Page 7 of Burly and Obsessed

Once she’s out of earshot, Lindy leans forward, elbows on the table. “So...you and Ace?”

My body stiffens. “There is no me and Ace. He works for my brother.”

Hanna gives me a look that screamsyou’re full of itbut stays quiet, sipping her iced tea and staring at me.

“Look, it doesn’t matter what Ace does or doesn’t feel.” The words come out sharper than intended. “Nothing’s going to happen as long as he treats my brother’s ridiculous rule like it’s written in stone.”

“Has he ever actually tried?” Hanna finally speaks up. “To date you, I mean.”

I put my fork down and sigh. “Almost. Yesterday, he asked me to grab a beer after we finished decorating.”

“And?” Lindy leans even closer.

“And I said no.” I shake my head at their matching expressions of disbelief. “What was the point? He’d retreat the moment Jax challenged him like he always does.”

The confession hangs in the air between us. I hadn’t meant to reveal so much, but my emotions are so big that I can’t contain them.

“I’ve been waiting and waiting for him to stop deferring to my brother.” My voice softens, the admission making my chest tight. “To stand up and ask me out properly.”

“And if he never does?” Hanna asks gently.

I meet her eyes, the decision settling heavy in my heart. “Then I stop waiting.”

The words feel both liberating and heartbreaking.

“You deserve someone who steps up,” Lindy says finally, her usual teasing gone. “We all know it.”

I don’t reply, but I nod once and force a smile. The truth is, I don’t want someone else. I want Ace—the real Ace, not the joker who deflects with humor or the man who backs down from my brother. I want the man I’ve glimpsed in rare moments of honesty when the mask slips and I see the depth behind his façade.

“Enough about my non-existent love life.” I pick up my sandwich. “Did you hear back about that teaching position, Han?”

As Hanna launches into her interview story, I let myself drift slightly. Outside the window, Silver Pine Ridge rises in the distance, its familiar outline both comforting and confining. My life has always been here—my job at Heartland Hardware, my small circle of friends—and it always will be. It’s enough most days.

But sometimes, like today, with my brother’s wedding approaching and Ace’s almost-invitation still echoing in my ears, I want more. I want passion. I want someone who fights for me. I want to be chosen without hesitation.

I want Ace.

But I can’t keep waiting forever.

* * *

The laundry basketsits in front of my couch, but I ignore it. I pour a generous glass of merlot and settle into the cushions, tucking my feet beneath me. The weight of the day—lunch with the girls, my admission that I’m ready to move on—sits heavy on my shoulders.

My home feels especially quiet tonight. Nothing but the ticking of the grandfather clock I inherited from my grandmother and the distant hoot of an owl outside my window.

I reach for the leather-bound photo album on my coffee table, running my fingers over the cover. The first pages show my sister Olivia on her wedding day. Her smile radiates joy, her husband gazing at her like no one else exists in the world. I remember standing beside her as maid of honor, genuinely happy and only slightly envious.

I flip forward. Olivia holding newborn June, her face exhausted but triumphant. June’s first birthday, cake smashed across her chubby cheeks. Christmas last year, June gleefully waving a new doll in the air.

My finger traces her smiling face. I want children of my own, but it seems so far away from when that might happen—ifit ever happens.

The next page catches me off guard—a family cookout from last summer. Jax with his arm around Leesa, and Olivia’s husband Mark flipping burgers with June standing next to him. And me, standing slightly apart, smile fixed firmly in place. The only one without a wedding ring.

I take a large swallow of wine.

My phone rings, cutting through the silence. Leesa’s name lights up my screen.

“Hey there,” I answer, closing the album and pushing it away.

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