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“When I came back here, I was devastated. I had worked my whole life for something I’d wanted more than anything in the world. I couldn’t see past that pain even if my family’s lives depended on it.” She swallowed hard. This wasn’t the way she’d wanted this conversation to go. Not by a long shot. “But you and Brianne helped me get through it. You guys did it in different ways, but I wouldn’t be where I am without either of you.”
He worked his jaw. Even in the moonlight, she could see every angle of his face. Had he been wearing his hat, it might have been harder for her to read him. Heck, it was hard enough as it was, but at least now she could see his features soften slightly.
“Brianne just has a different way of doing things. And I’m not ready to get into anything serious, anyway. She keeps pushing me to Jackson like she expects me to declare my love for him and get engaged tomorrow.” Katrina let out a nervous laugh. “But that’s not going to happen.”
“You don’t know that,” he murmured. One side of his mouth quirked upward and he glanced away, his brows pulling together. “So, you don’t think you’re ready for a relationship…”
That wasn’t exactly what she’d meant. She didn’t think she was ready to get engaged any time soon, but she wouldn’t say no if Simon would just ask her out. Would they get married tomorrow? No, of course not. But at least she’d be able to see if all these strange feelings were real or if they were just wishful thinking.
She looked down to where she was still touching his arm and pulled back. “I’m not interested in a serious relationship with Jackson, that’s for sure. He’s trying. I can tell he’s making an effort…” A small smile touched her lips as she considered the conversation she’d had with him. “But he’s still a little clueless. I think it’s because he grew up in the country his whole life.”
Simon shifted and she looked up to find him watching her. “We’ve all grown up in the country. You have, too.” His tone held a bit of a bite.
“That’s not what I mean.” Great, now she was flustered. “What I mean is that he doesn’t see the value of being anywhere else. He hasn’t gone anywhere or done anything outside of the small town where he grew up.”
Simon’s expression hardened further. “I haven’t either.”
The heat in her face intensified. “Yeah, but you’re different.”
“How am I different?” he demanded. “Because based on what you just said about Jackson, none of the guys in this area are going to be good enough. If you’re only interested in the guys back where you were working, then maybe you need to stop spending time around the bonfire and start hunting harder for that job you want so much.”
She gaped at him, her eyes wide. Somewhere along the line, she’d struck a chord with what she’d said. And now she couldn’t think of anything to combat what he’d told her.
Katrina threw up her hands and marched past him. “I can’t do this tonight, Simon.”
She’d only made it five steps before she heard his boots hitting the ground, following her.
Simon’s hand wrapped around her forearm and he pulled her to a stop.
She blinked several times with surprise, her eyes darting to meet his, then looking away, then back. “What do you want from me, Simon? Whatever it is that’s bothering you has to stop because I’m having a hard enough time as it is. Some days, you’re cold and irritable. Others, you’re the same old happy Simon. And then there are the days when I swear…”
She looked away again, not sure if she could voice the feelings she’d been experiencing in her gut.
“If there’s something I did to offend you, just tell me.”
“You haven’t offended me,” he bit out. “But I can’t bear to watch you in limbo anymore. You’re right. I was there when you lost your job and came home. I was there when you didn’t want to leave your room and all you wanted to do was apply for job after job. I was there when you needed to get out of the house and made sure you did. I’m always there for you.”
She waited, expecting him to continue, to get to the point so they could hash everything out. But apparently, that was where he wanted to end his statement. Katrina huffed, yanking her arm out of his grasp, but she didn’t storm away like she might have done years ago. Instead, she marched right up to him, her face inches from his.
“I might be in limbo, but you’re bouncing around so much you’re giving me whiplash. I don’t understand what’s wrong. Tell me so we can just be friends again.”
As much as she wanted to test the waters and see where these feelings might lead, it had been emotionally draining, not knowing where she stood. Waiting for him to make that first move.
Even now, he was hesitating, holding back. She could sense it. More than sense it, she could see it in the way his eyes flickered with varying degrees of emotion.
Well, if he wasn’t going to do anything about it, she would.
Her focus shifted to his mouth, and the way it was pressed into a firm, thin line. Here was her shot. There would be no interruptions. She could just take his face between her hands and kiss him, right here, right now. Then he wouldn’t be able to run away from it.
“Simon,” she whispered, “just tell me what you’re thinking.”
One of his eyes twitched and he exhaled. “I want you to be happy, Katrina. That’s all this has ever been about.”
Her stomach flipped.Then help me make that happen.
The words had formed in her head; they were practically on her lips. She closed her eyes and leaned closer to him. Then it was like time had sped up. Something strange happened where one moment Simon was in front of her about to be kissed, and the next he was a few feet away.
“It’s getting late, and your brothers are bound to come looking for you if you don’t head inside.” He nodded toward the house behind her. She hadn’t even realized they were this close.
