Page 60 of Keep My Heart
I turn to him. ‘You set a date yet?’
‘We’ve talked about it, but we haven’t decided. You think you’ll make it back for the wedding? I’d love to have you there.’
‘I’m sure I could make it work. As soon as you set the date, let me know so I can get the time off.’
‘You should bring that girl you were with today. I know you say she’s just a friend, but I sensed some chemistry there.’
‘We definitely have chemistry, but we live on different coasts.And she just got divorced. I don’t think she’s ready to get involved with someone again.’
‘It’s never the right time. You can’t let that stop you from being with someone.’ The music gets louder as Austin’s band plays a new song. ‘Let’s get out of here where we can talk.’
We walk to the door that goes outside. There’s a grassy area before the orchard starts where we have chairs and benches set up. Nash goes over to one of the benches and takes a seat at the end. I sit on the other end, turning to him.
‘What’d you want to talk about?’ I ask.
He shrugs. ‘Just catching up. I haven’t seen you much since you moved away.’
‘Yeah, I don’t get back that often.’
‘You miss it?’
‘I do, but small-town life just isn’t for me. I liked growing up here, but I needed a change. There’s so much to do in New York, so many places to go.’
‘It can’t be that great if you’re doing it alone, or do you have someone there?’
‘I’m not seeing anyone. I haven’t had the best luck dating there. I’ve gone out on plenty of dates. They just don’t go anywhere. I’ve decided to take some time off from dating and focus on work. Maybe in a few months I’ll get back out there again.’
‘You don’t see yourself dating Lyndsay? That’s her name, right?’
‘Yes. And no, I wouldn’t date her. It wouldn’t work with us living so far apart. And like I said, she’s not ready for a relationship.’
‘Neither was Callie. She turned me away so many times I lost count. But I didn’t give up on her. I just kept showing up at her door.’
‘Why? If you knew she didn’t want to date you, why’d you keep asking her?’
‘Because I felt something between us, something I hadn’t felt with other girls, not even the girl I was engaged to.’
I’d forgotten Nash was engaged to a girl before Callie. It wasn’t a long engagement so maybe that’s why I didn’t remember it.
‘I wasn’t going to just let that go,’ Nash continues. ‘When you feel that kind of connection with someone, you don’t just give up without at least putting some effort in.’
‘So what’d you do?’
‘I hired her. Had her help me clean up that house I inherited. It gave me an excuse to spend time with her. Our attraction to each other was insane, but we didn’t act on it, at least not right away. I kissed her a few times, but she made it clear she didn’t want that, so we were just friends for a while.’
‘How’d you end up becoming more?’
‘I kept being a friend to her until she was ready. It’s different with Callie because she’d been through a huge loss and was still grieving. But I was willing to wait for her, even knowing I’d be going back to Chicago.’
‘That’s right. She didn’t live there.’
‘No, and she had no plans to move. I took a big risk with her, but it ended up working out. And now I couldn’t be happier. She’s the love of my life.’
‘It’s a great story, but why are you telling me this?’
‘Because I’d hate to see you give up on this girl before giving it a chance. Sawyer said you stayed up all night talking to her. You don’t do that with some girl you don’t feel something for.’
‘You were talking to Sawyer about this?’ I shake my head. ‘Ignore him. He doesn’t know shit.’
