CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Austin
I shouldn’t be doingthis. I follow my gut most of the time, but I’m completely ignoring the hell out of that thing right now. I’ve got pinching pains and nausea. That should be enough of a reason to stop me from going any further, but nope. I have told every thought in my head to shut up.
I walk up a set of steps and take a seat on the bench outside just as my phone buzzes in my pocket. I take it out, ironically finding a text from Scarlett.
I can’t respond to her right now. I don’t even want to know what the text says, so I drop the phone back into my pocket. With a shit ton of discomfort coursing through me, I shift my position to ease some tension, but I don’t think there’s any way to relieve my stress at the moment. This was stupid. Shit.
I knew better, and I look like a complete idiot right now.
I should respond to Scarlett’s text and at least ask her how it went. She must know if she got the job or not. I just don’t think I’m ready to know.
I stand back up because sitting down is making my stomach hurt more. Instead, I pace, making me look just a little crazier than I feel.
The doors in front of me swing open and I see her. She’s walking with her head down, staring at her phone. Dressed in a pencil skirt with a fitting white blouse, the only thing I really notice is those fucking hot-as-hell heels. Then, her hair catches my eye—the red hues shimmering from what’s left of the daylight that’s peeking through the dark, thick clouds. She reaches into her bag and pulls out her sunglasses, so I clear my throat.
She looks up at me and gasps. I think I took her breath away, but I know very well that this could end badly. She’s not the type to be happy about a man getting on a plane and flying across the country for her after just a couple days apart. It wasn’t about the time though. It was about showing her that no matter how much she doesn’t want someone to love her enough, I do, and I need to know if it’s too much.
“Austin … ” she says, clearly still shocked. “I was just thinking about how mad I was that you weren’t responding to my text.”
“I know,” I tell her.
“You’re here,” she says.
“I know.”
Scarlett walks over to me a little slower than I’d like. “I’ve only been gone a day,” she says.
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“I don’t understand,” she says.
“I have refused to chase anyone. I have refused to follow, get too close, or allow myself to fall in love with anyone. I’ve been too scared of the pain that could come along with it all. I’ve been scarred from what love can do to a person and I’ve never let myself even find out what love feels like until now, but I see why someone would do just about anything to show how they feel. Words aren’t enough, but if this is too much, I understand, and I can leave.”
“I—” she says, seeming at a loss for words.
“Everything in my head said not to come here and wait outside of your interview like some lovesick weirdo, but I ignored it all and came anyway.”
She’s not saying anything but she’s still inching toward me. “You’re in a suit,” she says with a little smile. Her hands yank on the lapels of my jacket. “I didn’t even know you owned a suit.” She gently runs her fingers through the sides of my hair. “You did your hair too.”
“I needed to fit in with you city folk.”
“You look like the reason I’d want to have a messy office desk that I could clear off with a sweep of my arm,” she says.
“You look like the reason I would have already done that,” I tell her. “Scarlett, if you want to take a job and stay here, I’ll come be with you if you allow me to. There are a lot of hospitals hiring up here and I’m sure I could find something.”
“Wow,” she says. I don’t know if that’s a goodwowor a badwow.
“I like your lipstick,” I tell her. It’s dark red and makes her eyes glow and her teeth whiter than white. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
“You’d stay here for me?” She asks.
“I’d go anywhere for you.”
“What about your dad’s farm?”
“It ain’t going nowhere,” I tell her.
