Page 9 of Choosing You

“Because until you’re ready to admit that you’re genuinely interested and not playing around, it wouldn’t be fair. You get to pack up and head back to Florida; I’ve got to live here. And if he knew you were a Donovan, he’d be able to track you down in a heartbeat. Especially since Hailey lives here now.”

Even though it made sense, it didn’t make her feel any better.

Then there was the whole distance thing. Sloane wasn’t from Sweetbriar Ridge; she was from Fort Lauderdale. Not that it was another country or anything, but it was a fourteen-hour drive or required two flights. She had a life in Florida, a good life. Okay, maybegoodwas stretching it, but most of her family and friends were there and she had a cute apartment.

The sigh was out before she could stop it.

Her job currently sucked, her mother was making her crazy, and the walls in her apartment were paper thin. Most nights, she could hear her neighbor snoring.

“This is my life,” she murmured, resting her head in her hands. “Kissing guys and walking away, being aggravated by my mother, and listening to my neighbor snore. Good times.”

Although, right now, at this moment, things were good. She was sleeping in a very comfy bed in her sister’s guest room, she had spent a great day with her cousins and all their babies, and she didn’t have to set an alarm for tomorrow. So, all in all, it was a win.

Beside her, her cell phone beeped with an incoming text. Reaching for it, she saw it was Ashlynn. Intrigued since she’d just been thinking about her, she quickly tapped the screen, pulled up the message and read it.

Ash: Hey! Are you still up?

Sloane: Yup. Just lying in bed relaxing. What are you still doing up?

Ash: Lol! Silly girl. Noah’s a night owl.

Ash: Reid and I take turns with the last bottle of the night and tonight I’m it.

Sloane: So you’re typing and feeding him at the same time? I’m impressed!

Ash: Don’t be. Right now he has zero interest in his bottle. The adorable brat.

Ash: Nah, he’s just lying here all snuggled up fighting sleep.

Ash: I like moments like this where it’s quiet and just the two of us.

Aww…that was incredibly sweet, but it also begged the question:

Sloane: Then why are you texting me instead of enjoying it?

Ash: You’ve been on my mind ever since we left Hailey’s earlier.

Sloane: Really? Why?

Ash: It’s not really fair of me to keep this guy’s identity from you. You’re an adult and so is he. It shouldn’t matter who your family is. Whatever’s going to happen is between the two of you and no one else.

Sloane’s heart raced. This was it. She was finally going to find out who the kissing booth guy was!

“Okay,” she whispered as she sat up a little more in the bed. “Don’t sound too anxious.”

Sloane: I don’t mean to put you in the middle of this, Ash.

Ash: I think I put myself there three years ago when you came to that first festival. Lol!

Ash: And as fun as it’s been, the whole conversation earlier just really hit me hard.

Ash: No offense, but I got the feeling you weren’t thrilled with the way Hailey talked about you in front of us.

Sloane: She was only telling the truth. I’m a flake. I don’t take anything seriously.

Ash’s response was a long line of angry face emojis.

Ash: I didn’t say anything at the time, and then I came home and didn’t want to tell Reid about it either.

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