Because she made me laugh when I didn’t want to.
Because she made me talk when I didn’t mean to.
Because she looked at me like I wasn’t a walking shell of bad decisions and unprocessed trauma.
And because Iwantedto sit across from her at a little café and talk about nothing.
Because I wanted her to ask questions.
And I hated that I’d pulled back.
Again.
It was instinct. The way some people dodge blows. I dodged closeness and connection. It just took a hint of someone gettingtoo near the mess I hadn’t figured out how to clean up yet, and I’d close up shop.
And now, I had no idea if she’d ever ask again.
I reached the edge of the square and stopped, watching a couple walk into the bookstore together, holding hands and smiling. A pair of teenagers zipped past them on skateboards, laughing so loud it echoed.
Life.
So loud here.
So full of color.
And I didn’t know where I fit in any of it.
But I knew I didn’t want to keep running from it.
Especially not from her.
Chapter Fifteen
Fifi
I found Sienna exactly where I figured she’d be—by the goats, acting like she hadn’t single-handedly orchestrated one of the most embarrassing moments of my adult life.
She was tossing handfuls of hay into the trough, humming some upbeat folk song like she hadn’t just tossedmeinto an accidental fake date with a grumpy, gorgeous guest who now probably thought I was certifiably unhinged.
One of the goats bleated as I approached. Probably in warning. Or possibly solidarity.
Sienna didn’t look up. “Afternoon, sunshine.”
I crossed my arms. “Do notsunshineme right now.”
She blinked innocently. “What? I’m just feeding Gerald.”
Gerald, our oldest goat, headbutted the trough with dramatic flair. I liked to think he was protesting on my behalf.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You told me Ben called the lodge and asked for company.”
She finally turned, wide-eyed, playing dumb like it was an Olympic sport. “Did I?”
“Yes. Youdid.And then I got out there, thinking I was meeting him halfway on a trail hangout he requested, and guess who was genuinely shocked to see me?”
Sienna bit her lip. “Ben?”
“Yes. Ben. The man who didnotask me to come. The man who looked like he’d seen a ghost. The man who was already halfway into his what-the-hell-is-going-on face.”
