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“Do you want me to finish up here?” I asked, hoping to break through the tension. “You’ve been at it for a while.”

Wells straightened up, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes meeting mine briefly. “Nah, I’m good. Just lost in thought.” His voice was calm, but I could hear the subtle tightness beneath it.

I nodded, trying to keep the conversation going, but the words got stuck in my throat. I didn’t know what to say or how to reach him. So, I focused on the flowers instead, even though my mind was racing.

I kept stealing glances at him, wondering what was going on in his head. He was always so open with me but today felt like I was trying to read a book with half the pages missing.

And that frustrated me more than I cared to admit.

Now I know how he felt when I moved here.

SHE GOT THE BEST OF ME

The last person I expected to hear from this morning was Marie. After that date last month, I’d ghosted her. I knew I’d handled it like an asshole. I should’ve just been upfront and told her I was in love with the chaotic city girl living under my roof. But, hell, I didn’t think she’d take that too well.

So when Marie’s name popped up on my phone earlier while Rose and I were working in the flower fields, I was caught off guard.

I stared at the screen for a second, my finger hovering over the answer button. I hadn’t expected Marie to reach out, and I definitely hadn’t expected an invitation to go out again. My gut twisted a little, guilt mixing with the surprise.

I could feel Rose beside me, focused on the flowers, her back turned as she carefully worked through the rows of plants. I knew I couldn’t hide things from her, but how the hell was I supposed to explain this?

Marie’s voice crackled through the phone when I finally answered. “Hey, Wells, it’s been a while. I was thinking we could grab dinner sometime. Maybe catch up?”

I squeezed the phone a little tighter. I could almost feel the weight of Rose’s presence without even looking at her, as if she were standing right behind me, hearing every word. My stomach flipped.

Before I could think, my mouth ran ahead of me. “Yeah, sure. That sounds good.”

I immediately regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. What the hell was I thinking? Rose was right there, and I had no business agreeing to another date with Marie. I didn’t even want to. I just… panicked.

Marie laughed, clearly thrilled. “Great! How about Friday?”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “Friday works.”

I hung up before I could say anything else, feeling my heart race in my chest.

I turned to find Rose still focused on the flowers, her back to me. She hadn’t heard the conversation, but the tension in the air between us felt thick, suffocating. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to shake off the panic that had started to settle in my chest.

I knew I needed to come clean. I couldn’t keep pretending like everything was fine. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I just stood there, watching her, feeling like a damn fool.

I stood frozen for a moment, staring at Rose’s back, my heart pounding in my chest. I had just agreed to go on another date with Marie, and I had no idea how I was going to explain that to Rose. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her or make her feel like she wasn’t enough.

But how the hell had I let it happen?

I took a few slow steps toward her, trying to gather my thoughts, but they were all jumbled. The silence between us was growing heavier with every passing second.

I let the awkwardness hang in the air, the weight of my mistake settling like a heavy stone between us. Rose didn’t say a word as we finished up the chores for the day, her back turned to me as she worked silently beside me. My head was spinning, but I kept my mouth shut, hoping that the guilt would subside.

By the time we wrapped up the chores, the sun had started its descent, casting a warm, golden glow across the farm. Rose headed upstairs to shower, and I grabbed my phone to order pizza—one supreme with everything piled on for me, and a veggie one for her.

I made my way upstairs too, hoping the shower would somehow wash away the weight of guilt sitting heavy in my chest. I needed to figure out how to fix this, how to untangle the mess I’d created. The thought of going out with Marie again made my stomach twist. There was nothing wrong with her, but she wasn’t Rose. She wasn’t the woman who lit up my world, the one who made everything feel right. No one did that for me—except Rose.

As I stood under the hot water, letting it cascade over me, my mind raced. The steam wrapped around me like a veil, but it couldn’t block out the tension that had been building in my chest all afternoon. The sooner I came clean, the better.

I finished up in the shower and quickly got dressed before heading downstairs. Rose was still in the bathroom when I made my way down to the living room. I flicked on the porch light for the delivery driver and flopped onto the couch, trying to shake off the uneasiness swirling inside me.

A moment later, Rose appeared, her hair damp and messy from the shower, and wearing one of my hoodies that she had “borrowed” last week. The sight of her hit me like a punch to the gut. She looked so effortlessly beautiful—her cheeks flushed from the warm water, her eyes soft with comfort.

“Hi, handsome,” she said, plopping down beside me on the couch, her head finding its way to my shoulder. “Should we order dinner?”