guys are all the family I have left in this world, and you mean everything to me.”
“You coming home to Fairhope was one of the best things,” I say. “I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
“It worked out pretty good for me, too,” he says with a laugh. “I’m thinking of picking out a ring for Leigh Anne, and I could really use a female perspective.”
My hand goes to my lips, and my eyes fill with tears. “Oh my God, I’m so happy for you.”
I hug him again.
“Just say the word, and I’m there,” I say. “I don’t know how good I’ll be at ring shopping, but I’ll help however I can. Does she have any idea?”
“I don’t think so,” Knox says. “Of course we’ve talked about the possibility of marriage a few times. We both want to have a family together someday and now that the house is all fixed up and my restoration business is getting off the ground, it seems like the right time to take the next step.”
“Well, I’m very happy for you guys,” I say.
“What about you and Colton?” he asks as we head back into the bar to get the tables set up for the night.
“Whoa, don’t get ahead of yourself, there,” I say with a laugh. “This is still really new for me. I can’t even think about marriage right now. That feels a million years away, if I’m being honest.”
“Are you guys having trouble?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No, nothing like that,” I say. “Just that I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to matters of the heart. I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time.”
“No one does,” he says. “That’s the truth no one tells you about relationships. We’re all just going in blind and hoping for the best. Sometimes we get lucky and meet the right person.”
I think about my parents and how they must have been in love with each other at some point. Once upon a time they thought they were going to last forever, and they committed their lives to each other. So where did it all go wrong? Why does love disappear? And how can you trust in something that you can’t ever be sure is going to last?
I pull chairs off the top of the tables and arrange them, thinking about last night.
Things have been going so well with Colton, I knew it was only a matter of time until we ran into some rocky times. We managed to survive our first real argument, but when I saw him standing there with that girl, their hands entwined like that, it reminded me just how fragile a thing love really is.
The deeper I fall, the harder it’s going to be if something goes wrong between us.
I can’t bear to think of it.
I finish setting the bar up, worry gnawing at my insides. Part of me misses the safety of my life before Colton turned it all upside down. But part of me knows I wouldn’t trade my time with him for anything in the world.
“Are you good?” Knox asks. He glances at his watch. “I promised Leigh Anne I’d be back by five so we can try to catch a movie tonight.”
“Yep, thanks for helping out this afternoon,” I say. “I’ve got it from here.”
He smiles. “I’m going to head out then,” he says. “Tell your dad hi for me. I’ll be back Saturday night to help out.”
“I will. Say hi to Leigh Anne for me,” I say.
Knox leaves just as Colton arrives for his shift. They say a quick hello and then Colton joins me behind the bar.
“Sorry I’m a little late,” he says. “I was on the phone with my mom and she would not stop talking.”
“She’s probably missing you,” I say. “It has to be hard for her when she was used to seeing you every day. When was the last time you went out to see your family?”
“That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about,” he says. “My birthday is coming up this weekend, and Mom wants us to come for dinner. What do you think?”
“She wants me to come, too?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says.
Our first customers come through the door, and Colton gets them started with a couple drinks.
I can’t stop smiling, thinking that his mom even knows about me. I hadn’t realized he’d told his parents about our relationship.