“I don’t know,” she says, as honest as ever. “But I want to give us a try. I definitely want you to be more than my rebound.”

We stare at each other, a swirl of wind starting up out of nowhere, whipping all around us. The bigger trees nearby sway, their branches brushing against each other. Even the tiny saplings wave.

“You mean that?” I squint at her, the tightness in my chest easing.

Amelia nods. “I do.”

“You’re not embarrassed of me?”

“Why would I be embarrassed of you?” she asks incredulously, throwing her arms up in the air.

“I don’t know. I’m younger than you. I work here.” I glance around the tree farm. “I don’t have a lot of money.”

“I don’t care,” she says, her voice firm. “None of that stuff matters. All I want is to be happy. And you make me happy.”

Her admission shakes me to my core. I try to stand tall and act like her words have no effect on me, but damn.

Damn.

“You wanna go to dinner with me and the boss man and his wife tomorrow?” I ask.

Amelia blinks at my change of subject, seemingly confused. Hey, at least I’m keeping her on her toes. “Um, sure. Are you referring to Charlie and Candice?”

I nod and move toward her, reaching for her waist and pulling her in close. “They want to meet with me and discuss some business stuff. Said I could bring a date.”

She’s smiling. I can see the relief in her dark gaze, and the happiness there too. “I’d love to go. I hear they’re nice people.”

I smile in return at her teasing tone, and how she’s pretending she doesn’t know them. “Oh, they’re real nice. I bet you’d like them a lot.” Amelia laughs just as I sweep in and steal a kiss. Then another one. “I’m sorry I avoided you the last few days. A few things got in my head and stayed there. They started to bug me.”

“Like what?”

“Like me not being good enough for you,” I admit.

Amelia touches my cheek, forcing me to look her in the eye. “You’re the best man I know, Isaac Jones. You got that?”

I kiss her again, because I can’t resist her. “If you say so.”

“More like I know so,” she says firmly.

I’m half inclined to believe her.

The next night, I go to pick up Amelia from her family’s store before we head to dinner with Charlie and Candice. I went home first after work and took a shower and changed. Put on my nicest clothes, which is basically the same thing I wore to Candice and Charlie’s wedding, but fuck it. That’s all I got. I stared at my reflection in the mirror as I combed my hair and told myself I would be fine.

But I’m still nervous as I walk into the jewelry store. It’s pretty obvious, what’s about to happen. I’m going to talk to her parents—though I only see her mother right now—before I take Amelia on a date.