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“Because it doesn’t change anything. My dad don’t give a fuck about words.”

“Then stop being around him. Stop giving him access to you. But don’t ask the people who love you to stop loving you. Because that’s what you do when you love somebody, you don’t let people treat them like shit.”

Noah stared at the corner of my desk but I could tell his thoughts weren’t in this room with us. “True doesn’t love me.”

“A blind man could see how much that woman adores you. And I know you love her too. Even though you haven’t said it.”

He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands.

“It doesn’t matter. She’s leaving anyway.”

With shock strumming through me, I dropped the pen in my hand. “What did you say?”

Staring at him, I waited for him to repeat it as my heart skipped too many beats in my chest.

“True…she’s leaving. Because of me.” He wouldn’t make eye contact with me. “I dropped her off at her grandparents’ house with a huge suitcase this morning.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he grimaced, and that alone silenced the outburst on the tip of my tongue.

This morning. It was 5 o’clock now. Was that why she hadn’t texted me back all day? Why hadn’t Noah said anything before now?

Covering my face with my hands, I let out a ragged sigh and tried to inhale calming breaths.

We were only a few weeks in and I was already questioning my ability to keep my head straight while loving two stubborn ass people. I needed a drink. But I needed True more than that.

Pulling in a breath, I stood and put my suit jacket on, moving around the desk in two steps. I was headed for the door before I doubled back and grabbed Noah’s chin. “Kiss me,” I commanded.

He did and my lids grew heavy at the first touch of his lips on mine today. Fuck. How had I missed that so much already? I deepened the kiss, sucking at his tongue before forcing myself away.

“Go home. You’re not coming back here until Friday. You need some time away from this place.”Time away from his parents.

“Grey—”

“Bye, Noah. I’ll see you at home.”

Outside, my eyes landed on the 4Runner double parked two spaces down from me. If I was feeling pettier, I’d call the towing company and have it gone before Michael walked out here again. He deserved that shit after the rift he created, but being a business owner meant I had to be the bigger person, even when people deserved hell.

For now, I left it alone. But if I didn’t find True somewhere in this town, all bets were fucking off and the last thing he would be worried about was getting cussed out by the woman I loved.

I stared at the tobacco stick star my grandmother had just pulled out of my aunt’s ancient suitcase. I’d been here with her all day, sifting through the old Christmas decorations that had been left in my cabin. I’d put most of them up under her supervision, but now we were down to this star and a wad of colorful string lights that had seen better days.

Ruby Jean took one look at the tangled lights and huffed. “Oh, we’ll leave those for your grandfather. And I’ll put this star in the kitchen.”

Giggling, I turned around the living room, amazed at how much it had changed in a single day.

The nativity scene on top of the coffee table, the lights draped over the mantle, the garland twisted around the light fixtures. Itall screamed Christmas and decorating had managed to put me in the spirit, despite how I felt when Noah dropped me off.

“So, what you planning to do, lady bug? You gone run home?”

“I’m not running, grandma,” I said, hating how dejected my voice sounded.

I hadn’t vented to my grandma about last night. Not really, anyway. But I had called my mother and told her I was thinking about coming to King’s Town earlier than the Christmas visit I had planned, and she overheard it all.

“That’s what you said. You said that boy thought you were running and then you called and told your mama you were going home.”

“He thinks I’m running because he didn’t let me get a word in while he was driving me here,” I pointed out. Noah had talked ten minutes straight after telling me I wasn’t driving my car anywhere on this mountain. He threw my suitcase in the back of his truck and told me over and over that he didn’t want me to leave because of him. Halfway through our trip to my grandparents’ house, he got a call and he was on the phone with her until we pulled up in their yard.

We never got a chance to actually talk and I wasn’t mad at that because I didn’t know if I had it in me to play nice while my feelings were still hurt.