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Redwood Cafe welcomed its newest employee the next week, and the 24-year-old waitress turned out to be an unexpected blessing in Anah's life. For starters, Kady happened to be the first girl the cafe hired who hadn't fallen head over heels the moment she laid her eyes on her future boss. Rather, she was the opposite. Kady appeared most nervous and shy around Slade, and the pair's interactions had become the town's current source of amusement.
Anah felt bad for Kady, really. Although she had heard the others talk about Slade's womanizing past, she had never been really able to imagine such a thing. He had never been anything but nice and brotherly towards her, just like the twins, so when even Ethan had warned her about Slade, Anah had only laughed this off.
Slade was a good guy. She would've even gone as far as describing the cafe owner as the gentleman next door...until that one day she had been at the cafe and really saw the billionaire in action.
The way he had teased and tormented poor Kady...
The memory had Anah mentally dedicating a prayer for the older girl. She owed Kady a big one, after all. Thanks to Redwood Cafe's newest employee, most everyone in town no longer paid any attention to Anah and Ethan, and because of that very reason...
Bliss, Anah thought with a happy little sigh as she swung down from her horse.
Ethan smiled at the sight of Anah's shining eyes. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Anah could only nod. She didn't trust herself to speak yet, with her heart still racing like mad. Ethan had borrowed a pair of horses from Raj's stable for tonight's ride, and they had made sure to slip out just as their friends were busy either cooking supper or having a meal at the cafe.
One of Hartland's best-kept secrets was a scenic trail at the back of the town, and lamp posts that automatically switched on at night ensured the path remained well-lit all the way to the top of a gently rolling hill.
The perfect picnic spot awaited them at their destination, and Anah's breath caught. From where she was standing, she could see the whole of Hartland, and it was the loveliest sight.
Anah knelt down and spread their picnic blanket on the soft, dewy grass while Ethan untied the picnic hamper from his horse.
"You didn't bring any book with you?" Ethan asked as he sat next to her.
Anah hesitated then asked impulsively, "Do you want to know the truth?"
Ethan frowned. "You don't like reading after all?"
A small laugh escaped her. "That's not what I lied about."
"Then?"
"Didn't you ever wonder why I never switched to ebooks?"
"You've always been a little old-fashioned," Ethan answered half-seriously.
Anah made a face but was unable to argue his point.
"What did you lie about?" Ethan asked finally.
"I was reading the books," Anah confessed, "but they were also for decoy."
"You had another book hidden behind it?"
"Nope." Anah could no longer stop grinning now, realizing just how good her books had been as a decoy.
Ethan's gaze narrowed contemplatively. What could Anah possibly need to hide so badly that...
Anah knew the moment Ethan realized the truth.
"Well, fuck."
"I know size doesn't always matter—-"
Ethan stared at her in disbelief.
"But in this case it did. I needed something really big—-"
Ethan choked.
"To cover my face," Anah finished primly.
A few seconds had to pass before Ethan was finally able to get past his shock, and the first thing he did was glare at her. "If I ever catch you making that kind of joke around any other guy—-"
Anah was a little taken aback. "Was the joke that bad?"
Ethan's teeth gnashed as he fought against the urge to give Anah a good hard shake. "That kind of joke is only going to give guys the wrong idea, you little idiot."
Anah's eyes widened. If that was what he was most worried about, then...didn't that mean Ethan was (finally) feeling just the tiniest bit jealous over her?
Seeing that Ethan was glaring at her, Anah couldn't resist pursing her lips, as if she were still thinking his words over. "I really don't think it's that big of a deal. I mean..." She glanced at him under her lashes. "You're the first one I've told that kind of joke to, and it hasn't given you the wrong idea. Has it?"
Ethan only looked at her.
"Then I don't see why—-" Anah broke off when Ethan suddenly leaned forward, and she found herself automatically bending backwards...until she had fallen flat on her back on the blanket, and the evening skies disappeared behind Ethan's gorgeous face.
"I'm only going to tell you this once."
The dangerously soft tone of Ethan's voice wasn't lost on her, and she found herself gulping even as her skin tingled in heightened awareness of his proximity.
"Don't even think of disobeying me on this."
Her heart jumped to her throat. "Why does it matter if I do or don't?"
"You really want to hear the truth?"
Yes. No. I think...I don't know.
Anah's heart thudded against her chest while butterflies spread their wings inside her stomach. But in the end, all she could do was shake her head. "Not yet."
And just like that, the spell broke.
Ethan leaned back as Anah slowly pushed herself back up to a sitting position. Her heart was still racing, and she found herself clasping her fingers together just to keep them from shaking. She knew there was a chance - a really good chance - that Ethan would've told her he was jealous. But even if he had said those words, it wouldn't have changed a thing.
"Anah?"
She glanced at him, startled, and then she saw what was in his hand, and a smile broke over her face as she took the bottle of lemon soda he was offering. "You remember what I like..."
Ethan shrugged. "I remember everything about you."
And so he did, Anah thought. Looking back on the memories they shared, she knew what he said was true. He always remembered. But despite this...despite remembering every little thing about Anah, none of it had ever been enough to make him forget Guilia.
Like now.
She only had to look at him, and the bleakness in his gaze would still be the first thing she'd see.
Ethan saw Anah pull her knees up and tuck them under her chin. "Cold?" She shook her head, but he took his jacket off all the same and placed it over her shoulders.
The scent of him surrounded her, and Anah found herself pulling the jacket closer.
Ethan's lips twitched when he saw what Anah was doing. "So you are cold."
"I'm not." She saw him roll his eyes and couldn't help smiling. He was probably thinking she was lying out of pride, and it was best to let him think that. The truth was worse, after all, which was that having his jacket around her shoulders was almost like being in his embrace.
Anah allowed herself a second to imagine saying such words to Ethan...
Never!
Anah barely managed to repress her shudder.
Yuck, yuck, yuck.
If she were to ever say such a thing to Ethan, she might as well beg him to love her.
And that was the one thing she'd never do, Anah promised herself. Never ever ever—-
Ethan was amused to see Anah's lovely features suddenly contort into an expression he could only describe as ferocious. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Not for sale," Anah answered without hesitation.
"That bad?"
"Extremely."
Ethan chuckled, and the sound was so, so lovely it almost made her think she had won a piece of his heart to herself.
Almost.
Anah's gaze drifted back to Ethan. Still heartbreakingly gorgeous, she thought, and still not hers. He never was. Probably never would be either, and the thought had her burrowing deeper into Ethan's jacket. Loving someone isn't about making that person yours, Anah tried rationalizing to herself. Rather, loving someone was all about wanting to see that person happy, and in Ethan's case...
Anah had to clear her throat several times before Ethan finally turned her way.
"You have something to say now?" he asked in amusement.
"I do, yes."
"And?"
Anah couldn't help clearing her throat again. "I've been thinking..."
"When you use that tone," Ethan murmured, "it's usually bad news."
"I was going to talk about Guilia."
"Knew it," he deadpanned. "Bad news."
"I disagree. One year ago, you couldn't even say her name in my presence. So in my book: good news."
Ethan's lips twitched, and her heart ached at the sight of it.
If only...
If only loving was just about making a person smile.
But it wasn't.
"So about Guilia..."
Ethan's gorgeous face turned expressionless.
"I just wanted to say," she went on doggedly, "I've always believed - and I still believe this - that she only has to see Hartland, and she'd get it. You just need to figure out a way to get her to finally say yes and come here. I really believe all she has to do is see Hartland," Anah said earnestly, "and she'd get it. She'd understand what your dream is, and then that's it."
Ethan still didn't speak.
"You'd live happily—-"
Ethan cut her off with a sharp look. "Stop it."
"Ethan—-"
"Enough, Anah. I mean it." Did she really think he wouldn't be able to see how much all these words were costing her? Maybe she was right, and he was no longer the same man he was before. Maybe something really had changed, and that was why agony no longer ripped through him every time he had to think or talk about Anah.
But even so...it wasn't fucking enough.
And that was why he never wanted Anah to hurt herself the way she was doing now.
"It's okay, Ethan," Anah whispered.
But it wasn't okay. How it was between them had never been okay, and they both fucking knew that.
Ethan breathed hard. "I wish..."
"I know."
And so she did, Ethan thought dully.
This was Anah, after all. His little Anah, who even at sixteen had been able to read an entire story simply by looking into his eyes—-
Just like she was doing now.
And the story, even to this day, remained painfully the same.
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. And the girl's name was still not Anah.