Page 68 of One Sweet Day is Never Enough

“You got it, Ryan.” Seth flashed a smile.

Ryan disappeared around the corner and Seth turned to Stacey, hushing his voice. “What are you doing?”

“What are you talking about?” Stacey shot back. “I’m being friendly.”

“You just told him you’re my girlfriend!” How could she be doing this? What part ofbreaking updid she not understand? “His parents are throwing this party. He knows everyone, so everyone’s going to hear about this.” He glanced around, struggling to keep his voice down.

“So? What’s the big deal?” Stacey wrapped her hands around his left arm and stroked the sleeve of his dress shirt. “Wow, you look good tonight. And I am your girlfriend. It’s true.”

“No, it’s not! Stacey, we broke up—a week ago. Don’t you remember that?” Seth stared at her. “What on earth are you doing here? How did you even…?”

“I still love you, Seth.” Stacey begged. “I want to make this work. We can still try, can’t we?” She was making that face she always made right before she started to cry.

He could not have her break down here. But the problem wasn’t just going to disappear by ignoring it, the way he’d ignored the problems in their relationship for months. Look where that had gotten him.

“Stacey, can you come with me, please? We need to talk.” She nodded and he led her along the porch to the far side of the building where they’d have some privacy.

He didn’t want her at the party with him, but judging by the way she was already behaving, it was probably safer if he kept her close. He wasn’t sure what she might say or do if she became upset and he left her alone, either with the party guests or at his house. Wait—would she agree to go to the house and wait for him?

No way—she’d never agree to that. She’d throw a fit at him for even asking her to leave the party. Forget it. Bad idea.

Still, there were a lot of important people here tonight, too many potential business deals floating around that could affect the future of the orchard—he could not afford to leave things up to chance.

And Gia had a lot on the line, too. Her boss would be speaking with the Trewets on Monday to find out how she did running her first event solo. Stacey’s mere presence was obviously upsetting her—and for good reason. She did not need for things to get worse.

Oh, my gosh,Gia. What would she be thinking by now?

Seth reached the side of the store with Stacey and stopped. He turned to look at her in the low light. He could hardly believe she was here. She looked as great as ever in a pretty dress and heels that accentuated her long legs and tanned skin. But he wasn’t affected by her looks anymore—not even a little bit. All he could think about was how strange the situation was. She had to beout of her mindto have come all this way without telling him, after he’d just made it clear last week that it was over between them. It felt almost surreal.

“Okay, Stacey, listen. I’ve got a lot at stake here tonight. So do my parents, and quite frankly, the future of this entire farm depends on things going well tonight.”

Stacey nodded begrudgingly.

“I didn’t ask you to come here—quite frankly, I specifically asked younotto. But here you are, so we’ve got to figure this out and figure it out fast.”

Stacey looked again like she might break into tears. “But why aren’t you even happy to see me? You love surprises. I don’t understand.”

“Please don’t cry, Stace. This isnotcool. You had no business throwing this at me.”

“Seth, that’s cold. I wanted to prove a point—that I can do this. That I can be here for you. That Iwantto be here for you.” She placed a hand on his tie and played with his collar, then ran her hand down his chest. “Please give me a chance.”

He removed her hand. “It’s not happening, Stacey.”

“Why not? Come on, for old time’s sake. You’ve got nothing to lose.” She tried again, running her hand softly across his cheek and gazing into his eyes.

He pulled her hand away and looked off into the distance. He couldn’t let her know about Gia—not yet. If she heard they were dating, she’d flip out and create that scene he was desperately hoping would not materialize.

“Because it’s over between us. How do you not get that?”

“How can you say it’s over just like that? We have a history together. You haven’t even given me a chance. Why are you cutting me off like this?” A tear rolled down her cheek.

Seth sighed heavily. “It doesn’t matter,” he said with a weary shake of his head.

Stacey wiped her face. “There’s someone else, isn’t there?”

Seth looked up automatically and it registered on Stacey’s face before he could play it off.Shoot.How could he have fallen for that?

“So thereis. That’s the only explanation that fits. I get it now.” She narrowed her eyes. “So who is she? Is she here? Is she at your table?”

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