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Willow winced.I can’t tell whether he believes me.Pressing her lips together, she glanced away the minute he looked up. “Thanks. It’s for a good cause.”
“I didn’t know the senior center meant so much to you.”
“I absolutely agree we should be taking care of our seniors here in Windy Lake, and the center is one way to do that.” Embarrassment set a fire in both her cheeks, and Willow dropped her head, not wanting to look into his eyes. Silence grew between them for a few seconds, and Willow clasped her hands in front of her, twisting her fingers together.What do I say now?
Asher coughed gruffly. “So, I guess I’m taking you out on a date now.”
Her head lifted, and she shot him a look.Is that disappointment in his eyes? Maybe he really liked the brunette, and I snatched his chance away at the last second.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. You don’t have to.”
Asher opened his mouth, but Willow waved a hand in his direction. Catching sight of Noelle in the corner of the room, she quickly began to make her way toward her. “Like I said, this was only about the money and making a donation to the seniors. I’ll talk to you later.” Glancing back over her shoulder, Willow’s stomach twisted. Asher was still watching her, his hands still stuck in his pockets. He wasn’t smiling.
It feels like everything’s broken between us.One stupid kiss. One dumb moment, and look what I did. I left nothing but a mess behind.
* * *
“Willow?”
The door creaked open, and Willow glanced toward it, seeing her sister’s head poking through.
“Hey, Hadley.”
“Am I okay to come in?”
“Sure. I’m just finishing up a couple of things for Camp Windy Lake.”
Crossing the room, Hadley put one hand on Willow’s shoulder, her eyes going to the laptop screen.
“They look great. Are they from the Fourth of July fireworks?”
“Yep.” Quickly, Willow cleared the screen of the photos before closing her laptop. She didn’t need Hadley to notice that every photo up there had Asher in them. Her throat ached, but she fixed a smile to her lips. “Anything wrong?”
Hadley shrugged. “No, nothing’s really wrong.” Willow turned around in her chair, but Hadley wasn’t looking at her. Instead, she was meandering across the room, picking up some little ornament and twisting around in her fingers. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Asher, but Noelle says that you asked him not to worry about the date.” A little tilt of her head, and Hadley’s eyes snapped to hers. “Is that true?”
“Yeah, I did.” Shrugging, Willow demanded that her lips stayed in a fixed smile. “I don’t think there’s going to be anything more between us than just our friendship. I’m not pretending that I wouldn’t have liked more, but…”
What am I supposed to say? That I gave it a try, and he told me basically to forget it?
“I thought you were going to tell him how you felt.”
“Let’s just say I don’t need to anymore. Asher’s made things really clear without him even having to say a word.” An ache began to build in her chest, and Willow’s lips began to pull down. She shook her head. “There’s nothing really left to say.”
“Are you sure?” Hadley walked back across the room toward Willow. “The last thing you want is to make a mistake or misunderstand his intentions.”
“No, I’m absolutely sure I know what he means.” The ache in her chest was growing slowly, as though her heart was being slowly pulled into pieces. “Try not to worry about it, Hadley. I’m sure I’ll find somebody else soon enough.” The lightness in her voice didn’t match her inner turmoil, but Willow was determined to hide it from her sister.
“Wait!” Hadley’s eyes suddenly sparkled. “Maybe you’ll end up getting married after all. You still have that pact, right?”
Willow shook her head. “I’m sure Asher will have found somebody new by then. Like I said, we’re only going to be friends.”
“So, what? You’re just going to give up?”
The confusion and the pain built to frustration, and Willow threw up her hands. “I’m not giving up. I’m just being realistic!”
“I get that you think that, but there has to be more.”
“There isn’t. Please don’t go on about this anymore, Hadley. I know where I stand, and that has to be the end of it.”
