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“I’m not going to pry about what happened between you back then, but I want you to be happy.”
“This is the first step. Talking through what happened. I think if we can do that, we can move on.”
“Is that what you want, to move on from Holly?”
“Like I said, it’s what she wants. It’s what she needs.” Did I hold out hope that I could convince her otherwise? Absolutely, but I wasn’t naïve to think it was possible.
Heath grunted noncommittally. “Sometimes people don’t know what they want; you have to show them.”
“What are you talking about?” Normally, I would have told Heath I needed to get back to work so I wouldn’t have to talk about this anymore. But today, I was eager for some advice.
“Take me and Marley. We had a relationship in high school.”
I arched a brow. “We didn’t know about it.”
Heath nodded. “It’s a little different from what you had with Holly because of that, but our feelings were real.”
I gestured for him to continue.
“When she came back to renovate her grandmother’s inn, she was determined to do it from California. She didn’t want to rehash our past. She didn’t want any memories to come to the surface. She wanted to get out of here as fast as she could.”
“She was trying to escape her feelings.”
“Exactly. Maybe that’s why Holly has been so adamant about not talking to you. She knows if she does, all her feelings will return. Or maybe they never really left. She feels vulnerable around you. Logically, she doesn’t want a relationship, but her heart says something different.”
What Heath was saying sounded good, but I was afraid to believe it.
“Or heck, maybe she knows she’ll fall right back into a relationship with you, and she’s afraid of whatever happened to end things back then.”
“She’s definitely afraid.”
“Then remind her of all the reasons why you two were good together—if that’s what you want, and I think you do.”
“I never stopped wanting Holly. I never got the closure I needed from her, and I always wondered if that was the reason I couldn’t fully move on to someone else.” Or maybe it was because I never stopped loving Holly.
“When Marley returned, I wanted to show her the farm and the family and remind her of what was possible. Ireland’s always saying that the farm is magical, and I wanted Marley to see that, too.”
“It obviously worked.”
“And Holly’s always loved our family.”
“But she’s already a part of it. She hangs out with us all the time.”
He shifted so that he stood in front of me. “But as an outsider, not as your girl. Remind her what it’s like to be your girl. Take advantage of whatever time she’ll give you to show her how things could be different.”
“What if I don’t know what I want?”
“It will become clear to you. You’ll either decide that you’ve gotten your closure and can move forward as friends, or you’ll want more.”
Remembering how she felt in my arms the other day when she was upset, I had a feeling I’d want to fall right back where we were. Whenever I was around her, I was reminded of how I felt about her and how much it hurt when she broke up with me. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“I’m proud of you for taking the initiative.”
“I didn’t plan on bidding on her, but when those guys from high school were insistent on winning her, something snapped inside of me.”
“You don’t want to see her with anyone else. Especially not one of the Calloway brothers.”
“Hell no, and I’ve been lucky enough not to have seen her dating anyone else. I don’t know if she hasn’t been dating a lot or I just haven’t seen it.” It could be either. I was preoccupied with work and stayed on the farm most of the time. I rarely ventured into town.
