Page 115 of Break My Heart
‘Let me take that.’ I take the duffle bag from her. ‘I hope you’re hungry because my mom cooks like crazy when she has guests. She’s probably home making something for you right now.’
‘Your mom is great,’ Gina says as we walk to the door. ‘You’re really lucky.’
‘I am. But if you live here, she’ll be like a mom to you too. She can’t help herself. She has to take care of people, especially her family, and if you haven’t noticed, she considers you part of the family.’
Gina laughs a little. ‘She barely knows me. I’ve only been in your life a few months.’
‘You’ve been in my life since we were seven. I talked about you all the time, about how pissed I was at that girl who beat me at camp.’
‘You’ve been talking about me since we were seven?’ she asks as we go out to the parking lot.
‘Not all the time, but enough that my family knew all about you.’
She stops next to her truck. ‘I might’ve talked about you too.’
‘To who?’
‘My grandfather. I told him how I beat this boy at camp and made him really mad.’ She smiles. ‘My grandpa said “that’s my girl” with this proud look on his face because he was the reason Iwon all those competitions. He taught me everything I know.’ Her smile drops as she looks down. ‘And now I used up all his money for a brewery I could only keep open for a few weeks. He’ll probably haunt me now and tell me how stupid I was.’
‘If he haunts you, it’ll be to tell you to reopen, to not give up.’
She nods. ‘You’re right. He would tell me that.’
‘So do it. Don’t give up. You’re not a quitter, Gina. You hate losing as much as I do, maybe even more. Don’t let those assholes win. Don’t let them run you out of town. You can come back from this and make G’s a success.’
‘Maybe I can,’ she says, her smile appearing, a fire in her eyes. She was starting to lose it, but I can see that competitive fire coming back.
That’s the Gina I know and love. But my fear of losing her kept me from giving her my heart. It made me not trust her. It made me push her away and make her want to leave. I was actually causing the thing I feared the most.
I could still lose her, but I’m not holding back this time. I’m giving her my heart, and hoping she doesn’t break it.
Chapter 25
Gina
‘You look beautiful,’ I tell Callie as I give her a hug. She’s in her wedding dress, about to get married. We’re waiting in the barn for the horse-drawn carriage that will be taking us down to where the ceremony is being held. It’s just past the orchard by a little pond surrounded by trees that still have their fall color.
Brody used his lawn equipment to clear out an area for chairs to be set up for guests. In front of the chairs is a large white gazebo that Nash and his dad built last summer. It’s where Nash and Callie will say their vows today. After the ceremony, we’ll come back to the barn for the reception. I helped Lyndsay and Martha decorate it earlier this week.
I’d planned to spend the week dealing with G’s but decided I needed to do what Sawyer suggested and take some time to relax and get my head straight before making any big decisions. Nash fixed the broken door at G’s so I could lock it and Sawyer boarded up the windows. That should keep the place from getting even more damaged from weather, vandals, or whatever critters arearound there. At least my beer fermentors weren’t damaged. They’re worth more than anything else in the building.
‘Are you sure I don’t look fat?’ Callie asks, running her hand over her belly. She’s showing, but it’s just a small bump and her dress covers it. It’s fitted at the chest, then is loose and flowing all the way to the bottom.
‘You look gorgeous,’ Lyndsay says, adjusting Callie’s veil. ‘If I didn’t know it, I’d never guess you were pregnant.’
‘I just want to make it through the ceremony without throwing up,’ Callie says.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Jen says. ‘You haven’t thrown up in days.’
‘Are you nervous?’ Kira asks. She’s Austin’s girlfriend. I met her for the first time today. She’s in college so she’s always studying or at class when Austin comes up here with his brothers.
‘Not at all,’ Callie says. ‘I feel like I’m already married to Nash. We just need to make it official.’
‘You two are so cute together,’ Ivy says. ‘Always holding hands, kissing.’
‘You and Jake are the same way,’ Callie says.
‘Sometimes, not always. We fight more than you guys do.’ She smiles. ‘But I kind of like it. It gets me all fired up, which leads to me getting turned on.’
