Hayden blew out a breath, relieved that Erma was taken care of and that Junior had someone to talk about his fish with. Then he turned around, glad to see that Riley hadn’t moved. She didn’t look so happy, though, and now he wondered if he hadn’t made things worse by taking care of Erma without asking Riley first. But he wasn’t going to let her get away so easily this time. He rushed to her, skidding to a stop on the grass. “Junior’s—”
“Taking her home. I can see that.” She scowled. “Why did you do that, Hayden?”
“Because I didn’t want you to leave.” There. The truth was out. “I think we have some things to talk about.”
“Like what?”
“Us, for starters.”
“There is nous.” She moved her index finger back and forth between them.
He took a step back but kept his gaze steady. “I think there is.”
“You’re wrong.” She hugged the sketchbook to her again.
She was stubborn, he would give her that. Then again, she was Erma’s granddaughter. He also suspected that some of that stubbornness had been honed during her childhood. Reminding himself of that helped him keep his patience. He glanced at her sketchbook.
“Nice picture, by the way,” he said. “Interesting choice of subject matter.”
Her cheeks turned bright red and she averted her gaze. “I was practicing.”
“Uh-huh.” He scratched the corner of his forehead, then went for broke. “You can’t honestly tell me that you didn’t feel anything when we kissed.”
“N-no. I-I didn’t.”
“Wow, you’re a terrible liar.” He grinned. “I like that about you.”
“Hayden, don’t.”
“Don’t what?” He took another step forward, and she moved back. “Don’t worry, Riley,” he said, softening his tone. “I’m not going to kiss you again. Even though I want to.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. But I can see you don’t want me to.”
A pause. “I never said that.”
“Now, those words I believe.”
She moved away from him again, holding the sketchbook as if it were a life preserver. “We shouldn’t have kissed,” she said.
That hit him hard. He understood she was protecting herself, and now he understood a little about why she felt like she had to. But to act like there weren’t feelings between them... What was he supposed to do with that?Slow down.That’s what he needed to do, for both their sakes. He’d never been one to jump into a relationship, and he’d never even been in a serious one. There was a learning curve to this, he was discovering.
“You’re right,” he said, following her lead and moving away from her. “We haven’t known each other that long. But we can change that.”
She pressed her lips together and then pushed the stray strands of hair away from her face as she stared at the empty ball field. “No, we can’t.”
***
“Riley, please look at me.”
She couldn’t keep from facing Hayden, not when she heard the pleading in his voice. The sun was setting behind him, casting a soft amber glow around his incredible body. She wasn’t being fair or honest with him, and he deserved better. She was stuck, like a pig in a mud wallow, as Bea might say.
She could walk away from Hayden right now, get into Mimi’s car, and drive off. She could tell him she didn’t need his help to fix up Mimi’s house. Now that she didn’t have to worry about the rent this month, she had extra money to hire someone else. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it would solve a problem. She could make sure she never crossed paths with Hayden again before returning home to New York. That would make everything less complicated—and less painful.
But she remained in place. Every cell in her brain was telling her to flee, but with each pounding heartbeat, she grew further from leaving. She couldn’t pull her gaze from his questioning one. Couldn’t stop wishing things were different and wanting to launch herself into his steady arms. She couldn’t reveal her heart either. She dropped her chin, the metal spiral coil binding the notebook digging into her arm.
They stood there at an impasse. Finally Hayden spoke. “Remember I told you I would earn your trust? I can’t do that if you won’t even let me try.”
