Page 78 of His North Star
“I love it.” I breathed out in awe. My heart swelled. “Where did you find this?”
“A store in Kalispell.”
I lunged at Ty, knocking into him so hard he fell over. I kept my arms wrapped around him, pinning him in place. “Thank you so, so much.”
His wide smile told me it was worth every penny he’d spent on it.
“I’m glad you like it.”
I rolled over, and we both settled on our backs, gazing up at the Milky Way above us. I flung the blanket to cover our legs.
“James told me about the job,” he said, breaking our peaceful silence.
“His timing kinda sucked, but his current job is horrible. I don’t blame him for wanting something else.”
“Between Blake and James, how are you holding up?”
“Never been better,” I said with fake enthusiasm.
“You really sold me there.”
I smiled weakly. Not that he could see it in the dark. “I just. . . I don’t know, Ty. . . Am I too annoying? Too dull? Too clingy? Too stupid? Too fat? What is it about me that makes it so hard to have a relationship?”
His response was immediate. “Nothing. I can honestly tell you it’s them and not you.”
I wanted to believe that so badly it hurt. But the common denominator in all my failed relationships was me. Everyone leftme. I was always the dumpee, never the dumper.
“Am I too stubborn for staying here in Whitefish? For choosing The White Pines over love? Maybe it’s time I move to a bigger city myself.” Though the thought alone made my stomach cramp and my heart heavier than iron. I loved what Grandma built here, and I had known I wanted to be just like her, running the bed-and-breakfast, since I was little. Not some property in a different state.
“What for?” he demanded.
“To prove I can handle life somewhere away from home.”
“Who are you trying to prove this to?” he asked. “Yourself? Blake? James?”
All of the above.
I shrugged.
“Maren, you’re amazing, just as you are, where you are. If you want to move because you no longer like it here, I get that. But don’t do it to satisfy somebody else’s false perception of you.”
“Well, I can’t do anything about it right now, anyway. I have to hire more people.”
“I’d hate it if you left.” There was a hitch in his voice as he reached for my hand in the dark, giving it a squeeze.
At least one person wanted me around. He just didn’t want me like I wanted him.
I squeezed his hand this time. “Hey, um, can I ask you something else?”
“Since when did you ever ask permission before?”
I chuckled. “True.”
His hand tugged at mine. “What is it?”
I inhaled deeply. “If it were me, you would tell me, right?”
“We’re back to this again?”
