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“Alright, time for you to head home. I have to close up.” I pat his shoulder as I walk back to start shutting off the lights at the back of the store.

“I’m almost done with this one.” I nearly jump out of my skin when Warrick speaks up from behind me.

“Oh, yeah?” I say when I look over my shoulder.

“Yeah. Actually… I hoped you could give me a recommendation for another book? Now I really see what all the fuss is about.”

A mischievous thought crosses my mind and, realizing the opportunity that I have to torture him, I grab Throne of Glass off the shelf and hand it to him. “Start here for fantasy. Be warned though, it's a seven book series, so be ready to be invested. Also,we don’t loan books around here. Let’s get you ringed up so I can close.”

The key slides out of the lock as I turn around to see that Warrick is waiting with his fresh copy of Throne of Glass.

“Can I walk you home? Not expecting anything, but I figure since we are both heading that way that maybe this time we can walk together?”

“Sure,” I say with a nod of my head.

We fall into step with each other as we walk down the sidewalk. “So your...” he starts at the same time as I say, “What did you...”

We both laugh before he says, “You go first.”

The snow starts to fall in that slow way where you can see the flakes as they drop. I watch as one catches on his eyelashes. He really is handsome. He finally grew into those long legs he was given. His face is covered in a scruff of a beard that I am digging in a way I never thought I would. “What did you think of the book you were reading?”

“Uh, I liked it. I don’t think it will probably be my choice in reading going forward, but it has shown me some things I should have done differently. I have some thoughts that I want to work through after reading it. But it’s a cute story, and I’m cheering them on since he finally confessed how he has always felt.”

I consider what he says as we walk in the snowfall. “You know… uh… never mind.” I shake my head, deciding to keep the thought to myself.

“Hey,” he says with a nudge of his shoulder. “Tell me.”

I shake my head again. “It’s nothing. What were you going to ask?”

He continues to look at me, with the street lamp illuminating the snowflakes on his hair, sparkling in the night. “What were you just about to say?”

“I, uh, just wanted to say that you don’t have to make any drastic changes, Warrick, to win me back. I’m sure that you think that you have to do all this over the top stuff, but you don’t have to.” My eyes fall to the ground as I watch my booted feet walk along the sidewalk.

He gently tugs me to a stop before turning me to look at him. “Everything I do and will do is because you deserve it. You deserve the love you cherish in your story books. Not even I should be exempt from doing those things for you. Fate may have said that we are meant to be together, but that doesn’t mean I get a free pass.”

This is the second time today that he has shocked me.Who is this man standing in front of me?I know that I might be holding the seventeen-year-old version of him against him, but I didn’t expect any of that.

I place my hand on his shoulder and run it over his back. Looking up into his eyes, which are full of love and that I think maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him. Maybe I could let go of the past. “That is the most beautiful thing you have ever said to me. You also deserve love and someone to put you first above all else.”

He grunts before he pulls himself out of my hold and starts walking back down the sidewalk.

I rush after him. “Do you not agree?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Aspen.” He picks up the pace, and now I’m literally having to jog to keep up.

Finally reaching for his elbow, I pull it back. “Hey, don’t run away from me. You can’t say things like that, and then push me away when I try to reciprocate. Do you really think you are undeserving of love?”

“Let it go, Aspen. I don’t want to talk about it. Maybe one day, but that isn’t today. I think… I think I’m ready to go home. It was nice to spend the day with you, Aspen. Have a great night.”

Before I can think of a response or stop him, he takes off toward his cabin.

I wonder what that was all about, because that isn’t just someone who doesn’t believe he should be loved, that is someone who has been hurt by love. Surely, it can’t be any of these women flitting in and out of his bed? Could I have been the one to subsequently hurt him without knowing it? That can’t be it. There’s only one person who can answer these questions, and I watch as he storms away until I can’t see him anymore. I wonder if Hazel is home. I could use someone to talk to about all of this right now.

Chapter 12

Aspen

Except for yesterday, when I was closed, Warrick has shown up every single morning with coffees in hand and whichever Throne of Glass book that he is on for the day. He just quietly sits in his corner, with only the sound of page flips coming from him. The occasional gasps and quick page flips have been the highlight of my day. Watching someone, especially Warrick, discover the love of reading is absolutely delightful.