Page 45 of Break My Heart (The Haydon Falls #2)
The girl glares at the guy like she wants to kill him. She reminds me of Gina, angry that she lost and even angrier at the boy who beat her.
‘Look familiar?’ I say to Gina.
She didn’t hear me. She’s too busy cleaning the pie off her face.
‘Anyone make it to five?’ Eleanor asks.
‘I did,’ I say, looking to see if anyone else did. They didn’t, which means I won. It’s only third place, but it’s better than nothing.
‘Enjoy your prize,’ Eleanor says, handing me the gift card. She walks back to the front of the room. ‘Thank you all for coming tonight. I hope to see you at the tree lighting. And don’t forget the chili supper afterward at Kanfield Orchard.’
Everyone gets up to leave.
‘Congratulations,’ Gina says to me.
‘Thanks. We had some tough competition. I forgot how much teenagers can eat.’ I hold up the gift card. ‘You might be getting some roses soon.’
‘Aww, you’re going to use your prize on me?’
I kiss her. ‘I wouldn’t give flowers to anyone else.’
‘You could give them to your mom.’
‘That’s my dad’s job.’ I stand up. ‘Let’s get out of here so we can get a good spot for the tree lighting.’
‘Ugh, I feel like I’m covered in pumpkin,’ she says, wiping her hands on a napkin as she gets up.
‘But you had fun, right? ’
She smiles. ‘It was great. I love it when we compete.’ She leans over and whispers in my ear. ‘It gets me all turned on.’
Shit, now I want to skip the tree lighting and take her back to my apartment, but we’ll have time for that later.
I’ve been to the tree lighting every year since I was a kid, but it feels different this year, being here with Gina. I feel like we’re starting a new tradition, one I hope continues for a long time.
After the lighting, we go to the orchard and meet up with my family.
‘I hear you won the pie-eating contest,’ Nick says to me.
‘How’d you know about that?’
‘I heard some kid talking about it.’
‘Tall and skinny with braces and messy brown hair?’ Gina says.
‘Yeah, that was him. I heard him telling some other kid that the old guy who owns the brewery got third place.’
‘Old guy?’ I say. ‘What the hell? I’m only 30.’
Nick laughs. ‘When you’re a teenager, 30 is old.’
‘Hey, did you guys hear the news?’ Jason says, coming up to us.
‘What news?’ Nick asks.
‘Brody bought a house. That one over on Maple Street that’s been for sale forever. The kid’s younger than all of us and already has a house.’
‘I wonder how much he paid for it,’ I say.
‘I hope he got a deal on it,’ Nick says. ‘That place needs a lot of work.’
Brody walks up to us, a huge grin on his face. ‘Guess what?’
‘You bought a house,’ we all say.
Brody shoves Jason. ‘What the hell? I told you I wanted to be the one to tell them.’
Jason shrugs. ‘I forgot. ’
‘What are you doing buying a house?’ I ask Brody.
‘I got a good deal on it and now I’m not wasting money on rent. And while I’m living there, I’ll fix it up, then sell it and make some money.’
‘When are you going to have time to fix it up?’ Nick asks. ‘That place needs a lot of work.’
‘I’ll do it now. I’m done with lawn work for the year, and until it snows, I’ve got nothing to do.’
‘It’s actually a good idea,’ Jason says. ‘It’s better than him sitting around all day.’
‘Did you buy it from Matt?’ Nick asks.
‘Yeah. I told him not to tell you anything until the sale went through. I didn’t want you trying to talk me out of it.’
‘When do we get to see it?’ Gina asks.
‘After I close. I’ll have a big party. You two can bring the beer.’
My little brother bought a house. I could’ve done that if I hadn’t put all my money into the brewery.
But when I was Brody’s age, I didn’t want a house.
I wasn’t sure if I ever would. I pictured myself being a bachelor, living in my apartment.
But now a house is sounding more appealing.
Maybe Gina and I should get a house instead of moving to a bigger apartment.
Buying a house together is a huge commitment, but I’m committed to her, even knowing it’s possible she could leave.
But I don’t think she will. Just looking at her now, smiling and joking around with my brothers, she has more than just G’s keeping her here.
She has a family. She has me. And she has a whole town that supports her.
‘Did he tell you?’ Matt asks, coming up beside me.
‘About the house?’ I say. ‘We just found out.’
‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,’ Nick says to Matt, sounding annoyed.
‘He’s old enough to make his own decisions,’ Matt says, smiling at Nick. ‘To make it up to you, I’ll get you a deal on the house over on Sycamore.’
‘Yeah, I don’t think we’re ready for that yet,’ Nick says, glancing at Lyndsay.
‘How about you and Gina?’ Matt asks, looking at me. ‘You two want to see some houses?’
He says it jokingly, but Gina’s giving me a serious look.
‘Probably not yet,’ she says.
‘But we’ll talk about it,’ I say, looking back at her.
‘Yeah.’ She smiles at me. ‘We’ll definitely talk about it.’
‘Guess that means you’re sticking around,’ Matt says in a kidding tone.
‘Matt,’ Nick says, giving him a look to shut up.
‘Oh. Shit. Sorry,’ Matt says. ‘I wasn’t thinking.’
‘I’m sticking around,’ Gina says, wrapping her arm around mine as she looks up at me. ‘There’s no place I’d rather be.’
And just like that, I let go of my fears from the past, my worries about the future, and let myself finally believe that Gina and I have a future together.
In fact, I’m willing to bet we’ll still be competing 50 years from now.
But even if she beats me, I’ll still win, because winning to me is being with Gina.
I wanted to win her heart, and I did. And there’s no prize, medal, or trophy better than that.