Page 82 of All My Heart

When the last tree was sold, we closed the farm for the season. It was tradition to have a drink at the main house afterward.

This was the first time in a decade that I'd been around for it. I felt nervous for some reason as we headed to the house and grabbed beers from Dad's fridge. We stood around the counter, all of us grown up. We took up more space than we had when we were kids, and our sisters weren't here. They were home with their families.

Fiona ran Aiden's family inn with him, and they were busy this time of the year. Daphne had two kids with Cole, and he had his own contracting business he ran with his cousin.

I felt a connection to my brothers, and it was good to be home even if I felt like something was missing.

Wes set his beer on the counter. “I saw that Luna has a social media page for her new business.”

I nodded. “I saw that too.”

“She posted that she got the house,” Wes tipped his screen toward me.

“What?” I'd hoped that with the holidays, there wouldn't be any possibility of a contract. But I practically shoved Jameson out of the way to see what Wes was talking about.

It was Luna, a bright smile on her face as she held up the keys in front of the Sold sign. Then she walked toward the front door of the cottage, talking about how the owners wanted to sell quickly, and she was finally realizing her dream to renovate her first place. She talked about how she wasn't sure she was going to be able to flip the house because she loved it so much. She went from room to room, talking about what she planned to do with the place, then invited her subscribers to follow her on this journey.

It was addicting. I couldn't look away from her. She was so excited to be in her new place and renovating it.

“That's a great hook. Not only is she renovating it, but she doesn't know if she's going to stay or not. It's like a reality show.”

“She's getting followers,” Jameson interjected while looking over my shoulder. “Think how much better her ratings would be if her ex-boyfriend showed up, telling her how much he loved her and didn't want her to leave.”

“And asked her to come back here? Her life is there.” I gestured at Wes's phone.

Wes gave me a look. “No one said you had to live in Maryland.”

“I'm finally home, and I want to spend time with you”

“That's so sweet,” Jameson teased. “I'm obviously irresistible.”

“You know what I mean. I've been gone for so long; I can't just up and move to Florida. And we're ignoring the part where she left.”

“Someone has to make the move, and right now, she's busy in Florida. You don't want her to give up on her dreams.”

“That's why I'm staying put in Maryland.” She didn't need me screwing things up for her.

Wes dipped his chin. “Tomorrow's Christmas.”

“I should be with family.” But the problem was that everyone was paired off except for me and Teddy. It was nice when Luna joined me at the farm. I wanted to renovate the beach house with her and visit my family. Couldn't I have both?

Right now, it didn't seem like it was possible.

If I went down there and she'd moved on or hadn't felt about me what I felt for her, it would hurt too much.

“The holidays are even more of a reason to spend it with those you love,” Jameson said, obviously talking about Claire and her son, Owen. They were a family now. Just like Daphne, Cole, Izzy, and Colson.

Wes set his phone down. “No one is going to be upset if you chase Luna. We'd understand.”

“How can you be so confident that she returns my feelings?” I asked my brothers, watching the way they exchanged exasperated looks.

“You can't know for sure, but you won't know if you don't ask,” Jameson pointed out.

They were pushing me to go to Florida, to tell Luna how I felt. But tomorrow was Christmas. I needed to think about it. She would spend the day with her family, and I didn't want to interrupt that time.

I was here with my family, exactly where I was supposed to be. If I felt the same way about Luna after the holidays, I'd do something about it then.

But when I said my goodbyes and went home to my cabin, I felt worse. Even the new renters weren't home. They were probably with people who loved them.

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