Page 26 of Choosing You

“So…you hate cars? Did I know that?”

She groaned again.

“Why do you hate cars?”

“I used to hate listening to Dad and everyone talk about cars. It was so boring! And Will is like…I won’t say obsessed, but almost. Like I said, they’re his job, his hobby, and…you just know he’s going to be all dirty and smell like gasoline and…” She shuddered. “I don’t know if I can handle that.”

For a minute, Hailey didn’t say anything, but then she asked, “So, how did you leave things?”

“He wanted me to spend the entire weekend with him—as in, go home with him tonight and stay with him until Monday morning.”

“Okay, good girl. You clearly said no. That’s smart. I mean, you just met him today.” Reaching over, she squeezed Sloane’s hand.

“Seriously? You’re going to play the whole ‘it’s too soon’ card with me? You? The one who slept with Max after just meeting him and then got pregnant? At least Will and I have loosely known each other for years.”

The bark of laughter that came out of her sister startled her.

“Known each other?” Hailey said with another laugh. “Sloane, you would kiss him and run away! At most, you spent ten seconds with him every time you saw him! If you added up the second from all the festivals you came to, you could maybe say that you spent a total of two minutes with him!”

It sucked that she was right.

“Fine, but it was still more than you and Max.”

“No, it wasn’t. Max and I met at Billie’s rehearsal dinner and then spent most of the next day together before we slept together. And…you know what? This is a ridiculous conversation. Did you want to go home with him?”

“I did, but then I thought about what you said the other day and I felt like I shouldn’t.”

“Oh…oh, Sloane, I’m sorry. I never should have…wait…what did I say?”

“You said I make light of everything and treat everything like a joke! And then I thought about Will and how he told me how he felt like a fool every time I ran away and…I mean…what am I even doing? I’m going home on Tuesday, and I don’t know when I’ll be back! Now that I’ve met Will, it’s not like I need to run back for the next festival.” Her head fell back as she closed her eyes. “The logistics suck.”

“Tell me about it. I had a legit reason to move to be closer to Max. It’s way too soon for you to think about doing something like that. You just met him—like…legit met him—today. If things didn’t work out, you’d still have me and all our cousins here, but would you regret leaving Florida? Your job? Mom and Dad?”

“Ugh…can you imagine the guilt trip I’d get from Mom? Hell, if I moved here, I think she’d pack up and follow.”

“I don’t know. She’s still got…”

“Don’t even say it. All she wants is to be here with you and Layla. And if I moved here, it would just give her another reason to follow. You know that.”

Hailey’s shoulders sagged. “Yeah. I do. But…it wouldn’t be the worst thing…”

“Yes. Yes, it would. She’d be all in your business and mine, and since none of our brothers are here, there would be no distractions. Trust me, it would be a nightmare.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it?”

“Do I have to remind you of how awful both she and Dad were when you and Max first found out you were pregnant? Remember them showing up at Billie’s house and all the guilt Mom laid on you? And Dad?”

“Fair enough. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. If you didn’t live a thousand miles away, would you have gone home with him tonight?”

She didn’t even have to think about it. “Definitely. If I didn’t have to worry about logistics and I could forget about his car obsession, I’d be climbing him like a tree right this minute.”

“Wow, um…TMI, Sloane. You could have just said yes.”

Grinning, she said, “Yeah, but what fun would that have been?”

Fortunately, her sister laughed. “Okay, tree climbing aside, what are you thinking? Like…do you see yourself getting serious with this guy or…”

Shrugging, she went for honesty. “I don’t know, Hales. It’s too soon, but…I’d like to find out. I just don’t know how.”

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