The lies still stung and his actions had shaken my trust in him; there was no magic wand for that, other than time. But the thought of never seeing Roane again was unbearable. “I love him,” I admitted. “Being this far away from him scares the shit out of me. When I found out what he’d kept from me, all I kept thinking about was that little whisper in the back of my head that had been telling me since I met him that he was too good to be true. I let that whisper become something big and dark. But being away from him . . . I feel like an idiot for leaving over those lies. Those stupid little lies. I remember he told me once that he was so happy with me, he was afraid. Now I get it. It was hard for him to tell me the truth because he thought I’d walk away. It’s difficult to stay mad at someone because they love you so much, it made them act like a moron. So, yes, I forgive him.”

“Then he’ll forgive you too.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

“Then he’s a fool. And I’ll be here.”

I hugged my mom tight as we swayed gently on the porch swing, but as the minutes passed, the pieces of my heart that belonged to her began to heal, giving way to those that belonged to Roane. They pulled my mind into the fray of their restoration, until I was already back in England before my body was.

Twenty-Eight

I discovered in the whirlwind of organizing my move to England that Penny had not put the store and apartment up for sale yet.

“I knew, deep down, I’d get this call,” she’d said when I called to tell her I wanted to continue with the purchase. I apologized for messing her around and promised this time I meant to see the sale through.

She’d promised me she wouldn’t tell anyone I was on my way home, and I believed she’d keep that promise.

Roane might not forgive me for running away from us, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t moving to England either way. With a little distance I saw the villagers’ deception with renewed eyes. It wasn’t malice. It was the opposite. Greer was right. They wanted me, an outsider, for one of their own, and in a weird, roundabout way, it was actually a huge compliment.

And I’d spat in their faces about it.

Not that I didn’t still think what they did was wrong, but hadn’t I also meddled with only good intentions in mind?

Ironic, that.

Whether Roane gave me a second chance or not, I was moving to Alnster. I was taking the risk that if we didn’t end up together, the village wouldn’t hold it against me.