Page 109 of Kiss and Tell

Once inside, Lucy started to tug her suitcase toward one of the bedrooms, and while Joey liked where her head was at—A LOT—he wanted to get the talking part over first. Because while they’d told her how they felt, he couldn’t help but notice she hadn’t sharedherfeelings. Not only that, but when they offered to be farmers, she hadn’t exactly said no.

Joey had missed her like crazy, and while his cock was protesting the delay, he’d waited too damn long—thirty-seven years too long—to get to this point. He needed to be sure he was where he thought he was.

Lucy turned, surprised when he grasped her hand away from the suitcase, pulling her toward the couch instead.

“Wouldn’t the bedroom be more comfortable?” she asked with an adorable grin.

“It would, and we’ll get there. But I think we should talk for a few minutes.”

Lucy sighed. “Okay. But…just so you know…blue bean.”

The three of them laughed as Joey led her to the center of the couch, Miles claiming one side, Joey the other. A month ago, they were in these exact same spots, a million miles away from Joey’s hopes and dreams for their future.

Right now, he prayed they weren’t more than a few steps.

“Where were you going, honey?” Joey asked, tilting his head toward her suitcase.

“To Baltimore.”

Best. Answer. Ever.

Miles placed a kiss on her shoulder. “Oh yeah? What changed your mind? Because you were dead set on staying on this farm a few days ago.”

“My sisters changed my mind,” she responded. “Or maybe it’s more accurate to say they showed me the error of my thinking.”

“Is it the threesome thing?” Joey asked. “Are you worried what people will say?”

Lucy was shaking her head before he finished his questions. “Not at all.”

Joey tilted his head, trying to decide if she meant that or if she was saying it just because she thought that was what he wanted to hear.

“I swear.” She drew a cross over her heart.

“What were you thinking about wrong?” Miles asked.

It made sense to Joey that Miles would home in on those words. He’d admitted on the way to the farm this morning that most of his issues with Rhiannon stemmed from his own wrong thinking or—as he described it—stubbornness. His heart wouldn’t let her go, so it fooled his head into thinking he’d moved on and could handle being just friends, especially if that was the only way he could have her. It wasn’t until his hearttrulylet go that he could see he’d never given up on her, not once in all these years.

Lucy’s response to his question was simple, though confusing. “I was wrong about my reasons for not leaving.”

“I thought you were staying for your family, for your job,” Joey said.

Lucy shook her head. “Those were the excuses I used to avoid admitting the truth.”

Miles twisted, crossing his ankle under his leg, facing her more fully. Joey did the same.

Lucy reclined slightly, resting her head on the back of the couch, looking toward the ceiling. “You know that my mom left for a year, right before she passed away.”

“We know that,” Miles confirmed.

“When she came back at the end of that year, I thought she planned to stay, that she was home for good. I was so excited. I started planning to do all those things we did before she left. Elaborate tea parties, thousand-piece puzzles with pictures of far-off places, traipsing around the farm taking pictures. My mom was an incredible photographer. She taught me all sorts of things about composition, color, lighting, stuff like that. I think those lessons tapped into my creative side and led to my interest in videography.”

“Sounds like she was a good mom,” Joey said, somewhat hesitantly. He knew Lucy’s mom deserted the family, but listening to Lucy talk about her now, it was clear she’d loved the woman.

Lucy started to nod but stopped. “She was my best friend. When I was little, I swore I was going to grow up to be just like her.”

Suddenly, things were becoming clearer. A quick glance at Miles proved he was putting two and two together as well.

“Lucy—” Joey started

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