Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Maybe nothing.
Maybe something.
It’s the maybe something that concerns me.
Even though alt rock plays in the background, her silence feels deafening. I’ve tried several times to start up a conversation.
Each one has stalled.
Normally, the girl is a veritable chatterbox. Talking about her day before asking how mine went. It might not be something I have a lot of experience with, but I like it.
Unwilling to let this stillness linger, I set the wrench down on the engine and swing around to face her. It’s almost a surprise to find that she’s not paying attention to me.
That’s a first.
Her brow is furrowed as her gaze stays locked on her sandals.
“Poppy?”
Her head jerks up at the sound of my voice. “Yeah?”
It only takes five strides to swallow up the distance between us. The closer I get, the further she has to tip her head in order to hold my searching gaze.
My hands settle on her cheeks, the thumbs gently stroking over her lush lower lip. “You’ve been awfully quiet this afternoon. What’s going on?”
If I’d thought I was jumping the gun or my assessment of the situation was off, the guilt that flickers across her face tells me that’s not the case. When she breaks eye contact, my fingers tighten around her chin, redirecting her gaze back to me.
I want to know what’s eating her up inside.
More like I need to know.
“Talk to me, baby. I have no idea what’s going on inside your head.”
The reluctance in her blue depths is what scares me most. Poppy might not realize it, but her face is so expressive, and she wears her emotions for all to see. It’s one of the things I like about her. From our first run-in, I knew what she was thinking. The desire was evident in her expression.
I always want her looking at me that way.
With longing and lust.
And someday…love.
“I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” she whispers, shattering the thoughts inside my head and scattering them to the wind.
I blink as the air evaporates from my lungs until it feels like I can’t breathe.
“Oh.”
That’s all I’ve got.
My brain spins on an endless loop as I stand rooted in place and stare in shock, hoping that somehow, I’ve misunderstood the words that just tumbled from her lips.
“I’m sorry.”
Sorry.
Sorry for crashing into your life and making you feel things you never expected or wanted to feel in the first place.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by this sudden twist.
Poppy is young.
She’s entitled to change her mind.
Just because she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, doesn’t mean it’s the same for her.
It takes effort to fight down the riotous emotion gurgling up inside me, fighting to break free and spew everywhere. “Why?”
Her gaze flickers away before returning of its own accord. “You were right about us being in different places.”
I was right…
There’s not much I can say to that. She was so insistent this could work, and I was desperate to believe her.
Believe this had a fighting chance to flourish into something more.
It’s the reason I was against getting involved in the first place. She’s a junior in college and a full-time student. Her life is stretched out in front of her. She should be going to parties, football games, and dating guys like Levi.
But that’s not where I am.
Barely can I remember a time when I didn’t have the weight of the world resting on my shoulders, crushing me to the earth.
There’s absolutely nothing for me to say.
“Okay.” My hands fall away from her face, drifting uselessly to my sides.
The crystal-like tears pooling in her eyes turn them luminous. All I want to do is drag her to me.
But I can’t.
I won’t force or guilt anyone into loving me.
When she remains still, I say gruffly, “You should go.”
With a jerk of her head, she sucks in a deep breath before sliding off the counter. Even though I’ve retreated, she closes the distance before reaching out and cradling my cheek with her palm. I can’t help but press my face into her soft touch.
When her tongue darts out to moisten her lips, I shake my head, forcing out the command. “Go.”
There’s only so much I can take.
She blinks as a single tear treks down her cheek. “I’m sorry, Mason.”
I lock my muscles so I won’t fall to my knees and beg her to reconsider. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for. We gave it a shot, and it didn’t work out. No harm, no foul.”
It would be so much easier if I believed those words.
If they were the truth.
She reaches onto the tips of her toes and presses a kiss against my lips before drawing away and searching my eyes one last time. “Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
With that, she walks away.
Out of my garage.
And my life.
Poppy
“Give me your honest opinion.” Anne holds up a pale pink blouse at the boutique we’ve spent the last twenty minutes browsing in. “What do you think of this?”