Page 73 of Falling for Love

I’d already let one person shape too much of my life. My ex’s voice had lived rent-free in my head for years, telling me I wasn’t enough, that I couldn’t do better, that I wasn’t strong enough to stand on my own. That I was worthless without him.

Leaving him had been the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I’d done it.

For Hayden. For me.

So why did it still feel like he had a hold on me, even now? Why did I keep letting the fear control my choices?

I let out a sigh because I knew the answer.

It wasn’t just about me anymore. It was about Hayden.

Hayden deserved stability and consistency. He didn’t need to watch his mom stumble through relationships, introducingmen who might not stick around. And what if Liam—despite all his good qualities—ended up being just another mistake?

I closed my eyes and slowly breathed.

I didn’t think Liam was a mistake.

In fact, he felt like the opposite of one. But trusting someone again, letting someone into our lives, meant taking a risk I wasn’t sure I could handle.

But wasn’t every day with Hayden a reminder of how much I’d already survived? That I was strong enough to make the right choices.

The days when I didn’t know how I’d pay the bills, when I felt so drained I could barely get out of bed, when the memories of my ex crept in like shadows—I’d faced all those challenges. And I was still standing.

Maybe that was the real problem. I’d spent so much time convincing myself that I had to do it alone, that asking for help—or wanting more—felt like a weakness.

But what if it wasn’t? What if it was okay to lean on someone else for a change? The thought in itself sounded scary.

I wasn’t sure I could give up control again.

If I wanted something real with Liam, I’d have to let him in eventually. But not tonight. Tonight, I needed time to think, to breathe.

And maybe, just maybe, to dream.

Chapter Seventeen

Evie

The morning had started so well.

Crisp winter air, a clear blue sky, and the satisfaction of ticking a few errands off my list.

But, as luck would have it, all that goodwill evaporated when I realized I’d locked my keys inside my truck.

Again.

I stood there, staring at the locked door like it might magically open if I glared hard enough. My reflection in the frosted window showed a look of sheer disbelief mixed with the mild resignation of someone who’d been down this road one too many times.

“Fantastic,” I muttered under my breath, pulling my coat tighter around me as the wind picked up. I glanced around the small parking lot in the middle of Buttercup Lake, hoping for a miracle—or at least someone with a spare moment and a wire coat hanger.

As if summoned by fate—or maybe just the universe’s wicked sense of humor—Millie from the Sunshine Breakfast Club strolled into view.

She was wearing her signature brightly colored scarf and clutching a canvas tote bag with the slogan "Sunshine Is Contagious" in glittery yellow letters.

Was it, though?

I chuckled as her keen eyes locked on me instantly, and I could practically hear her thoughts.

“Well, if it isn’t Evie Grayson,” she said, her tone equal parts amused and curious. “What in the world are you doing standing out here looking like a frozen puppy?”

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