Page 74 of Hometown Hottie

“I’m fine.” Liar, liar. I wonder if my pants are about to catch fire. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m okay with it if you want to date Cassidy. I know she’s my friend, but it wouldn’t be weird for me.”

He just smirked, soft laughter bubbling out of him. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the fact that I’m not as territorial as you are,” I said, my tone sharper than I’d intended.

Ryan’s smirk faded, a heavy breath falling out of him before he cocked his head at me. “Is there anything else? I need to finish this before I go to bed.”

I stared back at him, wishing that he’d just open up about his true feelings regarding Carson and me. He hadn’t gotten mad when we’d talked about it on our way back from the lake, but he’d definitely made sure I knew how he thought Carson saw me. If I tell him he was wrong, would he believe me? Would he give us his blessing?

I doubted it.

Even though I desperately wanted to have the conversation with him, I shook my head and waved goodbye before I turned and left his place. On the walk back to my own, I considered why I hadn’t just ripped off the band-aid and told him that I wanted to be with his friend if I still had a shot at it.

But that was where the problem lay.

Right then, I didn’t know if I still had a shot. There was no sign of Carson, and night had fallen properly now. After the way he’d left me earlier, I didn’t know what to think.

The day felt unfinished when I walked into my house and headed upstairs to my bedroom to get ready to go to sleep. A certain turbulence inside made it difficult to imagine even getting into bed right then, not to mention how unlikely it was I would actually manage to get any sleep.

Going through the motions, I kept hoping that the turbulence would ebb. I knew it wouldn’t leave altogether, but if it could just give me some space to breathe, maybe I could make it through the night without having to be institutionalized in the morning.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face, putting on my lotion before I changed into my pajamas, but my nightly routine didn’t settle me. I kept twitching at the slightest sounds, on high alert just in case any of them turned into the rumble of a truck’s engine.

None of them did. Owls hooted, and every once in a while, I heard a cow, but that was about it. I sighed as I headed back downstairs in the hopes of finding something mind-numbing to watch on television.

As I reached for the remote, however, I finally heard a truck pulling into my driveway. My heart lurched and leaped. I hurried to the front door and opened it just in time to see Carson turning off his engine.

I waited for him in the doorway, uncertainty weighing me down as I watched him approach. As soon as he was on the steps, I looked into those green eyes and wondered why his hair was so messy, but I didn’t ask.

Instead, I got right down to business. “Listen, if you’re going to withdraw your offer, I get it⁠—”

“Nova, are you ready to talk about what this is going to look like?” he asked, cutting me off and staring intently into my eyes.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Me and you,” he said simply, then walked around me and stepped inside.

I was too shocked to say a word. This was really happening now. Carson and I were finally going to have the talk, and while a burst of excitement shot through me, I was also still scared.

Whichever way it went, this talk was going to be a turning point in my life. It was either going to be the moment we decided to get together, or the moment we decided to walk away forever.

I, for one, had no idea which of those options would be better in the long run.