Page 70 of Ride By Your Side

She doesn’t look impressed as she reaches out and places her hands on my shoulders, giving me a light shake. “Are you even listening to yourself right now? Where is the Ronnie who follows her heart no matter what? The Ronnie who says, ‘fuck the consequences’?” she asks.

“You mean the Ronnie who has an ex-fiancé and now a soon-to-be ex-husband? That Ronnie? Because that woman is tired of making mistakes and is finally growing up and looking to avoid all possible heartbreak. She can’t take it anymore.Ican’t take it anymore. It’s just too much.”

She frowns. “I get that, but can I be honest with you? From experience, I can proudly attest that running away isn’t the answer.”

I turn to look away from her. “Just because it wasn’t the answer for you doesn’t mean it isn’t the answer for me.”

“And you really think that’s true?” she asks, clearly unconvinced.

“Yes, I do. Just because things suddenly worked out for you doesn’t mean it’s all magically going to work out for me, too.”Her frown deepens, guilt written across her features, but I can’t worry about that. Right now, it’s my heart I need to be looking out for. It’s my heart that’s on the line, and my heart that already feels broken beyond repair. “And that’s fine. I’m not giving up on love entirely. So don’t worry about that,” I assure her, placing a hand on her arm. “I think my heart just needs a teeny tiny break, okay?”

She nods, her frown not relenting, but at least she no longer has that sad, pathetic puppy-dog look going on.

“Can we please get our coffee now?” I ask, forcing a smile.

“Yeah, we can,” she agrees with a nod, linking her arm through mine before opening the door and leading us inside.

While I’m relieved to put the conversation behind us, her words linger, looping through my brain as the knot in my chest continues to tighten. Could his feelings be real? Maybe. I’m just not sure my heart is capable of giving it another chance. It’s way too bruised and fragile and it feels like one wrong move could destroy it completely.

40

Miles

Araresmilecrossesmylips as I watch my sister give a speech before cutting the giant red ribbon with an equally amusing pair of oversized scissors. I clap my hands along with everyone else in the crowd.

I’ll be the first to admit that the people of Evergreen Grove can be annoying as hell, especially when they insist on putting their noses where they don’t belong, but one thing you can’t deny is that they know how to rally around one of their own, especially since it looks like everyone from town—or at least most everyone—has made it a point to be here.

Local businesses have pitched in with goodies and drinks to celebrate, and Blair has set up a photo booth table, which, from the looks of it, is already a huge hit, with a giant line of people waiting for their turn

I know Blair has always felt like the odd one out and like she doesn’t quite fit in, but given how the people have rallied around her, I can’t help but hope this place now feels just as much likehome for her as it does for me, especially since it’s been such a relief to have her close by these past few months.

Making my way through the crowd, I head straight for the make shift bar, grab a drink and some popcorn, and set myself up as far away from the crowd as possible. While I’m here to show my support for my little sister, I plan on doing that from all the way over here. Plus, it isn’t like I haven’t spent the last eight weeks working my ass off to help make this dream come true for her.

Scanning the crowd, my eyes land on Veronica almost instinctively. Sure, it could be the striking pink floral dress, the matching heels, and white sweater that make her stand out, but deep down, I know it’s more than that. She’s magnetic. For the longest time, I thought we were mismatched magnets, constantly repelling each other, but now it all makes sense. It was always me resisting the pull that was always there—a pull I feel even now, despite how hard I’m trying to fight it.

I hate that I’ve had to keep my distance, especially when every moment apart feels like a battle to resist the feelings I so desperately want to surrender to. I know she wanted to end things before it got too deep, but I want nothing more than to keep diving in and exploring. Unfortunately, I can only go as far as she’ll allow, even if everything inside me is screaming to do the opposite.

I suppose I can’t fully blame her. I don’t want to get hurt either. Hell, this distance is already killing me, and I can’t even imagine how much worse it would be if we let this turn into a real relationship, only for it to come crashing down.

“Hey, man,” Ford says, settling into the chair next to mine.

“Hey,” I smile weakly, my attempt at being friendly as I tear my gaze away from the quirky brunette who has unsurprisingly taken over the photo booth. She poses in a princess crown and agiant pair of sunglasses as she poses next to what I assume is a group of her high school students.

“Taking a breather?” he asks, lifting his glass to his lips as he takes a sip.

“Something like that,” I agree, not really in the mood for small talk. Then again, I’ve never been someone that can just open up and talk to anybody. Truth be told, the only person I’ve ever been able to do that with is Blair, and, well, Veronica, but I’m not so sure she counts anymore.

“I get that.” He casually nods, his eyes scanning the crowd before he adjusts his glasses on his nose. “It can be a little overwhelming when the whole town shows up, but you have to admit, this is pretty damn cool, and Blair really deserves this and so much more.”

“She does,” I agree, doing my best to avoid looking back at the photo booth.

Ford clears his throat. “So...” he starts, and I glance his way. “Are you planning on talking to Ronnie tonight?”

“And what makes you think that’s your business?”

I know I should cut Ford some slack—he’s a good guy, and I’m grateful for the way he loves and treats Blair—but I’m just not in the mood to talk about this, especially not with my sister’s nosy boyfriend. I get enough of that from her.

“Well.” He fidgets, adjusting anxiously in his seat. “I guess it really isn’t, but I know she misses you.”

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