Page 78 of Playing it Country

HAYDEN: Also, we’re great

CHEYENNE: What they said (winking face emoji)

HANNAH: Y’all did that on purpose

RHEA: Was that your first ‘y’all’??

ISLA: YES!! (message sent with confetti)

MARLEE: Also I have zero shame in guilt-tripping you into staying

ISLA: I thought that was a given

RHEA: She’s slow on the uptake.

HANNAH: You guys are a lot

HAYDEN: But….

HANNAH: *sigh* but I kind of like it

ISLA: Atta girl

MARLEE: So can we keep you?

HANNAH: Only time will tell

Time did not, in fact, tell. The telling happens about an hour later via email notification. Bold letters announce a shiny, new, unread email, but I stare at it for longer than I’d ever admit out loud without clicking on it.

The excitement I’d felt after sending in the application is nowhere in sight as I drop down onto the barstool in the kitchen. Thinking back, I can’t actually remember if it was excitement or relief I felt after finally applying. My parents had been adamant it was the right choice for me.

The perfect job.

The pit in my stomach grows as I click the link and read the first couple of lines:

Congratulations Ms. Spence!

You’ve been chosen as the newest member of our dynamic and creative team. Your first assignment will be in Colorado Springs at the end of the month. Please get in touch with HR concerning paperwork and to set up travel arrangements. We look forward to working with you!

I stop readingand flip my phone face down. I need time and I need space and I need to get out of here before Case comes home.

Home.

This is his home—not mine—and I need to remember that. He’s turned my world upside down, and it’s not just fun and games anymore. He may act like he wants me here—in his life and in his bed—but we were only supposed to be temporary, and I can’t shake the feeling that I could be making a huge mistake no matter what I choose.

Clementine Creek has changed me, but the question still remains—am I willing to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put down roots in small-town Tennessee? And if I do, will Case be here to catch me if I fall?

32

CASE

“That was one hell of a housewarming the other night,” Otto says as he hops into the bed of my pickup next to me and cracks open a beer.

“The girls did a great job organizing it,” I agree. “Any excuse to all get together.”

“Hey, I meant to ask,”—he pauses for what I know is dramatic effect—“have the wallsalwaysbeen that thin in the house?”

I chuck my bottle cap at him with a laugh. “Shut the fuck up, man.”

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