Page 53 of Falling Stars

“You thought what you wanted to. I hated,hatedthat I had let myself be vulnerable with you, so the only thing I could do afterward to save face was to pretend we were cool, pretend that what happened wasn’t a big deal. So we brushed it under the rug and things eventually went back to the way they were.”

I consider that a moment. “We’ve never gone back to the way we were. Not really.” When she doesn’t respond, I motion to the table. “I’m glad I didn’t set out any knives.”

She cracks a smile, and I reach across and take her small hand in mine. “Bay, I’m so sorry I treated you that way. I have no excuse except that my feelings for you scared me. Back then, if you’d asked me, I would’ve said there were no successful relationships in my family. Not my parents, not Rhett, who was in a horrible marriage that would end in divorce, and certainly not my other brothers. I might not know a lot about Isaiah now, but I remember him breaking Liberty’s heart before he took off to South America. And I didn’t want to risk losing your friendship if we failed at being more.”

“It took Liberty years to get over Isaiah, and that idiot she’s with now is an asshole.” She sighs. “You Walker boys leave a trail of destruction in your wake.”

If I consider myself objectively, I know I’m not a good bet, but I can’t walk away this time. “I’d agree with you, but Rhett and Paige have me wondering if there’s still hope for me.”

“What do you mean?”

I squeeze her hand. “I mean, if Rhett could deal with his shit and get Paige to fall in love with him, maybe I’m not such a lost cause. Because he has to be a bigger asshole than me.”

She chuckles. “I have to agree with you there. Don’t tell him I said that.”

I smile at her. “Deal.” Then I remember something she said. “About Nicole.” She stiffens, and I rush to spit this out so I can put her at ease. “The reason I asked her to homecoming is because you never called me back.”

“What do you mean?Younever calledme. From the time I kissed you until homecoming, not one call or text.”

“I’m pretty sure I called.”

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t.”

Am I misremembering this? “Look, I don’t want you to think I blew you off. I thought you were blowingmeoff. And I thought if I gave you some space, we could go back to how things used to be. That’s how I ended up going to homecoming with Nicole. My friends were razzing me for not having a date, and she offered.” I stare at my beautiful best friend, regretting all of my mistakes. “I’d take you to homecoming now if I could.”

She lets out a long sigh. “We suck at this.”

I chuckle. “But look at us now, adulting like pros.”

Baylee smiles, and I count that as a win.

Leo starts to fuss, and she reaches for her son. “Let me take him.”

I hand him to her. “He’s a really good baby.”

“He is, isn’t he?” She stares down at Leo with so much love in her eyes that it makes something in my chest ache.

I’ve never really considered having children, but something about Baylee holding Leo makes me wonder if I’ve been wrong about a lot of things. “And you’re a great mom. I don’t know if you hear that enough. You’re doing so much on your own—taking care of Leo, running the salon, and taking care of your clients. You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

She blushes again. “Shut up.”

“No, you shut up. You’re a badass, and I think you need to accept it.”

Rolling her eyes, she chuckles. “Don’t embarrass me.”

I shift my chair so I’m facing her more. “Here’s the truth, though. You don’t have to do this on your own. Let me help. Let me watch Leo in the afternoons.”

Her smile withers away. “That’s… That’s a lovely offer, Mav, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re going back to New York in a few weeks, and I already told you I’m staying here.” She shakes her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to spend so much time together. You’ll be leaving soon, and then I’ll be on my own again. I appreciate your offer, but I don’t think I should get used to having you around.”

Panic rushes through me because I know I’m losing her. “Let me phrase it another way. You’ve always been my favorite person, Baylee. You understand me in a way no one else has. I know we’ve only recently reconnected, but I can’t ignore my feelings for you anymore. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’d like it to include you.”

As she holds Leo, she stares at the table. “As much as I’d like to take you up on this, I’m not sure I can be vulnerable with you again, Mav. I’ll always love you as my friend, but I don’t think I can go any further than that. Because if we don’t work out, I’ll be crushed all over again, and I’m not in a good place right now to handle that.”

I did this to her. I made her put up these walls. “What if we take things slow and work on building trust?”

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