Page 31 of Pick Me This Time

“She’d love it if you would,” I said.

Sterling turned over the engine and got us underway, one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting casually on the gear shift. How he managed to look so darn cool doing the simplest stuff, I’d never know, but he just did.

Everything about him screamed cool, confident sophistication, and now that I thought about it, it had always been that way—even before he’d worn designer clothes and had even known how to spell sophistication.

I supposed he was just one of those people who had been genetically blessed with coolness. Oh, brother. I’m still such a damn nerd. There has to be a better word for it than that.

I sighed, and he glanced at me. “Something wrong?”

“No,” I said, then changed my mind. “Yes, actually. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since the cabin, which is weird, considering that I work on your family’s property.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been around. I’ve been helping my dad with the pumpkin patch and getting some work done. Plus, I’ve been trying to do some repairs, which has been like pulling teeth.”

“Pulling teeth? Why?”

He dragged in a deep breath and paused for so long that I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to tell me. “I don’t know if you know this about him, but John North is a pretty stubborn man.”

I chuckled. “So that’s where you got it from.”

“Hey,” he protested. “I’m not that stubborn.”

“Have you met you, Mr. One-Word Answers? ‘Just drop me off at Eric’s shop.’” I put the words in air quotes and he let out a soft groan.

“Are you ever going to forgive me for that?” he asked.

“Nope,” I said. “Not until you tell me what was wrong with you those first few days you were here.”

Once again, he hesitated for a long time before he responded, his eyes on the road as he navigated us into town. “It’s complicated, Daphne. Too complicated to get into it right now. Suffice it to say that I’m sorry I was so rude. If it helps, I felt bad about it.”

“Well, that does help,” I fibbed. “If you ever want to talk about it⁠—”

“Thanks, but I won’t.”

Not to me, you mean. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and looking out at all the activity on the streets. There were kids running with balloons and smoke rising from barbecues being held in the park.

I toyed with the ends of my hair, knowing that it was none of my business but deciding to press on anyway. I’d apparently already opened a tiny can of worms. I might as well find out just how deep it ran.

“How come I’ve never seen you at the bakery since you’ve been back?” I asked. “I’m there every day, but I’ve only ever seen you that one time when you brought the pumpkins.”

Sterling tensed, his shoulders stiffening as his chest rose on a deep breath. Since I was still pretending to be looking out the window, I only caught a glimpse of his reaction from the corner of my eyes, but I wished I would’ve been able to see his face as well.

The guy was mysterious as hell, but every so often, his face and body language betrayed him, like his body just had, but his face was still mostly covered by those sunglasses.

“It’s pretty simple,” he said finally. “I don’t come to the bakery because it reminds me too much of my mom.”

My stomach dropped and my heart broke for him. “Shit. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

I felt him glance at me even if his head didn’t turn. “No, you did mean to, but it’s okay. You’re curious. I get it. I know it’s odd that you work at Northfield Farms and you’ve never seen me in the bakery. Don’t feel bad.”

Too late.

He pulled up to the entrance of Allisburg High, rolling to a stop right in front of the doors. “This is you. I’ll let Eric know about your truck when I see him. He should be at the field already.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I said. “Have fun with the team.”

I climbed out, heading to the door, but I took one last look at the truck as Sterling drove over to the football field. Maybe I read him wrong before.

There still seemed to be a hint of the guy I’d had a crush on in there somewhere. It was just taking some time to coax him back to the surface.