“Let’s sit,” he suggested.
The knot in her gut grew bigger as she joined him on the blanket. Best not to cozy up to him, she supposed. Not only were there no onlookers to convince, Justine knew Burke could say something that might make being close feel awkward.
She prepared her heart for the worst.If he wants to get out of the tree lighting, it’s fine. If he says he’s leaving town tonight forever…she would heal eventually. If he—
“I’ve had a great time with you these last few days,” Burke said, interrupting her musings. “But I, uh…I wanted to tell you, before I head out for the week, how I really feel.”
Chapter 20
Burke was ninety percent positive that this was the land he owned. Not only did the nameInglesring a bell, the property marker beyond the far swing made him recall his meeting with Lenny Foster, the way he’d pointed clear up to the town’s lodge.
Thank heavens Lenny hadn’t come to the event; it could have really blown Burke’s cover this weekend. If this was the land he’d gotten his hands on, Lenny’s warning would make a whole lot of sense.It’s an important piece of property to our town.
Well, it was a good thing Burke had already told Greg not to lower the price; he could simply hold onto it himself. And who knew—maybe Burke could donate a portion of the land to the town. Give Justine the obstacle course she wanted the youth to have.
He forced his thoughts back to the moment at hand. On the trail, he’d followed Justine over the well-trodden path with worry growing heavy in his heart. Was it foolish to lay out his feelings after she’d shot him down the very night before?
Perhaps. But what did he have to lose? It was possible Justine thought he was toying with her, trying to get what he could while he was in town. But that’s not the kind of man he was. He wanted her to know that. More importantly, he wanted her to know why he’d been so willing to play the role of her fake fiancé.
He cleared his throat, tipped his gaze toward the blanket, and ran his fingers over the surface. It was dusk out, which meant the whole looking-into-one-another’s-eyes thing wouldn’t be possible.
Say it, Burke. Just say it.His pulse revved into overdrive; his heart thumped hard to keep up with the adrenaline pushing through his limbs.
“I don’t want our time together to be through.”
The soft, trickling sound of the falls grew louder once he’d said it.
Justine shifted a bit on the blanket, seeming to tuck her folded legs beneath her, but she didn’t reply.
Say something. Please.Burke scooted in a little closer.
“You don’t?” she asked softly.
“No. I realize that our whole purpose of being together the last few days was to convince your granddad, and the rest of the town too, that we’re in love. But if I’m honest, Justine, I haven’t had to do a whole lot of acting.”
Justine remained still this time. Frozen in place as he waited for her reply.
None came.
Great.She needed a way out, didn’t she? He needed to give her an easy way out if she wanted it.
“If you don’t feel the same—”
“Imight,” Justine blurted, silencing him at once.
“You might what?”
“Imightfeel the same.”
Now they were getting somewhere. He felt an inner smile coming on, but he worked to keep it at bay. “When I said those things to your granddad—I know I’d just met you—but the observations were true. Idolove those things about you. It’s why I wanted to keep spending time with you.”
He reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers once he found it, and reminded himself that those words—I might feel the same—could just mean exactly what he hoped they did. So he went back to where he’d started.
“I told you my family invited me to go to their cabin, to stay there for the week. What I didn’t tell you is that they invited you too. We’d have separate rooms, and they—unlike our situation here—do not think we’re engaged.”
Justine cupped her other hand over his. “How did they know about me?” she asked.
“I told my grandma that there was a girl in town that I was in to.”
