“No, Callum Reid. You are the last man who I want romancing me.”

She was just able to see a smile on his face. And that didn’t make her feel satisfied with her response at all. She couldn’t figure him out. She had given him what he wanted, yet he wouldn’t take it. He was far too much of a mystery. A challenge her heart wanted to conquer and claim.

A tremble coursed through her. She blamed it on those feelings the seventeen-year-old she had been had harboured for him. Not the twenty-one-year-old. No, that Peyton hated the man who sat in front of her.

“Glad we can agree on something. You know you can be pretty stubborn, Peyton. Always have been. Guess with time it’s gone from pretty stubborn to definitely and proudly stubborn,” Callum pointed out.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him. “I’m not stubborn. You’re a challenge not worth my time. Been there, done that. I’m over you.”

There was no quick reply like she had expected. Instead, she heard the sound of a matchstick. Then the candle to her right was lit and then the one to her left. Callum blew the matchstick out and placed it on the table.

Peyton missed the darkness that had consumed him. The light provided a detailed look of anguish on his face. Her breathing became shallow, hardly reaching her lungs.

“How’d you get over me, Peyton?”

She heard the break in his voice. He hadn’t seemed to notice it, but she had. That vulnerability made her heart leap, filling it with useless hope.

“It was easy.”

“How easy?” he asked.

Peyton sensed the hurt in his question. “It was a completely and utterly simple task,” she stated as she sat up and uncrossed her arms. Then she picked up the sandwich and took a large bite, internally cursing him for having remembered one of her favourite foods.

“Do tell,” he said with a raised brow.

“What’s to tell, Callum? It’s simple. You ripped out my heart, crushed it in your hands, and forced it back in my chest. You left me with a gripping ache for four years. That’s how I got over you—because I had to. Because life made me.”

Her throat tightened and she found it difficult to hold back a sob, but she’d be damned if he saw her like he had in the forest. Never again.

“How did life make you get over me?”

Peyton put the sandwich back on the plate and stood up, looking down at him. He had grown since they were together. He’d experienced more and seen things she hadn’t. She closed her eyes for a moment before she stared at him. The regret in his eyes was something she winced at.

“Because life…God…the universe…any higher power out there killed my parents and broke me more than you could have. Grieving their deaths made it easier to forget you. I didn’t just get over you. I forgot you. I had to.”

Lie. Death made me remember you more.

“Can we stop this?” he asked softly.

“Stop what?”

“This back and forth. I know that I hurt you and betrayed your trust. It’s not like I forgot, Peyton. I had to live with it for the last four and a half years. I wasn’t there when I needed to be. But I am now. I came here seeking your true forgiveness. So that when you’re old and married, you don’t think back and hate me for the rest of your life. Can we just be friends…or at least something along those lines?”

He didn’t turn away and his voice rang with certainty. Hope was also recognisable. And Hope was a close friend to Fate and her arsenal of bastards—probably more like sick lovers.

For once, she appreciated the darkness around her. The hurt inside would no doubt be plastered on her face. The lack of light gave her a comforting veil to hide behind.

“We can be whatever you want, Callum. Frankly, I don’t really care or understand. Since you have my whole life figured out for me, you should know that I would say get the hell out of my house… But I’m not. Stay until morning. The storm will be finished by then. Blankets are where you think they are. I’m going to bed. The couch is yours, ‘friend or at least something along those lines,’” Peyton said.

Then she walked towards her room, not waiting for him to reply, allowing her pride to win and accept that she’d gotten the last word.

“D on’t cry, Peyton. Just don’t cry,” she told herself.

It was pointless. Her quick blinks couldn’t stop the tears. Peyton looked up at the willow tree branches and squeezed her eyes closed. She kept them shut as she tried to compose herself. After she walked back into the house, she ran into her room and sat on her bed, unable to stop the sobs that escaped.

The moment she heard the sound of the trucks reversing, she stilled. When she couldn’t hear the engines driving away, Peyton got off her bed and walked out of the house. Unsure of where she was going, she continued to take steps until she reached the lake path. She could either turn right and go up the hill to town or continue to her parents’ hotel. Going into town wasn’t an option as the tourists and locals would fill the streets. And her mother would know something had happened the moment that she saw Peyton.

To her left, the bench under the willows caught her eye. She sat on it and looked out onto the lake. It was still early. No one would be by the lake for a while. Those who lived in Daylesford always had a routine, never changing or altering what they did on a daily basis. But now, Callum was gone. And the comfort of a routine had been taken away. Everything had changed.

She never sat on this bench. Normally, if she were around the lake, she’d run into the forest with Callum and stay there until she had to go home. But now, it was all over. He was on his way to the city, leaving her behind.

“Peyton?”

She opened her eyes and quickly wiped her cheeks before she turned her head. The first thing that caught her eye was a bundle of lavender tied together with a purple ribbon. She looked up to see a concerned frown on Graham Scott’s face.

He had always been nice to her, and she’d always liked the dimple that graced his smile. Peyton sniffed before she sat up properly.

“Are you okay?” Graham asked before he took a seat next to her, placing the lavender in his lap.

“You’re normally not in town on Mondays,” she said. Then she gave him a fake smile, hoping he’d ignore the state she was in.

“Dad couldn’t do the deliveries, so I told him that I’d do them,” he replied. The concern look on his face didn’t go away and that made Peyton uncomfortable.

“Oh. Did you already drop off the hotel’s order?”

“Yeah. Jenny took them off me.”

Jenny Fields was the manager of The Spencer-Dayle. If there were any problems with the guests or the hotel, they went through her before Peyton’s parents found out. Jenny had been the one to cover for Peyton when she used to sneak away from her desk duties to be with Callum.

“I’ve never seen you around the lake this early,” Graham pointed out.

Peyton turned her head and looked out at the water. With a deep breath, she ignored the searing heat that had settled in her chest. She’d have to find a way to move on from Callum Reid. He had left her in their small town alone while he escaped to the city. Peyton didn’t have the heart to leave this small place that held so many of their memories. Even though the moments she shared with him were painful to remember, she’d treasure them and their town. The sight of the boathouse and the flag being raised brought a sad smile to her face. Daylesford was officially awake for the day.

“Just out for a walk.”