“You think I’m romantic?”
“A crush on Mr. Darcy? A fan of fairy tales? Owner of a flower shop? I’d say yes, most definitely.” He did it so smoothly, so suavely, I barely noticed it happening. One second my hand was tucked inside my coat pocket, the next it was out, my fingers entwined with his. It made my stomach swoop, and every single one of my nerve endings tingle.
“Holy mackerel, your fingers are frozen.” He stopped in the middle of the maze, took both of my hands, and rubbed them between his larger ones. I didn’t feel the least bit cold. In fact, I felt very, very warm. He must have sensed the change in temperature too, because his rubbing slowed, then stopped altogether.
I looked up at him, my heart racing so fast I was positive he could hear it.
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
My breathing turned shallow.
He set his hand on the small of my back, drew me closer, dipped his chin . . .
And then a laughing couple rounded the corner and the two of us fell apart.
My brain was so fuzzy, my body so hot, I didn’t pay much attention to who the couple was. Nate, however, released a disbelieving laugh. “Chelse?”
“Nate?” she said in return.
My breathing went from shallow to nonexistent.
“What are you two doing here?” Nate asked.
“Your little sister wanted to go out on her birthday weekend, and so here we are, at the Sawyer Farm corn maze.” Matt wrapped his arm around her waist. “We’re a wild and crazy married couple, I tell ya.”
The two of them closed the gap between us. I really, really wished they wouldn’t.
“Never mind what we’re doing here. What are you doing here?” Chelsea punched Nate’s arm, then looked at me, her expression morphing from delighted to startled. “Amelia?”
“Amelia?” Matt parroted.
My mouth went as dry as cotton.
Nate’s attention shot from his sister to me to Matt. “You guys know each other?”
Matt rubbed the back of his neck. “Sure we do. Amelia and I . . .”
“Amelia and Matt were college sweethearts.” Chelsea tucked her arm around her husband’s elbow. “They dated for four years. What in the world are you two doing together?”
“We, uh . . .” I swallowed, not at all sure what to say.
Nate looked like a deer in the headlights, watching his life flash before his eyes. Only instead of his life, he was probably replaying our run-in outside the church all those days ago when our worlds collided. Judging by the flicker in his brow, the pieces were coming together.
What a nightmare.
A lump as hard as a rock had parked itself inside my throat. I sat listlessly on my couch in the dark, Baxter curled up in my lap. Nate had dropped me off thirty minutes earlier. I hadn’t taken off my coat. I hadn’t taken off my shoes. I’d just plopped down on this cushion and turned comatose.
After our run-in with the two people on the face of the planet I never wanted to run into, we ended up completing the rest of the maze with them. Matt and Chelsea went on and on about what a small world it was and how unbelievable it was that we knew each other. Neither seemed to notice that Nate and I didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation. I was too busy holding back tears to join in.
Once we came out, Chelsea and Matt said their goodbyes, and Nate and I waited for William and Bridget, who hadn’t come out yet. I attempted to apologize, maybe a million different times in the five minutes we waited, but I didn’t know how. All the tingling sensations had turned into this rock-hard lump in my throat that refused to leave. It was obvious Nate didn’t want to be there anymore. It was obvious I’d made him feel like a complete fool.
When William and Bridget appeared, I feigned a headache and Nate dropped me off at home. Neither of us put our arms on the console during the drive. Now here I sat, alone in my dark house with Baxter on a Saturday night, something I’d always been fine with . . . until now. Now the entire scenario felt too depressing for words. I tucked Baxter beneath my arm and headed into the kitchen nook, booted up my computer, and opened my e-mail.
Dear Nate,
I am so sorry.
I punched the Delete button over and over until the four words were gone, then tried again.
Well, that was awkward.
Delete, delete, delete.
I’m sure you are thinking that I still have a thing for my ex.
Delete, delete, delete.
I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. Lord, what am I supposed to say? I rubbed my eyes and waited for the words to come. When it was all typed out, I saved the e-mail as a draft and closed my laptop.