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“That’s the beauty of my plan.” She leaned in, elbows pressed to the table, a never-seen-before glow of pride lifting her expression. “I’d spin Rochelle a tale of a quaint, artisan store in a sweet little town—how every sale will help breathe new life into Harlow. She’ll love it, her high-end clientele will love it. Your stuff is perfect, Blaine. We could eventually do an entire rebranding mission and push the prestige of your work.”
He toyed with the end of his fork and stared into her eyes, a low and hollow pit opening up in his stomach. “And this is all only about boosting sales for me and starting a new career for you?”
He raised a brow, hoping it would be enough to signal he knew something was missing in her explanation.
She pulled her gaze from him and sank back in her chair, a rush of air pushing past her lips in a heavy sigh. “I can’t stop thinking about what you said last night, about how my father and Anthony ruined your dreams. I’ve been in the retail industry my whole life. It seems only fair I would use the skills and connections my dad gave me to help you get back the future he stole.”
He stared at her for a while, a feeling of heaviness dragging at the food already in his stomach, that heaviness taking up an uncomfortable amount of space in there. “I didn’t open up to you last night with a mind to profit from your guilt.”
“I know. I know that.” She stretched out a hand and pressed it over his, insisting he listen. “But things have changed. Online commerce and advanced shipping options could offer the business you always dreamed of, and then some, and you wouldn’t have to leave Harlow. Not if you didn’t want to, anyway. And as I said, this town would benefit too.”
She drew a hard breath, her hand gripping tighter over his, like a plea for him to sway to her thinking. “There’d be more jobs here. I could start with helping you and then move on to other local businesses. So if helping yourself isn’t enough, then think about them, and think about how this might help me too. Not just my guilt. I could use your positive experience to land my first few clients and start my own boutique consultancy business. Something that would take me far away from any reliance on Bonacci Jewelry, or for that matter, what little I make at Aggie’s nursery.”
He jerked back at that, his muscles suddenly rigid and his skin tingling. Her passion and sense of purpose made what she proposed a done deal. One thing was for certain, he would do anything for her. To keep her safe. To make sure she never had to return to the life she’d had.
Without question, he’d put himself and everything he held dear in jeopardy—including his business—if it meant never losing her again.
Oh hell, I must be losing my mind.
A sudden ache bloomed under his ribcage, one that felt like the land of a bruising punch, but that pain was just the acknowledgment of one inescapable truth. He loved her. Not merely the memory of her as he’d loved for all those years, but her as she was right now, and who she wanted to be.
He loved the adult Emilia and all her complexities. He loved her in a steady, less fevered way than that of teenage infatuation—the kind of infatuation that runs wild when love is forbidden.
Maybe she loved him too, even if she didn’t say as much. Either way, there was no going back this time. She was his past. His present. And if he had anything to do with it, his entire future. Knowing what she’d endured in his absence and what they’d shared last night, he’d fallen in love with her all over again.
“You don’t look so sure.” Her weakened voice pulled him from his thoughts, but he smiled.
Just admitting to his feelings spread a lightness through his torso, filling him with the kind of clarity that had been missing for so very long.
He turned his hand and clasped back at hers, the mountain of buried emotion inside of him pushing to burst free, even though he knew any kind of outpouring would be too soon for her right now. “I’d love to be part of your science experiment.”
She gave a soft trill of laughter, the sound mingled with a sigh of relief. “Really?”
He nodded.
She sank back, letting go of his hand. “I wouldn’t cause you too much trouble. I’d only need to send Rochelle an email with some photos of your work. I don’t have a computer, but if you let me use Oak Tree’s, I could get this project started right away.”
“I do have one question before I commit.”
Her face tightened, but despite his wording, unlike her ex, he’d never seek to hold her back.
“Will your budding business take you away from Harlow?”
Her lips blossomed into a slow smile. “This place is growing on me, for several reasons.” Her stare’s steady hold confirmed he was one of those reasons. “I have connections all over the country. I could work from the cottage. All I’d need is a phone and a computer. The only thing holding me back right now is––”
Her brows slammed together, and she shook her head as if reshuffling her thoughts. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Let’s get this project up and running, and we’ll worry about the details later.”
Sharp adrenaline shot through his body, his focus snagging on what she’d diverted from saying.
He reached for her hand again, vowing that one way or another he’d get her trust. When that happened, he’d make sure to handle whatever it was she thought “held” her back. “You’re talented and clever, and I’ve never known a person who’s met you and hasn’t liked you, Emilia. You deserve to dream big too.”
And with that, her gaze dropped to the table, and a frown bowed her lips. Compliments weren’t something she was used to. The dark shadows under her eyes said as much.
He reached out and pushed the wild curls from her face, his heart aching for the happy-go-lucky girl he’d known, and what had happened to her to turn her into this bruised and wary woman. “He should have complimented you every day. It would have been easy. You’re an amazing woman. If you were my––”
Her wide stare fixed on him, solid and worn. “Don’t say it.”
Right. Of course, she didn’t want to hear about being his wife. It didn’t matter that a large part of him couldn’t imagine any other future. Emilia, with a world of hurt and a whole new life to build, might as well have lived in an alternate universe.
