Page 127 of Pick Me This Time

I spun around, frantically re-opening the Uber app, but this time, there were no cars simply waiting. Eric walked out of the house as I was trying to get a ride. Frowning, he came to stand next to me. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m not leaving. I love her, Eric. I can’t go while she’s here, but now, it sounds like she’s on her way to New York and I’m stuck in Allisburg. How did my driver disappear so fast?”

Logically, I knew the answer to that question, but shit. Eric groaned, pulling his keys out of his pocket and inclining his head toward his truck, which was parked on the other side of the street. “Let’s go, bro. I can’t actually believe I’m saying this, but let’s go get her.”

“Are you serious?”

“Just get in the fucking truck,” he grumbled before jumping into action, sprinting across the street with me hot on his heels. Once we were racing back to the airport, he glanced at me. “You’re really going to stay in Allisburg?”

“I am.” With confidence in my decision surging through me, I turned to look at him. “I love her, I love Allisburg, and I love Northfield Farms. I had my reasons for leaving, but I’m back now. For good. I hope you can accept that, but if you can’t, then so be it. I’m not changing my mind and I’m not letting her go.”

He paused for a beat, then started laughing and finally put an arm out to clap me on the shoulder. “There he is. I’ve been waiting for you to show up, Sterling. Shit. It’s taken you long enough. If you love her enough to stay, then I can accept it. As long as you really are committed enough to her to stick around and give it a real shot.”

Relief flooded me, but I couldn’t focus on that. I would speak to Eric later. For now, I just nodded, my jaw tight. We sped toward the airport. If we missed her and her flight had already taken off by the time we arrived, I was screwed.

The next flight out was tomorrow morning.

“Here we are,” Eric said as he came to an abrupt stop in front the departures terminal. “Good luck getting through security.”

“Shit. I hadn’t even thought of that.” I jumped out of the car, flat out running through the airport in search of my girl.

She was nowhere to be found, though. Eventually, I checked the board and saw that the last flight to New York was leaving in an hour, which meant she would already be at her gate, waiting to board.

Rushing to the security point, I eyed the burly guards and decided to simply throw myself at their mercy—and show them my ticket. My flight had already left, but this would help make sense of my situation.

“I know this is out of the ordinary, but I need your help,” I said as soon as I reached them. Then I explained what had happened as fast as I could, causing a hold up and a scene, but eventually, they let me through—with one of them as an escort to make sure I was really there to do what I’d said I needed to do.

As he and I ran to her gate, I finally saw her, nervously sitting on one of the seats in the waiting area. Her spine was ramrod straight, her documentation clasped in her hands and her head swiveling back and forth.

She hasn’t boarded yet!Thank God.

She looked around, though I wasn’t really sure what for, but she spotted me racing toward her, and when she did, time seemed to stop. Her eyebrows slowly inched up. Her lips parted as she blinked like she didn’t trust what she was seeing.

“Sterling?” she mouthed as she stood up, but she didn’t move away from her chair.

It was like she was still too confused, her head slowly tilting as she watched us hurry toward her. When I reached her, I grabbed her hands and pulled her to me, lowering my lips to hers. Relief unlike anything I’d ever felt sped through me.

“I’m not leaving,” I murmured against her lips, my heart pounding. I looked into her misty blue eyes. “I’m staying in Allisburg. I’m moving home, and if you’ll have me, I want you by my side.”

“You’re staying?” she whispered, her eyes bouncing from one of mine to the other. “Are you really moving back?”

“I am.” I smiled and tucked a loose hair behind her ears. “I love you, Daphne. I’m not going anywhere. It was stupid of me to even try. I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to be, and I knew that it wasn’t New York. I guess I just needed to almost leave to realize that it was the most idiotic things I could ever possibly do.”

Hope lit her eyes and she looped her arms around my neck, grinning radiantly. She pushed herself up on her tiptoes. “I guess it’s a good thing I’ve always found you adorable when you’re doing silly things.”

I groaned but then she pressed her lips to mine and I decided to just leave it be. As we kissed again, the people around who had been watching the scene go down burst into cheers and applause, and I grinned against her mouth.

There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that I was doing the right thing. Allisburg was my past and my future. New York had simply been a stop along the way.