Page 75 of Peach Blossom Hollow

There was nothing to forgive. She went to say as much, but he continued, his mouth so close to her ear that his breath sent shivers down her spine. “I’msorry if I’ve hurt you or made you scared, Violet. Truly sorry.”

Wait. He wassorry?

Was he saying he wanted forgiveness for kissing her, because it hadn’t truly meant anything, and that she’d been right to give them a cooling-off period?

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. We’re friends, right?” she said, her voice catching.

“Friends,” he whispered back.

He released her arm and she met his gaze, planning to laugh off the hurt she felt, turn it all into a big joke that would set them on familiar ground once again. But he had bags under his deep blue eyes and his expression was borderline desperate. Her heart beat faster. They were so close, his lips just a breath away.

He missed her.

She missed him.

She wanted a chance with this man.

This man who was in trade talks, and was apologizing for screwing up by kissing her.

She stepped back, feeling cold with his body heat no longer reaching out to her.

“Good luck in the auction,” she said, her voice barely working.

She spun to give Louis his tag, planning to move down the line as fast as she could, putting more space between herself and Leo and hopefully making it out of the building before she started crying.

But he grabbed her arm again, gently, but firmly. Leo was staring at her with an intense, commanding look that stopped her short. “Wearefriends, right? Truly? You won’t keep avoiding me?”

She lowered her head, knowing that if they werejustfriends, she wouldn’t be able to move forward. She’d get stuck right where she was, wishing, hoping, dreaming, crying.

“I want to be friends,” she admitted. She missed him. Desperately. But she also loved him as so much more than a friend.

CHAPTER 11

It was March, and Leo didn’t even need his fingers to count the number of times he and Violet had hung out since their second kiss, or even last month’s auction. Exactly zero.

Not having Violet as a friend made life feel barely worth it. And not having her as a girlfriend was even worse.

How did his apology for the way he’d made things uncomfortable between them turn into him agreeing to be nothing more than friends? He’d wanted the night of the auction to go a different way altogether.

He’d thought it smart to apologize, because he’d made her uncomfortable, but then suddenly the conversation was over and he was still in the friend zone. He hadn’t even had a chance to share his I’d-be-a-great-boyfriend argument with her.

And she hadn’t bid on him, either. Instead he’d spent a long day landscaping for Mrs. Fisher and her husband. Which hadn’t been too bad, but it sure didn’t rate as high as spending time with Violet.

She wanted to be friends, and he should respect that.

And yet, deep down inside, he felt she was avoiding him because she was scared. From her perspective he had a lot of checkmarks on her don’t-date-him list, and she’d had her heart broken enough times to be extra cautious.

But he wasn’t going to give up on her until he’d had a chance to argue his case one more time.

And he hoped today’s wedding would help him get around Violet’s very serious defense system.

Today he’d tell her the truth about how he felt about her.

And maybe, if he was lucky, she would be willing to try one more time when it came to finding the love of her life.

Violet inhaled the salty air coming in through the window of the pink cottage along the ocean shore in Indigo Bay, South Carolina. The white curtains billowed in the breeze as she set down the curling iron.

“You’re a beautiful bride,” she said to Daisy-Mae. Her eyes filled with tears, as did her friend’s.

---