Page 67 of Choosing You

And even though she knew it was the smart and logical decision, it still felt incredibly wrong because she wasn’t completely honest. The truth was, she was scared. Her feelings for Will were so strong and overwhelming that…that she knew if she spent too much time with him, she’d end up blurting out the truth.

She was in love with him.

Hopelessly and completely in love with him.

It wasn’t lust. It was different from anything she’d ever felt—she knew that now. But it was scary nonetheless.

They were opposites in so many ways, but she found that she kind of enjoyed it. And the things that they had in common were amazing. He cooked for her. No man had ever done that for her before. And when they were together, he made her feel like she was the most important person in the world—something else no guy had ever done for her before.

So why was she balking?

Why was she freaking out and backing down?

Why…?

She sighed loudly, her head resting on the arm of her sofa. Her conversation with her mother came to mind. The obstacles she was putting up had nothing to do with Will or with them as a couple. She’d spent a lot of time analyzing it and it wasn’t like her issue with cars was going to go away overnight, but she was working on it. Of course, she’d yet to have a conversation with her father about it, but it was only a matter of time.

The small-town life thing? Well, that one was going to be a little harder to get over. Just today she had happily gone all over the city running errands and shopping and it was comfortable. It made her feel alive! She loved all the people, the options, the chaos, and the energy. How was she supposed to just turn that off?

Forcing herself to get up, she padded to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water before going to her bedroom and changing into her pajamas. Before she knew it, she was sitting on her bed, feeling…numb. Sighing, she allowed herself to fall back against the pillows. Tears rolled down her face and she didn’t even realize she’d started to cry.

“What am I supposed to do? What’s the right thing to do?”

It was time to have a serious talk with someone who knew her—really knew her. She needed someone who could straighten her ass out and make her see things clearly.

It couldn’t be Hailey. Her sister might be her best friend, but she was too sweet and empathetic. Plus, she’d been a little hormonal since having Layla.

Her mother was out of the question. That one conversation they had on the subject had been very eye-opening and although she appreciated it, she needed someone with another perspective, someone who kind of knew both sides—of her and Will.

That left only one person: her straight-talking, no filters, no-holds-barred cousin.

It was time to call Ashlynn.

“I think I need to break up with Will.”

“Wait…what? Clearly I’m hearing you wrong because this can’t be my cousin Sloane. The cousin I know was all smiley and happy and pretty much gaga over Will. What the hell happened?”

Sloane sighed as she grabbed her water and walked back out of her bedroom. Back in the living room, she sat down on her couch, where she tried to get comfortable again. Conversations with Ashlynn were rarely quick and she had a feeling that now that she was finally coming clean, they’d be talking for a while.

“Oh, come on,” Sloane began. “Will has mentioned the gossip grapevine in Sweetbriar Ridge on several occasions. You can’t honestly say that this is brand new information to you. I’ve met half the people in town. No one’s noticed that I haven’t been around or how pissy Will’s been acting?”

Ashlynn made a non-committal sound. “Which still doesn’t answer why you think you need to end things with him and why you’re calling me about it.”

“At first, I didn’t think I’d ever really find him. But then I did, and it was better than I imagined, and for a while I thought everything was going okay. And…might I point out…you knew who he was all along and you never told me. Maybe if we’d met sooner, things would be different. I don’t know. I just…” She sighed. “It was fun and exciting in the beginning, and I wanted to see where it could lead.”

“And?” Ash prompted anxiously. “Where did it lead?”

Ugh…where did she even begin? “I’m crazy about him. Like…I think I’m in love with him.”

“Really?” Ashlynn cried giddily. “That’s awesome! This means we’ll be seeing more of each other, and you’ll be around so much more and no more sneaking around during the festivals…oh, Sloane! This is great!” Then she paused. “Wait. Now I’m confused.”

“Join the club.”

Her cousin was quiet for a moment. “Okay, so in one breath you say you need to break up with him, and then the next, you’re crazy about him and in love. You understand how that makes no sense, right? You need to sit and really think about this. It’s no longer a game, so…is that part of the problem? You enjoy the chase and now that you’ve got him, you’re bored?”

“You know, for three years you’ve basically encouraged me to kiss and run, and like an idiot, I listened!”

“Oh, no…you’re not putting this on me. You had a weird thing with festivals and kissing booths long before I got involved. And that’s all in the past. We’re talking about the here and now. So stop thinking about how it all started and focus on what you want right now.”

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