Page 105 of Hometown Girl

He met her eyes. “Funny, I’ve thought the same thing about you.”

She took a sip of her soda. “You have?”

“When I first got here, you seemed kind of out of place on the farm.”

She swallowed her bite. “That’s an understatement.”

“But now, I don’t know, something about it suits you.”

When had she turned into this person? Someone who admired chivalry in a man and whose big dream was to plant her own vegetables? Was this really who she wanted to become?

This thing they were doing, restoring this farm—could Drew be right? Could this be the “more” she’d been searching for?

He picked up her hand and stroked it with his thumb. “And you’ve got a mean right hook.”

She was keenly aware of his skin on hers.

Drew set her hand down, but kept his eyes on her. “Kind of seems like you found whatever it was you were looking for around here.”

She forced herself to hold his gaze. He already knew so much about her. By comparison, she knew so little about him.

“What is it you’re looking for?”

He looked away, silence hanging between them. In her mind, she willed him to answer her—to trust her enough to let her in on the thing that made him work so hard.

Instead, he pushed himself away from the table. “I’ll get these out of the way.”

She stayed still as he cleared the table and disappeared into the kitchen.

Was he kidding?

She’d told him everything—things Callie didn’t even know. Did he think it was easy for her to open up about any of that?

Before she gave it too much thought, she stood and walked into the kitchen, where she found him rinsing dishes at the sink.

“Do you know how frustrating you are?” The words came out angrier than she’d intended.

He turned off the water and looked at her, but she didn’t give him a chance to respond.

“You’ve been here over a month, and I know as much about you today as I did the day you got here.”

He dried his hands and leaned back against the counter, facing her but still quiet.

“I’ve never told anyone what happened with my dad or my job. Nobody knows about any of that stuff, Drew. Do you know how hard it was for me to tell you that?”

Never mind the relief she’d felt as soon as she had. She’d been holding it all in far too long—but he didn’t need to know the gratitude she felt for his willing ear.

“You can’t answer a single personal question. You change the subject or, worse, you get up and walk away. I’m trying here, Drew, but it seems like you don’t want me to know you at all.”

“Are you asking as my boss?”

“What difference does that make?”

“Didn’t know an employer needed all that personal information, is all.”

It stung. She tried to keep her face from crumpling, from letting her weakness show. Her eyes found the floor. “I get it.”

She’d misinterpreted everything. Let herself daydream one too many times.

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