who he was.
That was why she had fallen in love with him so long ago.
And why she was having so many problems with her feelings now.
Because how was she supposed to resist the one person who had always been irresistible? Even when they were kids, Nate was the only person who had ever made her think about staying in Emerald Lake. He was the only one who could have made her even consider giving up her dreams.
She shifted so suddenly on the bleachers that the blanket half fell off of her lap.
Oh no. That’s what this feeling was. It was happening again. All over again. Just one night with him at the Tavern—a night where he hadn’t even liked her very much—had her crumbling, about to deviate from her carefully laid plans.
No, she couldn’t go there. Falling in love with him the first time had been easy, so natural.
But doing it again would be beyond crazy.
Losing him once had hurt bad enough.
It would destroy her if she let herself fall back in love and then lost him again.
It was just a matter of mind over heart. She needed to make sure she thought with her head, not with the erratically pulsing lump behind her breastbone. She just needed to remember that if this project for the Klein Group went well, she would not only keep her job but might even have the chance of making the leap to partner in the near future.
Still, when practice ended and Nate jogged back over to her, the wild urge to leave, to run, to flee took her over. She could be on the road in minutes, leave her bags behind in her mother’s house, head back to the city and never come back to Emerald Lake. She could bury herself in work and forget all about one night.
This was precisely why she rarely came back to Emerald Lake. Once she drove across that thin blue line into the Adirondacks it was as if everything inside of her twisted up, turned inside out.
Calm down, Andi, she told herself, taking control of her runaway heart with an iron fist. He doesn’t want anything from you anyway. Especially not your heart.
Nate reached into his bag and pulled out containers of food. “Courtesy of the diner.”
She eyed the food suspiciously. “How can that be from the diner? It actually looks good.”
He laughed, the sound warming her more than she wanted it to. “Janet took it over a few years ago.”
“You’re great with those kids.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear all the yelling I was doing? Bet the little punks are real happy they asked me to run drills tonight, huh?”
“They were. They know that you yell because you love them.”
“I remember when I took the job. I thought I was just there to teach them sports. But that ended up being the smallest part of it. Mostly they just want someone to talk to—or to care about them enough to tell them they’re acting stupid. Not all of them have someone at home to expect great things from them.”
Silence fell between them, but she didn’t reach for the food. Neither did Nate.
“Look,” he said, and she knew what was coming. The dreaded talk. “I’m really sorry for what I said to you that night when we were eighteen, Andi. You were just trying to help, and I—” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have lost it like that.”
She knew exactly which night Nate was talking about, right after his father had died and she’d rushed home to be with him. The night he’d asked her stay and she’d told him she loved him, that she would help him any way she could, but she just couldn’t stay.
And then he’d yelled at her and said they were through.
Shocked that the memory could hurt just as much now as it had then, all Andi could say was, “I’m sorry I wasn’t more helpful, Nate. I wish I had been. You don’t know how much I wish that things had been different.”
“Me, too, Andi. I wish they’d been different, too.” He paused, then said, “Can I say one more thing, Andi?”
She wasn’t sure she could handle one other thing. Not when it was just the two of them
That was why she had fallen in love with him so long ago.
And why she was having so many problems with her feelings now.
Because how was she supposed to resist the one person who had always been irresistible? Even when they were kids, Nate was the only person who had ever made her think about staying in Emerald Lake. He was the only one who could have made her even consider giving up her dreams.
She shifted so suddenly on the bleachers that the blanket half fell off of her lap.
Oh no. That’s what this feeling was. It was happening again. All over again. Just one night with him at the Tavern—a night where he hadn’t even liked her very much—had her crumbling, about to deviate from her carefully laid plans.
No, she couldn’t go there. Falling in love with him the first time had been easy, so natural.
But doing it again would be beyond crazy.
Losing him once had hurt bad enough.
It would destroy her if she let herself fall back in love and then lost him again.
It was just a matter of mind over heart. She needed to make sure she thought with her head, not with the erratically pulsing lump behind her breastbone. She just needed to remember that if this project for the Klein Group went well, she would not only keep her job but might even have the chance of making the leap to partner in the near future.
Still, when practice ended and Nate jogged back over to her, the wild urge to leave, to run, to flee took her over. She could be on the road in minutes, leave her bags behind in her mother’s house, head back to the city and never come back to Emerald Lake. She could bury herself in work and forget all about one night.
This was precisely why she rarely came back to Emerald Lake. Once she drove across that thin blue line into the Adirondacks it was as if everything inside of her twisted up, turned inside out.
Calm down, Andi, she told herself, taking control of her runaway heart with an iron fist. He doesn’t want anything from you anyway. Especially not your heart.
Nate reached into his bag and pulled out containers of food. “Courtesy of the diner.”
She eyed the food suspiciously. “How can that be from the diner? It actually looks good.”
He laughed, the sound warming her more than she wanted it to. “Janet took it over a few years ago.”
“You’re great with those kids.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear all the yelling I was doing? Bet the little punks are real happy they asked me to run drills tonight, huh?”
“They were. They know that you yell because you love them.”
“I remember when I took the job. I thought I was just there to teach them sports. But that ended up being the smallest part of it. Mostly they just want someone to talk to—or to care about them enough to tell them they’re acting stupid. Not all of them have someone at home to expect great things from them.”
Silence fell between them, but she didn’t reach for the food. Neither did Nate.
“Look,” he said, and she knew what was coming. The dreaded talk. “I’m really sorry for what I said to you that night when we were eighteen, Andi. You were just trying to help, and I—” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have lost it like that.”
She knew exactly which night Nate was talking about, right after his father had died and she’d rushed home to be with him. The night he’d asked her stay and she’d told him she loved him, that she would help him any way she could, but she just couldn’t stay.
And then he’d yelled at her and said they were through.
Shocked that the memory could hurt just as much now as it had then, all Andi could say was, “I’m sorry I wasn’t more helpful, Nate. I wish I had been. You don’t know how much I wish that things had been different.”
“Me, too, Andi. I wish they’d been different, too.” He paused, then said, “Can I say one more thing, Andi?”
She wasn’t sure she could handle one other thing. Not when it was just the two of them
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