“I’m trying to tell you that I’ll stay in Silver Springs if you want me to—that I’d like… That I’d like to try again. With you,” she added.

“No.” He shook his head, adamant. Maybe in a few years, when he owned his auto body shop and had had more of a chance to prove himself, he could find someone like Harper, but he couldn’t allow himself to get sucked into the false hope that had burned him so badly already. “You could have anyone. Go find another celebrity. You could never be satisfied with someone like me.”

She started to blink faster. “That isn’t true.”

“It’s absolutely true.”

“But I want you. I—” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “I think I’m in love with you.”

Love. She’d just tossed out the most tempting lure possible. He wanted to bite, to believe it so badly. But that was precisely why he couldn’t allow himself. Anything that was too good to be true usually was. “Stop. It would never work. I knew that at the start. I just lost sight of it. It was my bad.”

“Tobias, please…”

“Axel is right. You deserve better than what I can give you. But thanks for stopping by,” he said and closed the door.

Harper was at a complete loss. He wouldn’t believe her, wouldn’t trust her. And she had no idea how to overcome that.

She started to go to her car. But as soon as she opened the door, she shut it again.

“What’s going on?” Uriah asked, coming out of the garage.

“I’m going to make him listen to me,” she said.

A crooked grin broke out on Uriah’s face. “Good for you. Go get him. And if he gives you any trouble, I’ll be here to help.”

She might’ve laughed at Uriah’s willingness to gang up with her, but she was too focused to allow herself that much of a distraction. Brushing past him, she knocked on Tobias’s door again. “Tobias?”

No answer.

“I’m not leaving,” she said, to herself as much as anyone else, and walked in to find him sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

He stood as soon as he saw her, obviously shocked that she would barge in, but she didn’t care. If he’d said he didn’t want her anymore, she would’ve left. But he hadn’t said that.

“Do you still feel something for me?” she asked.

“Harper—”

“Just answer the question.”

He scowled. “It’s not that simple.”

“It’s absolutely that simple.”

“You can’t settle for someone like me.”