough to justify breaking up. Which told him ninety percent of this battle was in Rory’s head.
Nash pulled into the alley behind The Sweet Spot. “Look, Nat, I appreciate this, but I don’t really—” His words cut off as his headlights swept over the staircase leading to his apartment and illuminated the shadow of a person sitting there, his heart jumping into his throat as hope surged fast and fierce inside him.
Nash didn’t know how long he sat in his truck, just staring at his old man. When he’d gotten a closer look and realized it hadn’t been the person he’d been hoping for, he’d told Nat he needed to call her back, and then he’d shut off his ignition and just…waited.
