Page 118 of Call It Love

“Ah!” I yelped, falling to the grass.

Something stirred beside me—a person, I realized, just as Trey sat up, rubbing a hand over his face and squinting into the light. His expression shifted from alarmed to amused the moment he saw me.

“Starting to think you’re following me,” he said, a lopsided grin tugging at his mouth. He was a handsome man to start with, but when he put on one of his rare smiles, he was ridiculously good-looking.

I pressed my hand to my chest as I sat up. “You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing here? I didn’t think anyone else knew about this place.”

He shrugged and stretched his arms overhead, then sat on the old millstone. “Didn’t know you had claimed it.”

“Technically, it’s notmine, but it’s become a special spot.”

“Can’t argue there. I found it a few months ago. Even when I’m alone, I know that once upon a time, someone else carved a life out right here. Something about being here helps me clear my head. Like, if they could create something out of nothing, maybe I can too.”

That was probably the most I’d ever heard Trey speak, but his words rang true with me.

“Seems we have that in common,” I muttered, as I joined him on the stone. “What’s on your mind?”

He shook his head. “Just pondering over what to do with a place that was given to me.”

“Place? Like, someone gave you ahouse?”

“More like inherited it. Someone I knew died.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

He gave me a slight nod but didn’t say anything; he just went back to being the quiet guy I knew. I didn’t mind. His kind of quiet didn’t make me feel invisible. Instead, it wasthe kind of quiet that was restful because he didn’t expect anything. But I knew from his reaction the last time I bumped into him that he was fast to jump in when someone he cared about needed something. And somehow, he’d added me to what I suspected was a very short list.

So, it startled me when he spoke up again. “How’d the thing go with the Christmas tree?”

“Everything went fine, other than my former father-in-law being part of the committee.” I caught him up to speed.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about him.”

“Why not?” He didn’t know James Washington and the power he seemed to yield.

“People like him think they have influence, but they don’t get the final say.”

“Hmm.” I wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t sure I did.

“Is that why you’re here?” he asked.

I shifted on the stone, hugging my knees to my chest and resting my chin on them. “Kind of like you, an opportunity found me, and I’m not sure what to do with it. I guess I’m alsopondering,as you said.”

“Ah. Want to talk it out?”

I hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain and not sound whiny. “It’s caused me to think a lot about what I want. What I’mallowedto want.”

That caused him to frown. “You’reallowedto want anything, as long as no one gets hurt.”

That was the problem, wasn’t it? Me. Chase. Jordan. Any of us—all of us—could be hurt by my decision.

“I have everything I ever wanted right here,” I murmured. “Chase, the farm, Jordan… they’ve given me more than I ever expected. But lately…” I trailed off, unsure how to say the rest without sounding ungrateful.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak. Just listened as usual. Indoing so, I had a feeling Trey was good at sensing what people weren’t saying.

“I’m scared of messing it up,” I admitted. “Scared of losing what I have here because I reach for something more.” I closed my eyes and shook my head.

Trey finally spoke, his voice low and steady. “Why does it have to be one or the other?”

---