Page 52 of Under Pink Skies

I sat up straighter, looking at him.

“She talked to you before prom?”

“Your mom was an amazing woman,” Connor said. “She treated me like one of her own. I don’t know if it was because she suspected what my home life was like, or because she took pity on me. Your dad wasn’t my biggest fan, but your mom . . . she always showed me kindness. That meant everything to me. The night of junior prom, Imogen had a last-minute hair fiasco.”

A loud laugh escaped me at the memory of Imogen’s panicked face. “Oh yes, I remember it well.”

“While the two of you ran upstairs to fix it, Tilly sat me down at the breakfast nook and took my hand in hers and told me that people would try to tear us down. She told me that people in town would look at what you and I had and write it off as nothing more than teenage infatuation. People would think we’d never amount to anything serious. And she told me that was bullshit.”

I choked on a laugh that sounded more like a sob, my hand flying up to cover my mouth. This conversation with Connor gave me something I thought I’d never have again: a new piece of my mother. A new story unfolded, a memory I had never experienced. This differed from someone in town telling me about the random time my mother showed them kindness. That was who she was as a person.

This wasConnor, the person I once swore to her I’d spend the rest of my life with, telling me she knew it too.

“She told me that if I loved you and wanted us to succeed, we could do it. We were stubborn and in love, and that was the most powerful combination. She told me to always fight for you. My biggest regret in life is that I didn’t.”

My chest tightened.

“I could have done both,” Connor said. “I could have fought for you, for us, and dealt with everything from my past.” He waved a hand, trying to diffuse some of the tension and grief thickening the air. “Sorry to drop that on you. I just . . . really wanted you to know about that conversation.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for telling me.”

Despite my better judgment, I moved the platter of food from between the two of us and scooted closer to Connor, lying my head on his shoulder.

“Tell me if this is crossing some kind of line,” I said, even while silently begging him not to.

“Abbie.”

The sound of my name on his lips sent a shiver down my spine, and I pressed my face into his neck.

“You don’t have to ask for this,” Connor said, wrapping his muscular arms around me. I exhaled a shaky breath, bunching my fingers into his shirt, as if worried he would disappear on me again. “You never have to ask if this is okay. I’m here foryou.”

Imogen would have a cow if she found out about this, but I didn’t care. For the first time in five years, it felt like I was making a decision forme. Not for my mom because our time together was running out, not for my dad because I had to take care of him, not even for Imogen to who I owed so much to.

And maybe it was selfish for wanting something just for me. So much had been forced on me these last few years. I went from being a high school senior dreaming about getting a degree in business so I could start my flower farm, to being stuck in my hometown forever because my dad couldn’t live in a world without my mom.

“Truth?” I asked. Connor hummed his approval.

“I missed you,” I said, thankful that my face was against his chest, preventing me from looking into his eyes. “I missed you so damn much. Even though I was confused and hurt, I would have put it all aside if you’d come home. I was willing to forget all of it to have you back. I stopped thinking about you because it hurt too much to remember the way things used to be, and it didn’t make anything better.”

My words hung heavy between us, but I didn’t regret them. Based on the way Connor pulled me closer, it seemed my words didn’t offend him.

“Truth,” Connor said. “I’ve thought about you every single day since I left. I tried to forget. I tried to put Watford and everything that happened here behind me. I truly thought if I could do that, I’d be happy. But I wasn’t happy, because the one thing I’d ever wanted was still here.”

I let out a shaky sigh.

“What a sorry pair we are.”

Connor chuckled, and some of the tension in my shoulders eased.

“Yeah,” Connor said, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head. “What a mess.”

I didn’t want the moment to end, so I held on. Connor didn’t seem keen on moving either, so we laid there in comfortable silence, limbs tangled together in the bed of his truck just like we had all those years ago.

Being with Connor now ignited the same feelings it had then, and I knew in that moment everything had changed.

Chapter 19

Connor

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