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“What if wouldn’t be a part of a meant-to-be relationship. You would know in your heart without question if he was the one.”
“But how do you know?” Geez, I sound whiny, even to myself.
She tucks her long black hair behind her ear and turns toward me, her belly rounder than the last time I saw her.
“You feel it. Every part of you knows. Denying it to yourself doesn’t change what you know to be true in your soul.”
Her words trigger one name. Easton. It kills me to think this way about him. It isn’t fair. He didn’t promise me anything more than friendship and sex. But somewhere along the way, I fell for him. I wouldn’t have acted the way I did last night if I hadn’t.
Everleigh studies my face, and I hate how I’m unable to hide things from her. “Who are you thinking about?”
“No one. Dash. I… I’m scared, I guess. Of being alone. Of not getting what I want more than anything. A happy marriage and a family.”
“In a small town like here,” she adds. “Dash can’t give you that. He doesn’t want it. Even if he bought a house somewhere outside of Atlanta for you, do you think he’d be happy?”
“No.” It spurts from my mouth. “He’d hate it. His friends are all in Atlanta. His job is in Atlanta. He loves his life in the city.”
“You’d be settling and so would he. That’s not what you want.”
“No.” I lower my head and pick at my muffin. “I want what you have.”
No, I don’t. It’s the first time I’ve thought that. I want what Easton and I have. The problem is, he doesn’t want it back.
“Call him.”
My head springs up and I meet her gaze. “Who?”
“Dash. Who else?”
For a stupid second, I thought she meant Easton.
“Call him,” she says. “Tell him you’re not getting back together. Tell him why. Because he wasn’t there in the way you needed. And despite having a wonderful past with him in high school, you want different things for the future.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy. Besides, you know this. I know you do. He doesn’t. He’s holding on, and you’ve always been a bit of a people pleaser when it comes to guys.”
“Always?” I ask, uncertain and scared. “That’s not good.”
“Even when you warn people about murderous danger, it’s your way of pleasing them. Caring for them. It’s an anxious behavior you grew into. I get it. I’ve had my share of anxiety. When you’re in it, it’s harder to see. When you take a step back and breathe, it comes to light.”
“What comes to light?”
“Everything. What you have. What you want. What you need. It becomes clear. Maybe you need to take a step back.”
“I thought I was.” I set my elbows on the table and rest my cheeks between my hands.
“Maybe you need a bigger step so you can look at your life as a whole. See what you have, figure out what you want, and determine what you need to make it happen.”
“What if what I need is impossible?” I murmur.
Everleigh giggles and touches my forearm. “You sound so dire. Nothing is impossible. Look at how my life turned out. Did you ever once think I’d marry Benedict’s best friend?”
That draws me upright and my gaze to hers. “It’s so easy to forget about him and all that happened. So much has changed.”
Even more from when we first met Benedict in Savannah for my college graduation trip. Everleigh came with me. We met some super rich guys at a rooftop bar and partied with them for the days that followed. I kissed and did a little messing around with one of Benedict’s friends. He was cute and fun, but when I asked him what he expected to get out of this and he answered, “a summer fling,” I did what I do best and friend-zoned him. Benedict was sneaky and gorgeous in a villainous way. Little did we know he was an actual villain.
“I’m so happy that Daire put Benedict in his place and did what was right by you.” A warm smile pulls at my lips. “He really is perfect for you.”
