Page 157 of Forever To Me

Maggie shakes her head, looking far too pleased. “That man is in love with you.”

I let out a little laugh, pressing my hands to my face. “Well, he has a funny way of showing it.”

Mack throws her hands up. “Y’all are out here acting like two emotionally constipated Hallmark characters when you could be making out and healing each other’s wounds. I am suffering here.”

I groan.

Poppy scrolls through more of the comments, snickering. “Violet, people are losing theirmindsover this.”

I peek through my fingers. “How bad?”

Cami grins wickedly. “Oh, honey. This isthecontent the internet lives for.” She clears her throat and starts reading:

"Asher Wyatt found hiding out in Bridger Falls, Wyoming."

"Violet Wilson is gorgeous, and Asher Wyatt is a walking lumberjack snack."

"Asher Wyattand Violet Wilson need to stop playing and start making beautiful, music-loving babies immediately."

Maggie chokes on her tea.

Mack snorts. “I support this.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper, mortified.

Poppy scrolls again. “Oooooh, this one’s good, ‘Find a man who looks at you the way Asher Wyatt looks at Violet Wilson while strumming his guitar. And if you don’t, stay single.’”

Cami throws up her hands. “SEE? We’re notcrazy!”

Maggie hums knowingly. “That man loves you, Violet.”

I swallow hard, staring down at the video again, at how his fingers brush over the strings, at how his gaze drinks me in like I’m the only thing worth seeing.

It’s bittersweet, watching this. Because for a moment, it felt real. It felt easy. Like maybe, just maybe, this thing between us was undeniable. Unshakable. Something we were both willing to hold onto. But now?

Now he’s gone. And I’m here, watching this video like adamn lovesick teenager, swooning over a man who currently thinks I betrayed him.

And now that the world knows where he lives and his privacy has been invaded, he'll probably blame that on me, too.

I sigh dramatically, handing the phone back to Cami. “I hate everything.”

Mack shakes her head. “No, you don’t. You love him.”

Poppy nudges me. “So, what are you gonna do?”

I blink. “What amIgonna do?”

Maggie smirks. “Honey, that video just made the whole damn world fall in love with you two. You’re going to have to face him eventually.”

I bite my lip, thinking. Because yeah. Yeah, Iwill.

And maybe when he does watch this damn video, he'll miss what he threw away.

I set my glass on the table and clear my throat. “You know what? You are all right. We need to share the fundraiser. We need to do this and do it big for the ranch.”

Every single head at the table slowly turns toward Mack.

She freezes, mid-bite of a biscuit, eyes darting from one of us to the next. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

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