Page 89 of Kiss and Tell

Lucy reached out, intent on picking up her backpack, but Joey’s hand gripped her wrist, stopping her.

“I really should get inside. Poor Nora looked exhausted,” she insisted. The best way would be to rip this off quickly, like a Band-Aid.

“In a minute.” Joey tugged her toward him, wrapping his arms around her back, gently stroking up and down while he hugged her. Her arms remained bent between them, her hands resting on his chest. She considered pushing him away because his embrace was too warm, too comforting, too tempting.

How could she have fallen so hard, so quickly? Lucy had been in love before…with Billy and Marco. But her feelings for those guys, whom she’d dated much longer, felt lukewarm to this raging inferno of emotions threatening to boil over and burn her from the inside out.

When Joey released her, Miles was there, taking his turn, though he wasn’t interested in a hug. He cupped her cheeks, giving her the softest, sweetest kiss of her life. Miles’s kisses always made her feel drunk—light-headed and fuzzy.

He placed his forehead against hers. “We can pull an all-nighter if you want. Stay here to help you at the brewery or with the family. Whatever you need.”

She smiled sadly, so tempted to take him up on the offer. “No. You heard Nora. They called in extra employees, and everyone who’s well is pitching in. One of the best things about a big family is there are plenty of people to share the load in an all-hands-on-deck situation.”

“I hate saying goodbye to you,” Miles murmured, his lips touching hers as he spoke.

Lucy had to blink a few times, willing away the waterworks.

“We have a break from filming between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Joey said. “You can come to Philly and?—”

“No,” she said, interrupting whatever he might say next. Lucy and Miles pulled apart, the two of them turning to face Joey. While Joey, the eternal optimist, refused to give up on this, she and Miles knew the score.

“I can’t leave the farm again so soon. It wouldn’t be fair to my family,” she continued.

“Then Miles and I will come here. We can?—”

“Joey,” she said softly. “We agreed that this thing between us would end here.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t agree to that.”

Miles reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Joe.”

“Ididn’t,” he reiterated hotly.

“My place is here. It will always be here.” Lucy wished her tone was powerful enough to sell her words. Sadly, she feared she was missing the mark, so she stressed, “Always,” as she said it a second time.

Joey looked at her like he was waiting for more. If she was a good person, she’d explain why she felt so strongly about staying on the farm, but the truth was, she had a hard time understanding this compulsion, this neurosis herself.

“Lucy,” Joey started again. “Honey.”

She drew in a shaky breath. “Please,” she whispered. “Please don’t do this.”

Joey frowned, studying her face closely.

She didn’t have the strength to hide her feelings from him, so she didn’t. She laid it all bare there for him to see. Their life was on the road. Hers was here. Remi hadn’t even graduated from high school by the time she’d lost Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Granddaddy. Lucy needed—wanted—to be a constant in their lives, someone they could rely on to be nearby if they needed her.

Joey sighed, running a hand through his hair before looking away, his jaw clenched.

“We understand,” Miles said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him.

Joey shot Miles a look that made it clear he didn’t understand a damn thing, but he didn’t say it aloud.

“It was a great adventure,” Miles said, tightening his hold. He looked every bit as upset as Joey, but he was doing his best to keep this moment light.

Lucy loved him for it. Just like she loved Joey for wanting more.

“It was,” she said, her throat tight. “It was the best time of my life.”

“Mine too,” Miles confessed, leaning down.

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