Page 7 of Stuck with the Mountain Man

“Did you say something to her?”

Fuck it. There was no point in denying the shit anymore. “I kissed her.”

“What?” Adalynn half shouted and came to stand beside me.

“Yeah, Ads, I kissed her. I don’t want to hear any shit either?—”

“Whoa, slow down.” Adalynn cut me off. “I wasn’t going to give you any shit. I’m just surprised, is all. I didn’t know you felt that way about Suzie.”

I threw my hands up in frustration. “It kinda snuck up on me, too. There’s no point lying about it, but yeah, I’ve felt attraction to her for a long time. But just because you’re attracted to someone doesn’t mean you should be in a relationship with them, right? But who the fuck am I trying to kid? Obviously, my feelings are a lot deeper than I’ve realized.”

“Aw, Jack! You’re in love with my best friend.” Adalynn placed her hand on my arm, and I gave her the side-eye.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. No one said anything about love.”

“Okay, okay, sorry, I got ahead of myself. But listen, women need communication. But we also need apologies. You need to apologize for what you said about her art. It hurt her a lot. Then you need to tell her how you feel. Take down your profile, which, by the way, Suzie told me about, and I could tell she felt some way about it even though she denied it.”

“She felt some way about it?”

“Yeah, I could tell she didn’t like seeing you on there.” Adalynn rolled her eyes in jest. “You really don’t see what’s right in front of you sometimes, do you?”

“I guess not. Fuck, I’m an asshole.”

“You said it, not me. Now, go apologize to Suzie and make things right. Because she’s amazing, and so are you, and I want to see you both happy. Also, her paintings are fucking fire, and I know my marketing idea is a good one.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Ads. Her work is gorgeous. I’ve been a blind idiot.”

“Again, you said it, not me.” Adalynn grinned and pulled me in for a hug.

* * *

I foundSuzie sitting outside at one of the patio tables near the edge of the orchard. Her blond hair shone in the late morning sun, and suddenly, I felt the urge to run my hands through it.

“Hey, is it okay if I sit here?” I pointed beside her, but she didn’t even look in my direction before shrugging her shoulders.

I sat down and took a deep breath. “Look, Suzie, I’m sorry. What I said the other day about your artwork not being a real career was insensitive and rude, and I’m an asshole.”

“You’re not an assholeentirely.Just in that moment.” Suzie snuck a look at me.

“You don’t have to be nice to me. I was a dick. I don’t deserve your kindness.”

“Everyone deserves kindness, Jack. Especially when we make mistakes. I know you were coming from a good place, or at least you were trying to, but painting and art are my whole life. My entirebeing. If I couldn’t paint for a living, I’d be sad and lost. I wouldn’t know who I was.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again, at a loss for any other words but those.

“I don’t know if my work will help your orchard, and I totally understand being skeptical there. If you don’t want to move forward with the marketing plan, I understand. Please tell me now, though, before I invest any more time.”

I didn’t know if I was overstepping, but I took her hand and intertwined our fingers. She didn’t pull away, and I took that as a good sign. “I’m honored to have someone as talented as you painting my orchard. If the paintings bring in business, great. If not, that’s okay too. I hope more than anything they bring you the attention you deserve.”

Suzie looked up at me, her long eyelashes wet with tears. My heart lurched in my chest, and my breath caught in my throat.

“You truly mean that?”

“One hundred percent.”

We held each other’s gazes for a while, a comfortable silence stretching between us as we had a conversation without words.

“Thank you,” Suzie said, breaking the long silence.

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