Page 70 of Choosing You

But it wasn’t.

Her tone was a little different, and neither mentioned when they were going to see each other again. The whole damn situation was foreign to him. He was used to being the one with some sort of control. He was used to being the one who was okay with things being casual—no commitments.

It really sucked to be on the receiving end of the blowoff.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t as if Sloane wasreallyblowing him off. They lived a thousand miles apart, so getting together wasn’t as easy as he’d like. Stupid logistics. He rolled his eyes as he thought about it. Maybe this was why he’d always dated girls from Sweetbriar Ridge. Then again, that didn’t make any of those relationships stick, either.

He sighed—almost growled with frustration. It had been more than a month since they’d seen each other, and just thinking about it was enough to up his frustration level. Again.

“You could save yourself a whole lot of time and energy if you just went online and booked a flight to Fort Lauderdale,” a voice said from the door on the far side of the bay he was working in. Will looked up from the engine of the ’04 Toyota he was working on and frowned at Ashlynn Donovan. Nope, Ashlynn Baylor now.

“Is that right?” he murmured and then waited a beat. “Customers aren’t allowed back here in the garage.”

“Devin gave me a free pass,” she said saucily and slowly started walking toward him. “Is it always so…dirty back here? I envisioned it being a little cleaner.”

He twisted off a spark plug and shook his head. “Working with engines is a dirty job.” Going back to his task, he silently prayed that she’d give up trying to have a conversation and leave.

It was stupid, really. He liked all the Donovans, but Ashlynn was pricklier than the rest of them and had a reputation for being a bit of a smartass. If Jade or Billie or Chloe showed up here, he’d be thrilled, and would have asked about Sloane already. But the look on Ashlynn’s face made his defenses go up.

She was probably the cousin who kept bringing Sloane to the festivals and encouraging her to run.

He wasn’t sure why he felt so confident in that line of thought, but he did.

“You know…” she began, “it seems like all everyone can talk about around here is this new addition to the garage. Personally, I’ve never needed to get any body work done on my car, but that’s just me. I suppose it’s going to be an asset to the town.”

“It will.”

“Mmm…maybe.” She stepped up beside him and looked at the engine and then took a step back behind the yellow safety line Devin had painted on the floor. “It’s not going to matter how successful the place is if you’re hell-bent on scaring the customers off.”

Straightening, Will wiped at the sweat on his forehead and glared at her. “Clearly I’m not scaring anyone off. You’re still here.”

She chuckled and then let out a full, throaty laugh. “But you’re trying,” she said lightly.

It killed him that she was right. Devin had mentioned how surly he had become, but Will had just blown it off. Clearly, that wasn’t working either. Leaning against the car, he faced her. “What’s going on, Ashlynn? Why are you here?”

Shrugging, she mimicked his pose—arms folded, cocky stance. “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re killing yourself here when you don’t have to.”

He looked at her with confusion. “What do you mean that I don’t have to? We’re expanding the business. That doesn’t happen on its own. It takes work. A lot of work!”

She shrugged again. “Seems to me most of what’s going on is structural and has nothing to do with you. Tools and equipment can’t be delivered until the building is done and cleared for moving in. And…knowing Devin…everything else is planned out meticulously. So, I’ll ask you again—why are you killing yourself here when you don’t have to? Sloane would love for you to come and see her.”

And that was like a knife to the gut. He wished he believed it to be true—that she missed him as much as he missed her. But their conversations over the last week had been…stilted and almost a little forced.

“That’s not the impression I got,” he said belligerently.

Now she rolled her eyes. “Oh…my…God!” She sighed dramatically. “The two of you are trying so hard not to put pressure on each other and not talk about the things that are genuinely important that you’re making yourselves miserable. You’re exhausting!” She turned to walk away, but he reached out to stop her.

“What are you talking about?”

“Sloane knows you’re busy with the shop, so she doesn’t want to be a distraction by being here, but she also doesn’t want to ask you to come visit and take you away from it.”

“I’d kill for her to be a distraction!” he snapped. “I want her here! I’ve always wanted her here!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…I get that. But instead of directly asking her to be here, as in moving here permanently—which we both know is what you really want—you keep dropping hints about people who would hire her so she could work if she were here more. For crying out loud, Will! Shit or get off the pot!”

“Shit or…?” He growled with frustration. “Sloane didn’t seem all that interested in moving here or spending any more time here than she already was and then she stopped coming! She hasn’t been here in weeks! I can take a hint, you know.”

“She has a life too. Don’t you get that? It’s not easy—or financially responsible—for her to keep flying up here a couple of weekends a month. And if you don’t get that, then you’re selfish. She’s been here far more than you’ve gone down there.”

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