Page 31 of Just Can't Fall for the Enemy

She fell silent again.

“But what?” Carmen hissed.

Sophie wiped her eyes again and sniffed. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.”

“Fine. Iwon’tdo this.” She looked directly at the camera. “I’m not ready. I’m sorry.” Then she stood and left.

In the background, Carmen sighed and the video ended.

I watched it twice more, understanding sinking deeper each time. It all made sense now—why Sophie loved her town and felt she had to defend it. Why she’d been so adamant about honoring the legacy of the dead. I felt a deep ache in my heart for her and the pain she’d carried alone all this time. So much loss. I wondered that she could smile at all.

The only thing I didn’t understand was her odd reaction to my meeting her young friend Nate, but hopefully that trust would come in time.

Time. The one thing I didn’t have.

I glanced at the grocery store, which had gone dark while I sat there absorbed in Sophie’s interview video. There would be no buying her flowers tonight.I had a better idea anyway.

My thumb hovered over the delete button. Deleting it would be the right thing to do, but her story was so detailed and sopreciselywhat I needed for my show. And what if I wanted to watch it again later because I’d forgotten some of the details? My memory was pretty terrible these days.

It sounded like an excuse. Sophie would want me to delete this.

I brought my thumb down again—and pulled it back. What if Sophie miraculously agreed to let me use it? If I saved it instead, Carmen wouldn’t have to resend it. And if not, I could always delete it later. There had to be someone else in Huckleberry Creek with a similarly tragic and emotional story. This would serve as inspiration until then.

My mind made up, I sent the video to my files instead and resolved to worry about the show tomorrow. My subscribers could wait.

I had a heart to win.

Thirteen

As the background music swelled,the hero on the screen swept the heroine into his arms and kissed her deeply. Carmen sighed. I dipped my spoon into the ice cream carton to find it empty and my fingers sticky. Had I really eaten the entire thing in one hour?

“Can’t we just end it here?” Carmen asked, clutching her bowl to her chest and frowning at the TV. “I don’t like when it gets complicated and something pulls them apart.”

“But then when they do end up together, it’s more satisfying,” I said.

“I know, I know. I just wish they didn’t have to suffer so much first.” She blew a kiss at the screen. “You were meant to be together, all right? Trust me. I don’t know why I’m the one who always has to push people toward their other halves.”

I looked at her, amused. “Since when are you the self-designated town matchmaker?”

Carmen looked sheepish. “I, uh, need more ice cream.” She stood and swiped the empty carton from my hands before going into the kitchen for more.

A sudden knock on the door had her running back in. “I knew it!”

My heart skipped a beat. “You didn’t.”

“He was at the grocery store with his puppy-dog eyes, asking about you,” she whined. “What was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know—say goodbye and goodnight like a normal person?” I said, hurrying to toss my spoon into the sink. I wore baggy gray sweatpants and a white hoodie with a green paint splatter on the front and only a sports bra underneath. Nothing could be done about that. But I swept a hand through my scraggly hair and scrubbed my cheeks with my palms, hoping I didn’t look as exhausted as I felt.

“I can tell him you went to bed,” Carmen said, tiptoeing toward the door uncertainly. “It’s after eleven.”

“Too late.” I pointed to the open blinds. He could’ve been watching me pig out on ice cream for the past ten minutes for all I knew. “I’ll get it.”

I slid back the bolt and swung open the door to find Tanner standing there gripping a handful of wilting plants dotted with pink flowers.

“Hey, there,” he said, shoving them toward me. “I don’t know what your favorite flower is, but I figured it wasn’t something grown in a greenhouse. So I picked these for you in a field . . . in the dark.”

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