Page 42

Why do I suddenly feel so unsure?

“Shoot. It’s not going to be fine.”

He smirks. “Whatever you come up with is going to be amazing. This whole place is so . . . cool. I mean, who wouldn’t want to get married here?”

I laugh. “Um . . . how about a guy whose home comes with a trailer hitch?”

Oops. Didn’t think that through before I said it.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he says, walking away a few steps, “a guy like that could have a change of heart.” He turns back to me. “If the right woman came along.”

The words are like a drum reverberating in the air, and there, at the back of my mind, is a tiny voice shouting, “It’s me! Pick me!”

It’s like a thread I have to pull.

“Well, yeah, it would have to be a certain kind of woman to, you know, get a man like that to stop his . . . wandering,” I say, my voice a little softer now.

“Yep.” His eyes are locked onto mine. “That’s a fact.”

I can’t move because what are we talking about right now?

He holds my gaze steady, and I hold fast, unmoving. “She’d have to be pretty special.”

Before I say something really stupid like, “I’m special!” I force myself to look away. Because, oh crap. My feelings are still stronger than I thought.

It doesn’t even matter that I know this is just Noble being Noble.

And I cannot let him pull me back in.

Sure, my parents taught me to forgive, but they also taught me not to be an idiot. And falling for someone who is the walking definition of a bad idea would definitely make me an idiot.

Besides, I don’t believe in second chances.

Even if all those old feelings are right there below the surface. I guess I didn’t bury them deep enough.

“We should probably get going.” I walk toward the steps, and as I pass him, he reaches out and grabs my elbow to help me up the steps. The contact reverberates through my body like ripples in a pond.

“For the record, it’s not stupid,” he says. “None of your ideas are stupid. I think it’s really incredible what you’re doing here, Hattie. I mean, I know I said that before, but looking around? I can see it. And it’s so personal, you know? All the details—It’s really, really amazing.”

Oh. Well, those words burrow straight into my soul. “Thanks.”

I’m surprised to realize I think I needed to hear him say that. After all this time, I still care what he thinks of me.

“You’re not nervous, are you?” He grins at me and drops his hand, falling into step beside me as we walk up the stairs. “Because the Hattie I knew was⁠—”

“Fearless,” I cut in, remembering. It’s what Noble always used to say to me. But he also knows that by the time he left Silverwood, I wasn’t that girl anymore so why is he bringing it up now?

I keep my eyes fixed on the Bronco several yards in front of us, my footfalls in step with his. “Unfortunately, this whole project has a way of testing that particular trait.” One of the first real risks I’ve taken in ages.

The weight of that sits on my shoulders like a boulder.

“Ever since Hunter—” I stop myself from finishing that sentence, shaking my head.

“Oh, I don’t know.” He faces me. “That fearless girl’s still in there. I mean, look around⁠—”

I take a breath, keenly aware that his hand is still on my arm.

“You’re doing it scared,” he says. “That’s a big deal. You should be proud.”