Page 73 of Choosing You

Her job sucked, most of her friends were moving away or starting families, and her own family was changing and finding at least part of their lives in Sweetbriar Ridge.

The argument about going to the mall? She did most of her shopping online. The movies? She was more of a stream-it-and-watch-in-her-pajamas kind of girl. There were still way more conveniences here in Florida, but…her heart was firmly planted in a tiny mountain town in Virginia. For all she knew, she was going to love the snow and winter and she could definitely learn how to ski. Plus, it wasn’t like moving there meant she could never travel anywhere. She was going to come back here because her parents were going to be living here at least part-time, and her brothers were all here.

So, she had spent the last two nights tossing and turning and wanting to talk to Will about all of this, but then she decided that it was the kind of conversation they should have in person.

Then he showed up on her doorstep like an answer to a prayer.

It wasn’t like she was suddenly thrilled with the idea of moving, but…her sister was there, her cousins were there, her sweet little niece was there, and, most importantly, Will was there. And the car issue? Well, she definitely needed to have a conversation with her father because this was an enormous obstacle for her, and right now, she couldn’t seem to separate the two.

Still, she wanted to try. She wanted to stop being the girl who didn’t take anything seriously. And more than anything, she wanted to be the version of herself that Will brought out in her.

Taking one last look at herself in the bedroom mirror, she fluffed her hair and smiled, thrilled for the night to come. Sweater in hand, she walked back out to the living room and immediately went over to Will and kissed him. “Ready.” Hand in hand, they went out to her car. “Do you mind if I drive?”

“You know your way around way better than I do,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll get there faster if you’re behind the wheel.” Winking, he climbed in on the passenger side and they were on their way.

The drive to the restaurant was short and they filled the time by simply talking about their day and even though it’s what they normally did on the phone each night, she loved it so much more when they were in person, talking face to face.

“I still can’t believe you’re here,” she said, sneaking quick glances at him while she drove.

“All the planets aligned because I got a nonstop flight and didn’t hit any traffic heading to the airport or driving from the airport to your place. It was wild.”

That made her smile. “Then yay for the planets! Did you work today?”

“Just this morning. And before you ask, my flight home is late Sunday night. I’m supposed to work on Monday, but we’ll see how the weekend goes. If I want to stay an extra day, then I will.”

“Wow! I like the sound of that!”

She pulled up to the restaurant and noticed how full the parking lot was. It was crowded for a Thursday night, but it didn’t take long to get a table. Being that they were both somewhat creatures of habit, they ordered quickly too. Once all the distractions were taken away, she reached across the table for his hand and held it. Her face hurt from smiling so much.

“I’ve been missing that smile,” he said softly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Tell me what you’re thinking right now.”

“I know I sound like a broken record, but I still can’t believe you’re here for the entire weekend.”

“Well, believe it. I’m really here and I’m all yours.”

She liked the sound of that. “So, what should we do?”

He gave her a sexy grin that she felt all the way down to her toes.

Yeah. She could totally get on board with that.

“You have to work tomorrow though, right?” he asked.

With a shrug, she said, “I think I’ll call in sick.”

Will’s eyes went a little wide. “Really? The last time you did that, your boss freaked out and was a complete jackass to you for weeks. Are you sure you want to risk it?”

“You’re here for the weekend and I’ll deal with my boss. Don’t worry about it. Things at work are…let’s just say I’m not so scared of the repercussions anymore.” She considered him for a moment, admiring his handsome face—the strong jaw, the dark blue eyes and a grin that always got her pulse racing. “I think I have the perfect plan for us tomorrow.”

His grin got bigger and a lot naughtier. “Me too.”

That had her giggling. “Oh, stop…” Then she paused. Maybe he was on to something. Maybe tomorrow they could spend the day being lazy and simply stay in bed and make up for lost time. “Okay, let me rephrase that, I have the perfect plan for us for Saturday.”

Their waitress walked over and asked if they needed anything, and Will looked at Sloane and winked before addressing her.

“Um…yeah. Change of plans. Can we get that order to go?”

Sloane looked away and could feel herself blushing from head to toe. The waitress agreed and told them she’d be right back with the check. As soon as she was gone, she looked at Will. “Oh my goodness, Will,” she whispered. “She’s going to think…”

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