Page 100 of Let Me Be the One

That caused Nell to crack a smile. “Well, not much time, and not on me. He’s told me a dozen times that I’m too young for him.”

“You turn seventeen soon, right?”

“Why?”

Ideas buzzed through Callie’s mind. “Do you have plans?”

“What do you mean?”

Oh now see, that almost broke her heart. She did a quick edit in her head, then suggested, “If you won’t be too busy, I’d love to visit with you again. Maybe share some birthday cake and ice cream.”

As if she didn’t understand, Nell looked at her curiously. “Birthday cake?”

“Hey, I’m always looking for an excuse to eat cake. Oh! Maybe we could get our nails done, too! I know I must seem ancient to you, but you’re the only girl I’ve had to talk to since my cousin went off on a business trip.” No way would she burden Nell with her family issues.

Nell laughed. “You definitely aren’t ancient.”

Well, that felt like a boost to her ego, especially considering her hair was currently a mess, her nails were short, and the seat of her jeans was damp with mud. “Awesome as Addie is, she doesn’t count because anytime I’m around her, she waits on me and I don’t want to add to her workload.”

“Yeah, Addie is sweet.”

“So what do you say? Is there a salon around here anywhere? It’ll be my treat, of course, for your birthday.”

On a deep breath, Nell stopped and dropped her head. Then she looked away and all Callie could see was her profile. “You don’t even know me.”

“Not well, but you’re nice and you’re good with animals, and you’re easy to talk to. I’ve enjoyed chatting and I’d like to get to know you better.”

Her brows came together. “Did Tanner put you up to this?”

It broke Callie’s heart, seeing so much distrust in someone so young. “Of course not. When I thought my goat might be injured, Tanner said he could ask you to take a look. He said you were great with animals.”

“He didn’t… Tell you about me? About my uncle?”She still didn’t face Callie. “About my whole useless life?”

Lying to the girl didn’t feel right, but Callie didn’t want to betray Tanner’s confidence, either. She touched Nell’s arm until she got her full attention. Then she smiled, hoping her sincerity would shine through. “I invited you back and asked about a salon because I’m sometimes lonely. I’m close with my cousin, but she’s out of touch right now. Fitting in here… Well, I’m completely out of my realm. Tanner and Kam are great, and I have massive respect for Liam, but they’re guys.” Wrinkling her nose, Callie added, “I doubt I could talk any of them into a salon visit with me.”

Nell grinned. “Probably not.”

“So what do you say?”

“I’ve never been in the salon, and to be honest I can’t say I’m anxious to go either.”

Even deflated, Callie kept her smile in place. “Okay, I get it.”

“I’d like to visit again though.” Nell bit her lip, then said, “And cake sounds great. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time anyone remembered my birthday.”

Then by God, Callie would make this year memorable. “Birthday cake it is! And ice cream.” She thought ahead and said, “If we just visit here, I could invite Addie, too. Just an intimate little gathering. Is that okay?”

Nell grinned. “It’s your house, your rules. Invite anyone you want.” Then her confidence slipped. “If you get busy though…”

“Pfft. I’m already looking forward to it.” There was no way Callie would be one more broken promise. She’dbet Nell had suffered enough of those in her lifetime. “So let’s see. When can we do this?”

They were still setting up their plans when Liam stepped out.

“You two done?” he asked.

Nell’s demeanor changed from cautiously optimistic to flirtatious—and her blush was back.

Callie had to fight her smile. “Yup. The goat is fine.”

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