Page 90 of Guarding My Love

“It was a nice weekend,” she said. “You were a good sport about it.”

Maybe they could talk about this some more. They were on the road heading back home. They got up bright and early to catch the first ferry.

“Am I that hard to get a read on?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” she said.

“You aren’t acting that way,” he said.

She turned her head to look at him. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” he said.

“Could have fooled me,” she said.

He sighed. This wasn’t going well. “I’m confused,” he said.

“Tell me about what,” she said.

“I’m trying to tell you but can’t find the words. I thought we talked about this on Friday morning. You keep thinking that I’ve changed and I’m not sure how to get you to understand I haven’t.”

Her shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry about that,” she said. “Amanda and I talked some when we were shopping.”

“Do you always tell your sister everything?” he asked. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that but knew his siblings shared a lot too.

He never was one to do it. Or it was long after the fact something happened that he’d share.

“No,” she said. “You know we never had a close relationship and now we do. She knew I was quiet and asked if there was a problem. I didn’t go into details but said that I thought I upset you. I guess I did. Why haven’t you said anything?”

“One,” he said. “You didn’t upset me. I said confused.”

“The same thing to some people.”

He shrugged. “I’m not going to argue with you about it. It’s not the same for me. I thought on Friday you had a better understanding of me when I explained nothing had changed. I even pointed out Bode to you.”

“You did. And it got me thinking,” she admitted.

“But you still worried all weekend that I might want to leave. Or I needed space,” he said.

She laughed. “Foster. I would have done that with anyone. I think you would have done the same to me if I went to your family’s house for a weekend. That is being considerate. If we were in a hotel, that would have been different. We were in my sister’s house. It’s not the same thing.”

He thought about her words for a second and realized she was right.

If they were staying at his mother’s house for a few days, he’d be asking her a lot of the same questions, or trying to get her some air from his mother.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll buy that.”

“Gee,” she said. “Thanks.”

“You’ve got a sarcastic tone to you. You’re not all sherbet and marshmallows.”

“Sherbet and marshmallows?” she asked. “What is that?”

“Bright or sunny and sweet. You come across that way most times, but I’ve seen another side of you.”

“That’s right,” she said, pointing her finger. “This is the side of me that has been locked up and wanted to claw its way out. For years I was always afraid to speak my mind with someone. I’d do it or try it and if someone pushed back, I stopped.”

“Why?” he asked, frowning.

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