Page 11 of The One With The Secret Crushes

She looked a little lost sitting at my prep table with nothing to do. Her fingers moved over the smooth surface and her gaze pinged from the coolers to the pantry to the counters. "Oh, most of the cities on my list. A few I didn't expect."

"Did you do that overseas program in Rome?"

"Yep. And interned in London, then New York City. My first job was in Chicago and they sent me to France, Portugal, and Germany." She kept rattling off the cities and countries in the loose order she visited. Mostly for work, a couple for fun, like her two weeks in New Zealand with her dad and a girls' trip she took to Costa Rica.

I couldn't tear my gaze away. She was so happy.The tentative curiosity of high school had transformed into experiences, happy memories of all the things she'd wanted to do...and did.

"Where will you fly off to next?" I kept my hands busy with the salad prep, creating six for my guests and two for us. I held my breath and waited to hear Singapore or Tokyo. Far flung places that would take her away from Lost Creek.

"No plans."

I jolted with surprise. She shrugged and a frown pulled at her lips. "This is home. It's always been home...I just had other places to be, to see, you know?"

"I know."

"And I've seen them. I'm not saying I'm done traveling. I love it, but I also love this town and all the things I left behind. I'm ready to be here again."

Goddamnthat was great to hear. "We're glad to have you back."

"Are you? I mean the town?" She made a circle with her index finger. "I either get pity or told they thought I was too good for them."

"Fuck them." I drizzled dressing over our salads and packaged the rest, then set ours on the prep table. "I mean it. Fuck 'em. Everyone in this town is a gossip. Your aunt is the actual worst of them and she's ecstatic to have you back." I swallowed down my nerves. "I'mecstatic to have you back."

Her eyes flew to mine and even though I didn't know how to flirt to save my life, I let my emotions show. No scowl, no frown. Just the hopeful attraction I felt for her and the need for some form of our old friendship to resurface.

"Oh." She glanced at the salad I made for her and then back up at me. "Oh." A whisper this time.

"Why did you stop messaging me?" I pushed away from the table to give her some time and space to process. Sandwiches needed prepping next. I grabbed my homemade pimento cheese and got to work, shooting glances at her from the corner of my eye.

She twisted her fingers and worried her lip. "I, uh, I'm not sure, really."

I shot her a look. I wasn't buying it.

Her shoulders sagged. "Fine, I...I guess I got caught up in college and figured you didn't need the sad girl nagging you and eating up your inbox."

"You never nag, Mackenzie. I looked forward to your stories." As the chicken cooked I found the hot honey. "I kept messaging you even after you stopped replying."

"I know." She stared at the table and I couldn't take it.

I went to her, cupped her chin and tipped her face up to me. The urge to swipe my thumb over her lower lip was strong. "I missed you."

"You mean that, don't you?"

I grabbed the other stool and sat without letting her go. I slid my palm over her cheek, my fingers brushing her hair. "Our friendship is important to me." I made sure to use the present tense. It may have lain dormant for a few years, but it never died. Not on my end.

Her lips twitched like she was fighting a frown. "I wasn't just the lonely kid you let hang around?"

"Why do you think I let you nap all over me, Mackenzie?"

"Because you felt sorry for me."

My heart fell. Yes, she was the kid who lost her mom in high school, and yes, a lot of people felt sorry for her, but I was never one of them. She was just Mackenzie.MyMackenzie. "I was a teenage boy."

Her frown deepened. "That doesn't make a good case for you, Scott."

I laughed. Just a little. "I mean yes, as a boy I really liked having a girl touching me, but specifically,Ilikedyoutouching me."

She blinked. "You never said anything. When? When did this happen?"

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