I giggled. “No. I’m staying.”
“Great. Let’s go upstairs.”
I tugged on his thick, silky hair. “Listen to me. I’m staying in Bunyan. I want the lease on the shop.”
He raised his head, an arrested expression in his dark, dark eyes. “Seriously?”
I nodded, brimming with anticipation, bubbling over with plans.
“Amy, that’s great,” he said, which was apparently all the urging I needed to run off at the mouth.
“... still have to talk to Flo,” I said, and then something about needing to get out of my lease in New York and something else about how long renovations would take and how I couldn’t afford to fall behind on orders during the transition. Chattering. Gushing.Gah.
And Trey, the blessed boy, listened and nodded, making encouraging noises and doing nothing to stem the flow.
At last, I pulled myself together, leaning back in his arms. “And what about you?”
He tucked a strand of hair back from my face. “What about me?”
“What are your plans?”
“I don’t have any.”
“You said you did. When your grandfather was in the hospital.”
“That’s right, I did.” He smiled into my eyes. “And here we are. You can be my plan.”
My heart swelled. It was everything I’d ever wanted. It had to be enough. But my brain was stuck on auto loop. I kept hearing his words in Paris, after Jo broke up with him.
“Jo was the plan... There is no plan.”
“I’m a person,” I said. “Not a plan.”
“Well, obviously.”
“I’m not a substitute for whatever else is missing from your life.”
He drew back. “Something’s bugging you. What am I missing?”
My heart panicked.Shut up, shut up, shut up.
“Trey, I’m not staying in Bunyan to be your trophy”—wife,don’t saywife—“girlfriend. But I have to know. Do you love me?”
“Of course I love you,” he said promptly, and then spoiled it. “I love your whole family.”
“But do you love me more than you loved Jo?”
He half laughed. “It’s not a contest.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He met my eyes. His face sobered. “I love you differently.”
“That’s pathetic.”
His brows flicked together. “I’m sorry you think so. It’s the best I can do.”
I swallowed. “I don’t believe you.”
