Page 61 of Choosing You

“So like…you’re going to buy a house here?”

“Your cousin Patrick is already doing the research for us. We just want a little two-bedroom bungalow type of place. With Hailey living here now, even if all your brothers wanted to come and visit, we’d have room for them between our two houses.”

For a moment, Sloane was fairly certain her jaw was on the floor.

“Um…what about me? What about when I want to come and visit?”

Her mother looked at her like she was crazy. “Well, obviously, I just thought you’d stay with Will. Or that you’d be moving here to be with him. After all the shacking up the two of you have done in the last month, that didn’t seem like such a stretch.”

When Sloane didn’t respond, her mother turned in her seat to face her.

“That is what you’re planning, isn’t it? Your father and I just figured that was going to be the next step. That’s why moving to Sweetbriar Ridge was going to be so easy for us. Knowing both my girls would be here was a perk!”

“Okay, I…I don’t know what to do, Mom,” she began cautiously. “I really like Will a lot. probably more than I’ve ever liked any other guy.”

“But…?”

“But…I don’t know if small-town life is for me.”

“So? Maybe Will would consider moving to Florida. Have you talked to him about it?”

“No. We haven’t even talked about him coming down to visit. Every time we talk about seeing each other, it’s for me to come here. I don’t mind it because then I get to see Hailey, but this is where Will is meant to be. He’s working on some expansion with Devin at the garage, and I couldn’t ask him to give that up.”

“Maybe you won’t have to ask him. Maybe he’ll offer. But you’re never going to know unless you open that dialogue, sweetheart. I know this is all maybe a little out of your comfort zone, but if you truly have feelings for Will, you need to work this stuff out. You can’t keep flying back here every weekend. It’s not practical.”

“Or affordable,” she murmured. “If I keep doing this, the money I’ve been putting away to buy a house is going to be gone sooner rather than later.” Pausing, she sighed. “Why did I have to fall for a guy who lives so far away?”

When her mother didn’t say anything, she got mildly suspicious.

“Mom? Don’t you have anything to say about that?”

Bridget shrugged.

“Mom,” she repeated more firmly. “Come on. I know you’re thinking something.”

The weary sigh came first. “Fine. But remember, you asked.”

“Fine. Consider me warned.”

“You’ve always taken the…lighter approach to life,” she began slowly. “Never taking anything too seriously, always ready with a joke, and you easily let things just roll off your back.”

“O-kay…I’m not seeing a problem with any of that, but I’m also not seeing what this has to do with me and Will.”

“Your friends are all getting married and having babies. Your sister—who has always been one of your best friends—also got married and had a baby.” Reaching over, she gave Sloane’s hand a small squeeze. “Maybe you chose a guy who was unattainable on some level, so you could say you tried just to pacify all of us, all the while knowing it wouldn’t work.”

“So…you’re saying I’m using Will and self-sabotaging myself? Mom, that’s insane! You make me sound like some kind of sociopath! Why would I use Will like that? He’s a genuinely great guy that I like! I was attracted to him from the minute I first saw him!”

“Lust makes us do crazy things, dear,” her mother primly reasoned.

“This isn’t just lust,” she retorted. “I enjoy just sitting and talking to Will. Except about cars. I can do with a lot less of that.” As childish as it was, she knew she was making a face at just the mention of cars.

“Interesting.”

“What? What’s interesting?”

“It’s nothing,” her mother said before shifting in her seat again. “When do you think we’ll start boarding? It feels like we’ve been here forever.”

“Mom?”

---