Page 71 of Choosing You

“You don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Yes, I do. She’s my cousin, and, unlike you, I’ve had the uncomfortable conversation with her. Maybe small-town life isn’t her thing! Have you even thought about that? Personally, I think she’d like it if she gave it a chance and stopped comparing it to her precious Fort Lauderdale.” Rolling her eyes, she chuckled. “I get that we can’t compare to that, but we have other things to offer.”

“Exactly! Look at all the new businesses that have opened up in the last few years! If she would just…”

“It can’t be all her, Will. If you really have feelings for her, you’re going to have to give a little too.”

“How?” he demanded. “What exactly am I supposed to do? I’m committed to the garage and working with Devin. This is something I’ve wanted for years, and yeah, I’m crazy about Sloane and I want us to have a future, but I’ve got to get this settled here and she has to understand that.”

“You are so damn stupid,” she murmured with disgust. “I swear…it was kind of comical watching you at all the festivals. You’d get all flustered and worked up every time Sloane kissed you and ran, and then you came up with all these goofy ideas to find her. It was sweet. Cute. But seriously, I think it’s just that you’re stupid.”

Will didn’t believe in violence against women, but he was starting to have a change of heart on the subject. He took a step toward Ashlynn, but she held up her hand to stop him.

“Talk to Sloane, Will. Stop tiptoeing around and talk to her about how you feel and what you want. This isn’t good for either of you.”

And before he could respond, she turned and walked away.

Dumbfounded, he just stood there. It wasn’t until Devin walked over that he finally snapped out of it.

“You okay?”

Shaking his head, he walked back over to the Toyota and got back to work. “No.”

“Sorry I didn’t give you a heads up. Ashlynn’s a scary woman when she wants to be and…well…I owed her a favor. Again, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Head down, he kept working on tuning the car up.

“Look, Will, I know we’ve talked about it—hell, we’ve argued about it on more than one occasion. I thought the tough love approach would work, but…you need to go and see Sloane. Rip off the bandage or whatever. This living in limbo thing isn’t working for you, and I highly doubt it’s working for her. Hell, it’s not working for any of us. One of the guys will finish the tune-up. Take a few days and just…just go.”

He wanted to be the kind of guy who didn’t need to keep taking time off to go and see his girlfriend, but right now, that’s exactly who he was.

Once the decision was made, there was no stopping him.

The universe must have agreed, because everything he needed fell into place. MacKenzie booked his flight while he ran home to shower and change. It was a non-stop flight which put him landing in Florida around dinnertime.

It would have been cheaper to get an Uber to Sloane’s, but he felt better renting his own car. As he drove through Fort Lauderdale, his emotions wavered between anxiousness and excitement. He hadn’t called to tell her he was coming. He was hoping the element of surprise would work in his favor. Then that little devil on his shoulder had him wondering how he’d react if she wasn’t happy to see him, if Ashlynn and Devin were completely wrong in encouraging him to come here.

He took the exit off the highway and knew he’d be at her place within ten minutes. “Either way,” he murmured, “I’ll deal with it.”

The entire situation was so foreign to him. Ever since he was twelve, he’d never been the one to chase after the girl. Girls always chased after him. And he had to admit, he kind of felt shitty for the way he’d treated some of them looking back on it all. It was pretty damn awful when the person you wanted most in the world didn’t want you.

Then he rolled his eyes at his own thinking. He had to stop immediately going to the negative. So, he had to work at this—at their relationship. That wasn’t a bad thing at all. New, yes. Bad, no.

And…the more he thought about…the more he realized that Ashlynn was right. He’d suggested, hinted, and done everything except come right out and ask Sloane to move to Sweetbriar Ridge—to him. And that’s what he wanted more than anything. It didn’t matter that it was fast. It didn’t matter that they each had issues with their jobs. At the end of the day, Will wanted Sloane with him all the time, not just on the weekends.

Pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex, he saw her car and felt a sense of relief. Being that he hadn’t called, there was a chance she wasn’t going to be home when he got there.

Obstacle one cleared.

He parked and grabbed the ratty duffel bag he used for overnight trips—that he had thrown clothes blindly into in his haste to get to the airport—and made his way to her door.

“Will?” Sloane said excitedly when she opened the door. Then she launched herself into his arms. He barely had time to drop his bag so he could catch her. And before he could even ask if she was happy to see him, she was kissing him—wrapping herself around him.

Obstacle two cleared.

Will kicked his bag through the front door and then followed it in. With the door slammed shut behind him—compliments of Sloane’s foot—he felt his world right itself. Turning, he pressed her back to the door and simply enjoyed getting reacquainted with the taste and feel of her.

“I missed you,” he finally said when he raised his head to catch his breath.

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