Page 22 of Don't Leave Me

“There’s no reason for you to come here.”

“There is if you don’t tell me what’s going through that pretty head of yours.”

I let out a long sigh and shake my head. Why does he have to care? Why can't he be stupid and oblivious like every other guy?

“I'm not sure I want to hang out with you,” I whisper, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Oh… Ok… Well, I wasn’t expecting that… I’ll be honest, that kinda hurts.”

“No, it doesn’t.” I roll my eyes. He doesn’t need to do this just because of Colt. I’ll just spend a little more time in this room and less time with Leslie when Colt’s home.

“No, I'm pretty sure it does. I had fun with you last night, Soph. I'm not going to force you to spend time with me, but I was hoping you would want to.” The vulnerability in his voice has my brows drawing together in a frown. Why would he be upset? He should be relieved he doesn’t need to babysit me anymore.

“You mean like how you were forced to ask me out last night?” I don’t do well with feelings. I don’t like to wear my heart on my sleeve or show emotions, so I get sassy instead.

“What are you talking about?”

“Colt told me about your conversation. You only took me on a date because he asked you to. Of course you did it, he’s your boss and you’re the new guy. You didn’t want to get on his bad side.” I wave a hand through the air like that wraps up this entire conversation.

“Sophia, I like you. I mean I really like you. If I thought there was even a tiny chance you’d stay in Maple Springs, I’d be begging you to be my girlfriend. Yes, Colt asked me to keep you busy last night, but I jumped at the chance. It gave me an excuse to ask you out, knowing you wouldn’t say no. I wasn’t sure if you’d say yes to a date without him helping me.”

“Why wouldn’t I say yes?” I frown, wishing I could see Pecker right now. I want to be able to look into his eyes and know if what he’s saying is true.

“Because you’re gorgeous, smart, and funny. You’re out of my league and I know it. Why do you think I was falling all over myself the night we met? Ineverdo that. I won't claim to be the smoothest talker out there, but I typically don’t make a fool of myself anymore. I instantly knew you could do so much better than me and I didn’t have a shot.”

“Well, that’s not true,” I murmur, unsure of what else to say.

“It is, Soph. And the more time I get to spend with you, the more I realize how amazing you are and how much I don’t deserve a chance with you.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Not only are you this incredible person, but you have this amazing family. This huge support system who probably pumps you up whenever you need it, but they’re most likely right at your side when things go south. If you called your family right now and told them I treated you poorly, what would they say?”

“Cody would drive here just to give me a hug. Charlie would be livid and say you probably have a micro penis. Wyatt would be telling me to forget about you and try to set me up with Covey.”

“Damn, Covey? He seems like a giant teddy bear.”

“He totally is.” I chuckle. “Jax and my dad would be figuring out how to beat up a cop without going to jail and my mom would bake me a batch of cookies so I could eat my feelings. And if Mulberry Lane found out… Let’s just say more people would be storming this town than it has in permanent residents.”

“Exactly. I don’t have that. I have a sister and her kids. No one else. There’s not much I could give you even if we were dating. I'm a small-town sheriff’s deputy. I’ll never be able to give you a fancy house or a lavish lifestyle. Nothing you deserve. You’re literally out of my league in every way.”

“I would’ve said yes,” I mumble.

“Yes to what?”

“A date. If you had asked me out for real, I would’ve said yes. If I was staying in Maple Springs and you asked me to be your girlfriend, I would’ve said yes.”

“Hey, Soph?” I can hear the smile in his voice for the first time and it makes a grin spread across my own face.

“Yeah?”

“Will you move to Maple Springs?”

“Why?” I giggle.

“Because I’dreallylike to make you my girlfriend.”

“Let’s see how the next week goes. I was debating on extending my stay, but that might kill Colt.”

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