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“You’ve done more than all right. You’ve built an incredible home and have a career that you love. It’s time your heart is free to love again too.”
“Mmm, yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen any time soon.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Just hear her out, okay?”
“She’s not really offering to talk.”
As soon as the words are out, I realize that I haven’t really let her talk. I’ve asked and then I’ve cut her off with my anger when she’s said anything. She’s different than she was so long ago, but even the old Sofie would’ve shut down if I treated her this way.
“Give her time,” Grinny says.
“Her time is up, Grin. Eight years.Eight.” My voice cracks and I wipe my hand down my chin.
She sighs. “I know, dear boy. It was so devastating, and I understand. But I’ll say one more thing before I go. This bitterness you’re holding on to will hurt you and everyone who loves you if you don’t find a way to work through it. Whether you have any sort of peaceful existence with Sofie or not, I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive her.”
We hang up and I finally give Fred the run he’s been craving, trying to forget about everything that happened tonight.
But if I’ve learned anything in the past eight years, it’s that no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to forget Sofie.
And as much as I know there’s power in forgiveness, I don’t think I can ever forgive her either.
CHAPTERELEVEN
STIRRED UP
SOFIE
It takes a few days before I can think about what happened with Theo without turning bright pink, and I still can’t think about our kiss without craving more. I wish he hadn’t stopped it, but I still feel a lot better than I did before the kiss happened.
Call me ridiculous, but the heat in Theo’s kiss, the way his gaze raked down my body with such passion, and how his hands were all over me in those minutes…I can live a long time off of this high.
And it also proves that he still feels something for me.
He called it a goodbye, but I refuse to believe that any man who kisses me like that could truly want to be done with me.
It’s barely there, but the remnants of hope have been stirred up.
What’s different now, compared to when I was away, is that we have a clear path to one another, and we have all the time in the world. I was never a patient person before, but leaving Landmark against my will and staying away all this time, living a life I didn’t want away from everyone I loved, has taught me patience.
I’m home and I’m going to get my life back, one day at a time.
* * *
I get home from Sunny Side, invigorated from my visit with Jo, the owner, and a few other people I ran into. Everyone starts with how good it is to see me, how sorry they are about my dad, and then they ask how long I’m staying. With the exception of Theo, I’ve only had a positive response.
Before I change into my riding jeans, I drop into the office chair and call Marlow. We talk a couple times a week, but we’ve been playing phone tag for the past few days. There are a few people I really miss from Texas and Marlow and her little girl, Dakota, are at the top of the list. It was really hard to leave them, and even on the best days, I still wish they were closer.
“Hello?” Marlow says, breathless.
“Hey, there you are.”
“I was hoping it was you and was so afraid I wasn’t gonna catch it in time,” she says. “I’ll have you know, you just made me sprint across the room.”
“Don’t hurt yourself,” I say, laughing.
“Okay, what has happened?” she says, laughing. “You sound so much better than you have every other time we’ve talked. Did you talk to Theo? Does he know everything?”
“No. I mean, yes, we’ve talked some, but nothing in-depth besides him saying he doesn’t want to see me…”
