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After filling up her water, I made my way back into the living room. “I’m not hiding from anything or anyone.”
Mom raised a brow as she asked, “Then why has this Wescalled you more than a dozen times, and each time you send it to voicemail?”
“He’s no one, just a friend I was helping with something.”
“By the look on your face each time you see his name, I highly doubt he’s no one,” Dad said.
I felt the tears stinging the back of my eyes and I quickly turned away and picked up a pillow on the chair and fluffed it.
“Clare,” Mom asked as she reached for my hand, “do you want to talk about it?”
Shaking my head, I focused on the pattern of the chair. Small circles with a little feather design. The chair was an antique that had been my great grandmother’s. It looked old, but was the sturdiest piece of furniture in the whole house.
“Clare bear,” my father softly said as he came up and turned me around. The moment I looked up at him, I started to cry.
Dad drew me into his arms and held me so tenderly as I cried into his chest. The smell of his soap filled my senses, and it made me cry even harder.
“Sit down, come on. Talk to me and your mother.”
Dad gently pulled me from him and sat me down in the chair I had been staring at and joined my mother on the sofa.
I wiped at the tears and forced myself to smile. “It’s nothing. You two were in a serious car accident, and the last thing you need to worry about is my problems.”
“We want to hear about your problems,” Mom said. “We’re your parents, Clare.”
I sniffled and then ran my shirt sleeve under my nose. “Wes Ward, he’s Rory’s brother-in-law. The first time I saw him, something inside of me came to life. We bickered like cats and dogs from day one, and for the longest time I thought he didn’t like me.”
“But he does?”
I shrugged. “He’s in love with his ex-girlfriend, though, and asked me to pretend like I was dating him to make her jealous. I don’t know why I went along with it. She’s engaged.”
“Oh, Clare,” my mother said, a disappointed look on her face.
“I know it was wrong, but a part of me wanted to spend time with him. It’s so pathetic and sad. I don’t know what I thought was going to happen. I mean, I figured they’d end up back together and I’d feel like an idiot. It’s just…we shared these moments together, and I started to think that maybe he…”
I closed my eyes and focused on not crying like a fool.
“Moments?” Mom asked.
Focusing back on my parents, I replied, “Yes. We went to a cooking class that Mandy was going to be at, but the entire time Wes didn’t even bother looking over at her. We had so much fun, and then he got sick, and I took care of him. He kissed me at his parents’ wedding anniversary party the night of your accident. And when I finally left the hospital, he took me to his place, and we ate Italian and watched Hallmark movies. He told me he wanted to kiss me. Then he did the most amazing thing. He held me all night while I slept. He didn’t try anything or make a move; he just held me.”
My mother and father both smiled.
“The next morning it felt like something had changed between us. But then Mandy showed up at his apartment. She said she wanted him back. I went into his bedroom to give them some privacy, and decided I couldn’t take hearing her insult me any longer.”
Dad sat up. “What do you mean, she insulted you?”
With a one-shoulder shrug, I said, “She basically said I wasn’t his type, I was beneath her and not good enough for Wes. So I grabbed my bag, and when I walked out into the kitchen, they were kissing.”
“Oh, sweetheart.”
I wiped a tear away. “He pushed her away, and I know he hadn’t seen me. He said it wasn’t what it looked like, but she was what he wanted. It was part of his plan? He’s still in love with her and she’s beautiful. Tall, a body any woman would want. I can’t compete with her.”
“Now hold on one second,” my father said. “You are beautiful, inside and out, Clare Monroe.”
I smiled. “You’re biased, Daddy.”
“No, I have eyes.”
