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“It’s not for everyone, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“I’m starting to thinkI’mnot for everyone.”
“I like you,” Anna said.
I smiled wanly at her. “Thanks for that.”
“You know, Lorenzo really cares about you. You can see it a mile away. The way he looks at you… you’re very hard on him.”
“It’s who I am,” I pointed out. “He knows that.”
“Do you care about him?” Anna asked.
I nodded. “I do. I mean, of course I do. He’s a great guy, and we’ve known each other a long time.”
“Maybe you should give the poor guy a bone. He invited you out here for a reason, not just to grate your tits but because he wants you here. That’s saying something.”
I sighed. “I just don’t do well being told what to do.”
Anna raised her eyebrows. “Honey, no one’s telling you what to do.”
I thought about that. It was true. No one had told me I had to come, they’d just joked I wouldn’t. No one had told me to entertain Lorenzo, I just couldn’t stay away from him. No one told me to care or not to care.
“I don’t know how to make it right with him,” I said.
“Sorry goes a long way.”
I shook my head firmly. “Sorry doesn’t work for me.”
Anna laughed. “You know, that might be half your problem right there.”
“Just humor me, okay? I can fuck shit up, I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Fine. If you’re not going to say the words, then do something to show it.”
“Like what?”
“Lorenzo loves hiking, so offer to go on a trail with him.”
I groaned. “You want me tohike? It was bad enough getting up here in the first place. You want me to do itvoluntarily?”
Anna’s eyes danced with laughter, and the corners of her mouth tugged into a smile.
“Celine, you have to give a little to get a little. You can bend without breaking, you know.”
I bristled. Ihatedthe outdoors and after we’d made it here, hiking was officially at the top of my list of the worst thing to do. Ever.
Anna was right, though. Lorenzo had done so much to show me how he felt and I hadn’t done much at all to return the sentiment. I’d been a downright bitch. It was a miracle he still stuck around, now that I thought about it. Anna was right—he really cared about me if he dealt with all my bullshit without the idea of getting his hands on my father’s money behind it.
That was what all the other guys in my life were after.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll hike with him.”
Anna laughed, an amused sound. “You know, you can be really nice if you want to. You just have to try to do it more often.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s just take things one step at a time, okay?”
Anna chuckled and nodded. “That’s something you can keep in mind for your hike when it gets tough, too. One step at a time.”
