Page 52 of Faking It with my Billionaire Grump

“When you left, I was a bit lost. I didn’t really know what to do with myself. If I wasn’t working at the ranch, I spent all my time with you. Suddenly, I had a gaping hole in my life, and I had no way to fill it.”

“I’m sorry,” she says quietly.

I don’t know what to say to that, so I just carry on with my story.

“About six months later, Cal came home to visit Pops. I knew he was making a name for himself, and we got to talking. He sat me down and told me what he’d done and how he’d done it. He was only meant to be home for a few days, but he ended up staying for a month. Every day, he would teach me more and more. By the time he left, I was more educated than I was from all my years in school.”

“You’d definitely thrive in the city,” Tilly says.

I shake my head. “I like my life just the way it is. The idea of living in a concrete jungle doesn’t appeal to me. I’d miss my morning coffees on the porch, overlooking the fields and watching the sunrise.”

“Yep,” she says, flashing me a knowing look. “You definitely wouldn’t get that in New York.”

“I know. I love it here. Things are simple.” I smile down at her. “Well, they used to be.”

Tilly laughs a little, and then she goes quiet for a while longer. I know her mind is running at a mile a minute; I just don’t know what’s going through it.

“I am sorry, Jake,” she says, keeping her eyes ahead of her. “I should never have run away. More than that, I’m sorry for humiliating you that night in front of the whole town. I’ve never forgiven myself for that.”

“I know,” I say gently.

She glances up at me and then looks away again. “I knew you were never with another girl. I just got really scared.”

“Of what?”

Tilly shrugs. “I’d spent my whole life watching my mom let my dad make her decisions for her. Her life just seemed so small. So… boring. So controlled. This fear washed over me that I would become just like her. That my life would never be more than this little town. That I would never get the chance to make a mark on the world. When I let those thoughts run wild, I panicked. I suddenly felt trapped, like I was suffocating and needed to get out.”

“But you’re not your mom,” I say.

“I know that,” she acknowledges. “And I realize now that I was young, and stupid, and foolish. It was an impulsive decision. A decision based on my small worldview.”

“Do you still think Baskington has nothing to offer?” I ask carefully. My question is loaded with underlying reasons, but I don’t want to just come out and say what I really mean.

“No.” She shakes her head. “Not at all. In fact, while I love the city, I’ve really enjoyed being back here.”

“Well, you know the people here. You could always move back.”

Tilly turns and looks at me, her eyes seeming to search my face. She opens her mouth to answer when a sound behind us makes us both turn.

Chris is running over to us, a beaming grin all over his face.

“We’ve got rid of him,” he declares. “He headed off pretty soon after we took him back inside. Come on, guys. Don’t let him ruin your night. You’re missing all the fun.”

While I’m grateful for Chris, Joey, and Phil arriving when they did earlier, Chris’s timing now couldn’t be worse. This is the first time Tilly has ever opened up. There is still so much left to say, but it appears, as we follow Chris back to the barn, that those things are going to have to wait.

21

Tilly

While Jake heads tothe bar, Chris leads me to a table where Joey and Phil are sitting. They smile up at me when I arrive, all clearly pleased with themselves that they got rid of Bryan.

“Thanks, guys,” I say when I sit down. “And I’m sorry for causing you all this trouble.”

“No trouble at all, Tilly,” Joey pipes up. In fact”—he grins to the others—“we enjoyed it, didn’t we, guys?”

Phil and Chris are grinning and nodding, too, and I can only laugh at them.

“You’re crazy. All of you. Completely nuts.”

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