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Theo nodded, and his voice was warm and comforting, but the words were a little… canned. "Hey, it's okay. You always said you had an open mind when I was with Dawson. Love is love, right? It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman."
I nodded, blinking back unshed tears. "I don't know… I don't know if it's as easy as the slogans make it sound. Sure, love is love is a great idea, but when it comes to actually feeling it and living it, it's more complicated than that, at least for me. What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if I'm really more into the crazy adventure than I'm into him? How do I know how to respond to that little nudge inside?"
Rafe leaned forward with an intense expression on his face. "I admire you for pushing back a bit at the slogan. It is easy to put that on a sign, but most people have an experience that is about more than just that. What I do know is you can't live your life based on what-ifs. If you think you like Ronan and are happy around him, give yourself a chance to see where it might go. If it doesn't work out, you'll know you listened to your heart."
Theo chimed in. "Rafe's right. They make slogans simple because they want them to be catchy, but life itself is messy. Feelings are, too, and that's alright. What's most important is to be true to yourself and let your heart feel what it will feel. Also… know that we're here for you, no matter what. We'll support you through it all."
Their words settled in my brain like a combination of comfort and a challenge. They were right that I shouldn't shy away from what my heart was telling me. I couldn't let fear hold me back, particularly in the face of what could be an extraordinary opportunity with Ronan. There had to be some reason a billionaire randomly appeared in my life.
I mumbled, "Damn, who knows what I'd do without the two of you."
Theo smiled and sipped from his coffee mug. "You'd probably die of starvation for one. I think Rafe's croissants are the only thing keeping you alive."
We all laughed, and the tension in my body eased. My shoulders relaxed. We finished breakfast as the rays of summer sun streamed through the bakery's front windows.
While I drove away from The Crafted Crumb, I was still a little dazed by the previous night's events and the conversation with Theo and Rafe I'd just completed. If I told Ronan how I felt, it could change my life forever and alter how everyone in Blue Harbor saw me.
Lost in my thoughts, I almost missed the turn onto my parents' street. Three days ago, I'd offered to stop in. I had a few weeks off for the end of the school year before I had to start working on my lesson plans for the fall.
When I pulled into the driveway, the house looked like it always did—a tidy, two-story craftsman with a wide front porch and a neatly trimmed lawn studded with exuberantly blooming flower beds. It was the house where I grew up and learned to ride a bike and throw a baseball.
I parked my car and climbed the front steps, carrying a bag of cookies from the bakery. I couldn't resist giving the porch swing a gentle push so I could listen to the familiar creak of the chains as it swayed back and forth. As I reached for the doorbell, the door suddenly swung open, revealing my mom with a massive smile on her face.
"Tyler!" She pulled me into a warm, welcoming hug, smelling of strawberries and violets from the Marc Jacobs perfume she'd favored for more than a decade. "So great to see my favorite son."
"Your only son," I smirked.
"Is Dad around, too? I think you'd mentioned he had the day off."
I handed her the cookies, and she ushered me inside. "He's in the garage, tinkering with that old car. I'm sure he heard you drive up, but you know how he gets."
I smiled and pictured Dad leaning over the engine of his beloved classic Mustang, smudges of grease decorating his forehead. He'd been working on the car for decades.
When I settled into a comfortable chair opposite Mom on the couch, she tilted her head slightly to the right. "I saw you walking downtown last night with somebody I didn't recognize. Who's the new face in town? Did the school hire a new teacher?"
My heart skipped a beat. I could never hide anything in Blue Harbor. I didn't know why she was driving downtown at that hour, and I was so absorbed in Ronan that I didn't notice.
What could I say? If she knew the truth about my feelings about Ronan, I wondered how her view of me would change.
"Um, that was Ronan." I rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans and tried to sound calm. "He's new in town and looking into some family history. I just happened to run into him."
Mom's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Family history? How fascinating. He should get together with the genealogy people at the public library. I'm sure they could help out."
While Mom continued to talk about the good people studying family history, my thoughts drifted back to the possible implications of my connection with Ronan. In a town like Blue Harbor, everybody knew everybody else's business. I'd been seen as a golden boy since high school—a star athlete and hometown hero who came back home to help out the next generation through teaching and coaching. If I connected with a man intimately, would that change their thoughts?
I envisioned whispers, sideways glances, and judgmental comments. Theo and Dawson never really faced that because they got together as students, teenagers. If I changed everyone's view of me at 26, that would be different somehow. Would the players I coached and mentored look at me differently and question my leadership?
With an icy chill slowly crawling up my spine, I felt a sudden urge to flee from my feelings and bury them down deep where no one would ever know about them. Still, I couldn't deny it to myself. I was falling for Ronan; that was my honest truth.
While I struggled with my thoughts, Dad walked into the house from the garage, wiping his hands on a grease-stained rag. "Tyler! I thought I heard you drive up. How're you doing?"
I grinned, stood, and pulled him into a hug. "I'm good. I just wanted to see how you and Mom are," I said.
We all sat and chatted for a while. They caught me up on the latest neighborhood news—new pets, a new baby three doors down, and a family moving in across the street. Dad told me about the latest tweaks on his Mustang, and Mom shared the newest novel she read for her book club. It was all familiar territory and comforting enough to take my mind off the confusion in my thoughts.
When we hit a slow point in the conversation, I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized I'd been there for over an hour. "I should probably get going. Lots of errands to run today." Standing, I stretched, reaching toward the ceiling.
Mom offered a loving hug. "It's so good to see you, and you don't need to rush off. Don't be a stranger, and bring that new friend of yours next time. I'd love to meet him."
