Page 45 of Somewhere We Belong

That was not what I had expected him to confess. A myriad of emotions hit me, relieved that it wasn’t something worse, a little jealous that he got to kiss her and worried that this was it for us.

“I’m so sorry.” His lip trembled. “I’ve been wanting to tell you, but every time I tried to, I got scared. I’m sorry.”

A few tears slid down his cheeks as he looked at me with apprehension in his gaze. His blue eyes, which were normally bright, were stormy and unsure.

“Did this happen last week?” I asked, giving myself more time to figure out how I felt about it.

He nodded, his lip trembled again. “I wanted… I wanted to tell you but… but I was so scared.”

“I want to say I’m surprised, but I’m not,” I said, wiping his tears away.

“What do you mean?” His brows furrowed.

“I've seen how you look at her,” I whispered. “You’re not very good at hiding your feelings and I've suspected you've had a crush on her for a while.”

“You expected me to cheat?” He pushed me away.

“No, that's not what I meant.” I pulled him back to me. “I’m just saying I know you care for her, and you've always led with your emotions.”

“What are you saying?”

“Is she who you want to be with?” I asked bracing myself.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “In my mind it’s not her or you guys, but her with us. I know that’s not an option.”

Fuck.

“I heard yesterday that she has a date for tonight.” I kissed his cheek. “I got a little twinge of jealousy, it was just a simmering type, I think I would have done something stupid like throw her over my shoulder and bring her home— type of jealousy.”

“You don’t like her,” he said warily.

I huffed. “I’ve always liked her, but I took my anger out on her because… because?—”

I let go of Theo turning around, because I couldn’t look at him when I said this.

“Because what if you realized it was easier to be with her than me?” I ran my hand through my hair. “I see the way you and Atlas look at her and I didn’t think I could compete with that.”

“You thought I would leave you for her,” he stated.

“Yes, in my mind I didn’t even think of the possibility of her being with us,” I said, hating all these emotions. “We have a unique relationship, but that doesn’t mean everyone wants to have a relationship with multiple people.”

Soft footsteps came toward me until Theo was in front of me.

“What if a relationship with her was possible with us?” He cupped my cheek.

My heartbeat was thundering in my ears so loudly. I should just admit I wanted that; it would solve all of our problems. It could be great, but I didn’t think she would want me in that equation.

MOOOOO!

The cows got spooked running wildly.

Theo and I climbed onto our horses to manage the herd, finding stragglers and guiding them back. I secretly wished we could keep doing this all day, but once we got back home, we were going to have another uncomfortable discussion, although I had my suspicions that Atlas had feelings for Nova too.

Theo and I were quiet on our way home. We didn’t know what had spooked the herd, but it took a while before we were able to get all of the cows in order. When we got to the barn, we noticed Sol playing with her pig, Hula Hoop.

I immediately smiled, seeing her run around with the pig in a skirt chasing her, and Sable went running after them. Sol’s laughter filled the air, and I looked for Nova wondering if she had cancelled her date. The thought eased the tension I had been holding onto since Theo and I had talked.

“Sorry, Ms. Nova said it would be fine if I brought her.” A young girl was sitting in the barn reading a book. “I’m Stellar, I’m her babysitter and I thought I would give her some time to get ready in peace.”

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