Page 63 of Heart of Gold

I roll my lips together before I say, “I think I have feelings for him again.”

Shiloh sits back and crosses her arms. “Oh, that is a pickle.”

“I tried with Burke. So hard,” I say. “He’s nice, but…”

“You’re not in love with him. I get it.”

“What should I do?”

Shiloh shrugs one shoulder. “It might be time to cut Burke loose. See what happens with Max. Didn’t he have a girlfriend?”

“She showed up here, and he broke up with her. She gave him an ultimatum, and I guess that was the final straw.”

“Oh,” Shiloh says. “Maybe old feelings are coming back for him too.”

I shake my head vigorously. “No, I don’t think so. He thinks I kept Olive from him. He still hates me.”

“Well, maybe he’s doubting what happened,” Shiloh offers.

I tilt my head up to dry the tears. “So, the plan is to wait a little longer to tell him about his stepdad and enjoy the moment. And think about breaking up with Burke.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Shiloh says, hugging me again.

I already really liked Shiloh before my big brother fell in love with her, but now I’m certain she’s an angel sent to us.

19

Emily

Wednesday

“He’s here,” I say to Olive in the backseat as we pull into the parking lot in front of the path to the wishing well.

“Hi, Max,” Olive yells through her window with a wave. Max mirrors it, leaning against his car, looking so freaking cute, I can’t handle it.

“You can do this,” I say under my breath.

“Yes, you can, Mom. Wait, what can you do?”

My heart clenches. “Nothing, sweetie.” I turn off the car, and Olive explodes out before the car even turned off. She plows into Max, caging him in with her arms around his waist.

Max is still staying at the tiny house, but I used a fake excuse to meet him here. I told Olive I needed something from the brewery, but it was an opportunity to silently freak out in my siblings’ joint office. My mother sensed it so she hovered until I acknowledged her.

She offered to babysit tonight so Max and I can be alone. That dialed my anxiety from a solid eight point five to an eleven.

Now, he’s standing there, with his blond hair combed back, his bright blue eyes somewhat happy to see me, and his broad shoulders covered by a short-sleeved white button-down. He looks like he’s ready to hop on a yacht owned by a billionaire, not about to see a run-down wishing well with his love child and his baby mama.

“Hi, Emily,” Max says, leaning in and kissing my cheek. I shiver from his touch. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I say, looking down at my simple T-shirt dress and white sneakers. My cheeks warm as I walk ahead so Olive doesn’t comment on my blush.

“It’s this way,” I say. The path is so worn it’s easy to follow as nature envelops us. The forest is a few degrees cooler, and when you look up, you see a sliver of sky between the trees.

“It feels so magical,” Olive says from behind me. When I turn back, I see Max and Olive chatting animatedly, their hands moving with their words. They’re mirrors of each other, and my ovaries cry at the sight.

Olive’s voice hits me from behind. “What, Mom?”

“Nothing,” I say, quickening my pace. We turn a corner to see the wishing well in the middle of a clearing. A beam of sunlight illuminates it like we’re in a fairy tale cartoon, specks of dust floating within it like glitter. When I stop in front of it, Max joins me, his body too close for me to be normal.

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