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“We can talk to her on the way home if you want.”
I wrung my hands. “Do you think she’ll be okay with it?”
Mark considered my question. “I can’t say for sure.”
“I just worry that she finally has you to herself, and she won’t like me stepping in.”
“We won’t know until we talk to her.” Mark sounded reasonable, but my stomach was tied in knots.
He fell silent while I clipped a few sunflower stems and added them to my basket.
I’d almost filled the second one when Mark added, “I don’t know what the right answer is. I’m worried about Melanie, where she is, and when she’s coming back. What effect will it have on Kendall?”
I clipped another stem; this one was thicker than the others. “What if this is just one more thing that Kendall doesn’t need right now? Maybe we should leave it alone.”
I couldn’t look at him, even though I felt his gaze on the side of my face.
“Are you saying you want to take a step back?” Mark asked carefully.
I shook my head. “Definitely not.”
“I don’t want to keep hiding what’s happening between us. She’s going to figure it out.”
I looked at him in time to catch his earnest expression. “I agree.”
It was the responsible, mature thing to do. I was just tired of doing the right thing. Commuting from home to college to take care of my sisters, turning down Mark’s proposal to help Ellie with baby Drew, and now this. Would I ever come first? Or would I always be second to the outside forces in our lives?
The only thing I could do was hold on to the love I saw on Mark’s face in that picture. I had it on the home screen of my phone so I could look at it whenever I had doubts. I had a feeling it would be often.
Mark took the shears from my hands to snip a particularly tall sunflower. “This one is perfect. You should put a bouquet in the bakery and keep one for home.”
“I want them everywhere. Sunflowers make for the best bouquets.”
Mark interlaced his fingers with mine. “Are you enjoying this?”
“I love the sunflower garden, and I’m so happy we could share it with Kendall.” If I framed the pictures of her for their home, it would be a memory they’d have forever.
I just hoped I wouldn’t become a memory, too. I wanted to be their past, present, and future. I wanted everything, and for the first time, nothing was standing in my way. My sisters were independent. My shop was successful. There was nothing holding me back.
Mark’s situation with Melanie was a different matter. I didn’t have any control over whether she came or what happened next, and I hated it.
ChapterEighteen
MARK
On the way home, I was pleased Kendall didn’t put in her earbuds. She talked animatedly about the gardens and the chickens, and she wanted to tell Drew about it.
Coming here was a good idea. It proved we could hang out together as a unit. The only thing that dimmed my happiness was that Kendall didn’t know Sophie and I were together. That could change everything.
“You know Sophie and I dated in high school?” I asked her, knowing we’d talked about it in front of my parents.
“I know, Dad.” Her tone held a slight bend of irritation.
I glanced over at Sophie, who nodded. “When I moved back, we became friends again.”
“Okaaay,” Kendall drew out.
My heart pounded under my rib cage. Her reaction would determine our future. “How would you feel if we were dating again?”
