Page 101 of Pick Me This Time

“And now?” he asked. “What is there to say now?”

“It’s not going to work out.”

As much as it killed me to say it out loud, it was the truth.

The LaSalles were close. Closer than any other family unit I knew personally. They still had a weekly family dinner and they ate together on Sundays too. Daphne lived on her parents’ property and Eric was just down the street.

They were that perfect family everyone strove to create for their children. The one people like me would always be jealous of. They told each other everything, had family game nights, and truly enjoyed each other’s company.

As far as I knew, this was the first time ever that Daphne and Eric weren’t talking to each other and I hated—no, I loathed—being responsible for that. From what Eric had told me, they’d had their arguments about her boyfriends in the past, but this seemed more serious than that.

And it was all because I hadn’t been able to keep my hands to myself.

Plus, it didn’t seem fair to abandon all the hard work I’d put into getting where I was.

It was better this way. I was just still struggling to accept the truth of that.

Jake seemed to be struggling too. He scoffed at me. “How do you know it’s not going to work out? Has the time you’ve spent together been bad?”

“No.” I screwed my eyes shut as memories of her suddenly started playing through my mind.

Walking into the kitchen that night to find her covered in flour. Her easy laughter that day I’d nearly cracked her forehead. Talking to her on the pier.

Jake made a frustrated noise at the back of his throat. “If it hasn’t been bad, then how do you know it’s not going to work out?”

“I don’t want to get between her and Eric. He and I are on the outs. Stuff like that, so early in a relationship? It just doesn’t bode well. Besides, I love the LaSalles. I don’t want to cause friction there, man.”

“I hear you, but I don’t think you would be.” He held my gaze as he sipped his drink. “They’re an amazing family. Marty and Janet would probably be thrilled if you got serious with Daphne and Eric would learn to accept it too.”

“Or it could go the other way and I’d be the one alienating her from them this time. Maybe not me directly, but the situation, I mean,” I said, arching an eyebrow at him. “You ever think about it like that? If Eric refuses to have me around them, Daphne would dig in her heels as well. They’re both damn stubborn people, and eventually, she would become distant from her own family. All because she would be with me.”

“I don’t see it playing out that way, but I guess it’s not impossible.” He paused for a beat, his eyes slowly moving back to his wife and daughter as they traveled around the space. “Take it from me. Getting to be with the person you’re meant to be with is worth a little bit of discomfort at the beginning. Do you think it was easy for me, choosing Rachel above anyone in Fiona’s crew? Rach was a nerd. Always buried in her books or painting landscapes with Daphne after school.”

I chuckled. “I remember that, but you guys have always worked.”

He snorted. “Tell that to her dad. I was older. A football player with a bit of a reputation. It wasn’t as easy as you seem to think.” Shaking his head, he switched things up again. “Ultimately, my decision to stay after graduation came down to wanting to help my dad with the family business and knowing that this was where I belonged. With Rachel by my side.”

He looked right at me and I could see how much he meant all this, his eyes blazing with sincerity. “You belong here too. You could move back home and work with your dad full-time. Work things out with Eric and take Daphne on a real date. See where it goes.”

I did belong here. I knew that now. But I felt like a burden on the LaSalles and I’d spent so much of my life working toward where I was now that I couldn’t just give up on it.

The way I saw it, Northfield Farms would always be here. Before I left, I would convince my dad to hire those guys to help him on the farm permanently, and even when I got back to Manhattan, I’d keep an eye on things from afar.

Jake was also going to keep going with the upgrades, and neither he, my dad, or the farm hands needed me physically present to do their jobs. The farm would survive, and at the first sign of trouble, I could be back to help.

Being on Wall Street would allow me to keep making the money Northfield Farms needed to start thriving on its own again.

It was a win-win—except that I wouldn’t have Daphne—but this was a win for her family as well. A win-win-win for everyone but me. And I was okay with that. I was falling on my sword for the sake of the greater good.

I nearly snorted out loud at the thought.

Jake stood up when Rachel and Lizzy arrived back at our table. She smiled at both of us, cuddling the now sleeping baby close to her chest. “We should go, honey. Are you boys about done?”

He nodded, sliding an arm around her shoulders before giving me a final, meaningful look. “Think about what I said. I missed you, bro. So did Eric. We could find a way to make it all okay. We’ll see you at the reunion tomorrow.”

Rachel frowned but waved goodbye as he turned her around, and they left. I drained the last of my beer, planning on leaving myself until Daphne walked in. With her long locks pulled into a high ponytail and a big smile on her face, she looked gorgeous.

I groaned and sat back down. Even if all I could do was watch her from a distance and make sure she was okay, at least I would still be protecting her. Peter was probably around here somewhere, which meant I couldn’t be far.

Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that’s all it’s about. I leaned back in my chair and signaled my waiter for another beer. If she was here, I wasn’t going anywhere quite yet.