His eyes soften, and his hand moves down to hold my neck. I feel his thumb on my jaw, the way the callous rubs back and forth causes the pit in my stomach to grow. His body closes in, but he doesn’t look away. “You forgot the part where you already are.”

I shake my head, trying to make this stop. “Not yours.”

Tears burn in the backs of my eyes. This is what I can’t do anymore. He does this, comes to me and makes me think I’m crazy and it’s all in my head. He touches me as if he’s the only person that should. Trent gives me a sliver of hope that I’m what he wants. I hate him for it.

“You know that isn’t true,” he whispers, moving closer to me.

He’s going to kiss me, and I’m going to love every damn second. But when he walks away, I know exactly what will happen.

He’ll break my heart.

“Don’t do this,” I beg. It’s my last effort to hold strong.

“I’ve missed you, Gracie.”

“You only miss me because you don’t have me,” I somehow manage to say.

He lets out a low chuckle before his mouth brushes against mine. “I miss you because I hate bein’ away from you.”

I lock my body so that I don’t push forward and kiss him, which is exactly what I want to do.

“I wouldn’t have left if you didn’t push me.”

Trent pulls back a little and his eyes stay glued on mine. “Give me another chance, darlin’. You need me as much as I need you. Stop pushin’ me away and come back where you belong.”

That does it. Something inside me snaps. I turn my head quickly, and his mouth touches my cheek. I shove him off me and try to get a hold of my breathing. When I finally feel in control, I stand strong.

He doesn’t see what he’s done to me, and him thinking I need him is half the problem. I need a fresh start. Someone who doesn’t think they can play games with my heart. Cooper may not be that guy, but he could be. He doesn’t want to prove a point, he genuinely likes me—or so he says.

And I’m not pushing Trent away. He’s the one who let me walk.

I owe it to myself not to fall backward. It’s time to move forward. And Trent Hennington is now in my rearview mirror—where he belongs.

“I don’t need you. I don’t need this. I’m movin’ on, and you should, too. You had all the time in the world to make me yours. You pushed me away like you always do, and givin’ you another chance won’t change who you are, Trent. It won’t make this work, because if we haven’t been able to fix it by now, we never will.”

Trent’s eyes fill with hurt and then it shifts to resolve. “You love me. I see it. I feel it.”

“I do love you. But I love myself more. I’ll see you around.”

* * *

“D o you even remember why you love him?” Emily asks from the couch.

She’s been living in Nashville the last three years, and I miss her terribly. I’m happy for her, she’s doing amazing things and is a fantastic singer. After Presley left Bell Buckle, Emily and I grew very close. Now, she’s so busy with the country music scene, I barely ever see her. Emily has been there through it all, though.

She knows the answers to her question, but I know what she wants me to do.

“Because he’s a good guy. I know it’s easy to forget with all the crap over the years, but it’s more about how he made me feel when things were good. And then today!”

“Today?”

I told her a little about the store, but I left some parts out.

“Yes, he knows me, Em. He knows all the stupid little things, and then he said all this stuff . . .”

“Like what? What does he know that makes him so hard for you to walk away from?”

“He knows I love black licorice. He knows I hate funny words. He knows my heart!” I sound desperate, even to my own ears.

“I think I just threw up in my mouth. Who the hell likes black licorice?”

I lift my head and stare at her. “You know I eat a bag a week!”

“I never knew you liked that. It’s gross. No one likes black licorice. It’s the Halloween candy Mr. Meyer gave out and we all threw away.”

I groan and grab the bag, popping my favorite candy in my mouth. “How have you known me since I was seven and not know my favorite candy?”

She shrugs. “I might have tried to block it out because . . . eww?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And you like nasty candy!”

“Not the point.” I trade the bag of candy for my glass of wine. “My point is that Trent knows these things. He isn’t all bad. There was a lot of good. I miss the good. He’s the only man I’ve ever seen by my side.”

She grabs her beer and shakes her head. “Look, I know there’s always one guy that makes us stupid. Hell, I think if Bobby ever came back to town, I’d marry him because I’m that dumb, but Trent has hurt you, Grace. A lot. He’s also failed you in ways that left you broken.”

The need to defend him is still strong. “And I’ve hurt him!”

She slowly places the bottle on the table. “How? By makin’ him be an adult?”

Emily is always on my side, and if I’m honest, I did things to hurt him. I would ignore him, push him, fight with him for no reason because he wouldn’t give in. More than that, I let him treat me the way he has.

“I’m just saying he wasn’t the only one doing the hurtin’. Plus, he does this stuff because I let him for so long.”

“Okay, sure, but tell me why it’s worth all the hurt? Why the hell do you let yourself go back? Because I’ve seen the tears. I know that you love him, and I know he loves you, even if his foolish pride won’t let himself say it. But why? Why do you love him?”

This isn’t the first time Emily has tried to get me to see the writing on the wall. It isn’t the first time that I actually have. I’m not sure how to explain what it is about him. It’s deep inside me.

“Because when he allows himself to let me in, it’s beautiful. He has the greatest capacity for love. He does the most selfless gestures. Trent would run through a burning building to save someone.”

“I know that. All the Hennington boys are good deep down, but tell me why you think you keep holdin’ on,” she pushes.