Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,69

ended things.”

Mom waves me off. “Please, as if men don’t do stupid things all the time. I raised four boys, I should know. You go to her and make things right. Or would you rather be alone and heartbroken forever?”

“Jeez, way to be harsh, Ma.” Forrest chuckles.

She was right. I knew that. I’d known it since the moment I’d acted like an idiot and let go of the one woman I’d ever truly loved.

But, Presley was staying in Fawn Hill, which sparked a tiny flicker of hope in my chest.

Maybe I had one last shot.

37

Presley

The sale of the storefront at the end of Main Street hasn’t gone through yet, but that doesn’t keep me from visiting it every morning.

With coffee in hand, I stand across the street, staring at the empty windows and half-done space beyond them … just dreaming of what this place will look like a year from now. My place.

Well, technically, it’s almost all Grandma’s … but it’s my dream and I can lay claim to that.

I can see the shiny, light wooden floors with yoga mats unrolled all over them. I can see the wall of mirrors I’ll install on the entire back of the space. I’ll call some of my friends from the city, see if they can get me some merchandise shipped down here that I could sell. The whole studio will have a relaxed, homey vibe and it will be a peaceful space for Fawn Hill to not only get their bodies in shape but their minds, too.

I’ve already told Lily and Penelope about it, and, of course, those two then told everyone else. I’ve gotten phone calls and passerby conversations about how excited the women who already take my class in the park are.

The sale of the bookshop, and the acquisition of this space plus the courses I’ve been taking and the contractors I’ve been interviewing … it has all kept my mind off of Keaton.

Sort of. Okay, not really, but a girl can use denial as a tool and a shield, right?

I take a sip of coffee, loving the bitter but energizing bite of it, and turn my head to look at the bustle of Main Street in the morning. Fawn Hill may be a small town, but its citizens are grinders. They’re up before dawn tending their farms, they’re loyally ordering their coffee from Java, they’re mailing their packages and dropping their kids off at school or opening their own businesses’ doors to welcome in other residents. I like that the studio is at the end of the block, that I can observe the morning busyness from afar, but still catch a glimpse of it. It’ll remind me who I’m doing this for.

I’m scanning the crowd running their morning errands down the street, so I don’t catch his face separating from the rest of the townspeople until it’s too late and awkward to just walk off.

“Hi.” Keaton walks toward me, a coffee in his hand as well.

My heart picks up the pace, while my brain tries to tell the stupid, foolish thing to quit it. He dumped us, remember?

“Hi.” I nod politely and sip my coffee, turning my head so that I’m looking at my future studio and not the man who broke my heart.

He stands next to me, looking like the definition of fall in his worn-in blue jeans and cream cable-knit sweater. He looks cozy and warm, and I have the sudden urge to be wrapped up all day in him like a good blanket. I have to physically restrain myself from moving closer.

“How have you been?” Keaton’s voice is tender, and I wonder why he’s even over here.

Has he been watching me watch the studio each morning? Does he think about me anymore? It’s only been about two weeks since he ended things on that horrible night we saved Fletcher, but it feels like an eternity.

I look down at my feet out of habit. “I’ve been good, thanks.”

This conversation is awkward and stifled … and strange. Strange because even when we first met, even when I turned him down the first, and second, time, Keaton and I have always known how to banter. We’ve always been able to be honest in talking to one another. And now, I’m just straight up lying.

I can see his head bobbing up and down in a nod. “I heard through the grapevine that you bought this place.”

A small smile breaks my frown. “You can never do anything in this town without