Page 41 of Higher Ground
Unless Byron didn’t feel the same way.
Unless Jaxon found out, because he would surely make a scene.
Unless the town grew to hate her even more because she stole another Gardner man from all the local ladies.
Unless …
None of it was certain, though. And all she was really thinking about were the negatives.
“What if Byron caught them, too?” Mya prompted.
Emory’s thoughts began to spiral further. What if Byron did have feelings for her?
Would they handle Jaxon together?
Would she care about the ladies in town if she were in love andhappy?
Would she still finish her degree? Would she still want to leave town when she did?
Fuck. There was a lot to think about, and Emory had none of the answers. Talking to Mya had only given her more questions. Rolling her neck, Emory considered what it would mean to stay. Clayton would be able to keep his relationship with his paternal family, and given his lack of relationship with his father, thatwasimportant. There weren’t many marketing positions available in such a small town, but perhaps she could look for something remote. Loads of companies offered that sort of flexibility nowadays.
And, okay, Emory would still be stuck in a town where, even though everybody knew her name, nobody said hello, but it was safe. She wouldn’t be starting again. Again.
And Byron would be here.
“Do you think he does?” Her voice wavered as she asked the question she so desperately needed to know the answer to.
Mya squished her cheek against a pillow but didn’t answer. Emory supposed she wouldn’t know anyway.
“I think the only way to find out is to ask him. You pull on your big girl panties and you say, ‘Hey, about all this great sex we keep having, I really like it, and I want to keep doing it, but I also really like you,’ and then you see what he says.”
Pins and needles trickled along Emory’s arm as she held the phone in front of her face. She shifted her position, changing hands and stretching her legs back in front of her.
“But what if he says he does?” she asked.
Truthfully, this whole situation scared the living hell out of her. She was terrified that Byron didn’t feel the same way, that her stupid little heart had gotten carried away and was about to ruin everythingandmake the next week or so incredibly uncomfortable. But she was equally frightened of the thought that Byron might have the same feelings for her. Because whatthen? She still wanted to leave town. She’d worked too hard at her degree to throw her career away for a man. Even a man like Byron. The thought made her shoulders shake with laughter. Not the kind that comes through boundless joy, but the uncertain giggle that creeps along skin and leaves a crease between brows.
“I wish I had the answers, Emory, but you’ll never know until you ask him.”
Mya squeaked then. “Gotta go, bye!” she squealed as the phone disconnected.
Emory furrowed her brow, unsure what had caused her friend to hang up. There was movement behind her, heavy footsteps along the deck, until Byron sat down on the step next to her.
“Ask me what, Em?”
Chapter 20
Byron
Hours after getting the dinner prepped, Byron’s mind was still reeling. Once the coals were hot enough and the lamb was cooking, he and Emory had gone inside and he’d sat, awkward as anything, while Emory had chopped the potatoes. And all the while, he hadn’t stopped thinking about how perfect this was. How he never wanted it to end.
The thought downright terrified him, so when Clayton had emerged from his bedroom all sleepy-eyed and rumpled hair, Byron had taken his leave. Or, more precisely, he’d run off to the den to sulk about his feelings away from the woman causing them.
He just needed a minute to figure out what he wanted, how much he should let on.
But he still hadn’t cracked the code, and for the first time since his childhood, the den had bored him. The book he was trying to read didn’t pull him any further from the present than watching grass grow might have. And the blues and greys of his puzzle had blurred together until it was impossible to figure out where the pieces were meant to fit. But he had stayed there allthe same, not knowing if his presence was what Emory needed, or wanted.
Something had happened between them. Not the fucking, even though that was downright incredible. It was theafterthat Byron was stuck thinking about. The way Emory had melted into his arms as he kissed her last night. The little moments he caught her smiling at him. The way she was burrowing herself into his life and filling all the gaps he hadn’t realised were left in his heart.
