Page 70 of When I Fall In Love

“I love you too.” I draw in a breath, relief washing through me. At last I’ve told him how I feel. A door whooshes open and quick heels hammer on the tiled floors. “I don’t want to go, but I need to.”

“Yeah, I can’t talk either. We’re still at the hospital and everybody is staring at me bat-eared, trying to figure out who I’m talking to.”

I chuckle. I can just imagine all the Logans and Brodies gathered close in support of each other. “It’s going to be a late night for me. Tomorrow I’ve got a hearing. It’s going to take the whole day.”

“This weekend then?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll call you.”

“Okay.”

He rings off and I clutch my phone to my heart as I try to regulate my breathing.

“Beth?”

God. Jana. “Yes? Just a minute.” I wipe at my cheeks, my fingers trembling. I get up and walk out of the stall and glance at Jana where she’s leaning against the wall.

“You’re not really here.” Jana folds her arms over her chest. “This whole week you’ve been up in some cloud. You need to be a hundred percent focused on this case. I can’t afford for you to be somewhere else in your head.”

I freeze in my footsteps. With all the work we focused on getting ready for this hearing, we haven’t really caught up with everything that happened in Ashleigh Lake. I haven’t even mentioned that someone I know is going for open heart surgery. “That’s true. Someone I know had a triple bypass this morning and just got out of the operating room.”

“And?”

“So far so good.”

Jana nods. “But that’s not all, is it?”

I drop my gaze. I have zero clue where I’m going with this. I haven’t had time to work through every possible outcome to make sure I’m not going to screw myself over when I choose the wrong option. But it’s as if I no longer care. In my heart I know choosing Hunter will ultimately be the right decision. “No, that’s not all.”

“Well. I hope he knows where your priorities lie.”

I turn away from her to the washbasins, conscious that my irritation will reflect in my face. I look down and shrug. Priorities. I’m done playing the game of everybody else’s rules and priorities. Maybe it’s time I make a few rules myself, prioritize my heart first and let my career come second. There’s more to life than hacking out a mere existence, chasing money.

“Yes. Our priorities are well aligned.” We might not be in the same place, but we’ll find a way.

“Good.” Jana stalks out, her eyes shooting daggers.

Yep. The love really runs thick in this place. Don’t wobble the boat by having an unapproved relationship, even if he is in Vermont and I’m stuck in San Francisco, which means I’ll still get to work all those crazy hours she expects me to.

By seven that evening, we’re finally given the go-ahead to go home and I head off to the subway in relief. Once seated, I take a moment to scroll through my phone. There’s a new email from Brenda. She’s been sending daily updates, but I haven’t even been bothering to scan those. For all I care, Collingwood Farm can plod along as it has for the past six years. There is no rush to sell the farm, except to appease Kyle. But this subject title reads URGENT: OFFER FROM BEAUMONT.

I lean back and with a sigh open the email. Congratulations! The Beaumont group has offered eight million for Collingwood Farm, exceeding even our wildest expectations! Please find attached the offer to purchase. Kyle said to wrap this up so… I scan the rest of the email, knowing this is it.

Now or never.

Oh God. Hunter. The promotional video from his website plays in my head, stuck like a song I can’t get out of my mind. It blends with the visual of his factory and the business he’s built, and it’s as if the taste of Strawberry Shortcake ice cream melts in my mouth.

I’m so screwed. It doesn’t matter what I do, someone is going to get hurt. I’m filled to the brim with the feeling of impending doom as I stare blindly at Brenda’s email. And then Kyle’s face fills the screen for a FaceTime call.

“Beth, hi. Can you talk?”

I nod. “Yes.” There’s no avoiding the situation now.

“I bet you saw Brenda’s email?”

“Yeah, I saw it.”

---