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My heart started to pound. Is he firing me or something? “What’s this about?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to say this in front of Dad. I just wanted to let you know I told Paige about our history. I thought she should know.”
As I sat there in shock, Paige chimed in, “There’s nothing to feel awkward about. He explained the situation to me. It was a long time ago.”
That pained me, but I pretended to laugh it off. “It was a long time ago. We were practically kids. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything sooner. I mean, we’re all adults.”
“Exactly.” She smiled.
I shouldn’t have expected Gavin to keep our secret, yet I’d convinced myself he would. It just proved what a fool I was.
“Well, that was fucking awkward,” Weldon muttered as he reached for a leftover roll.
Not sure if Gavin and Paige heard it, but I certainly did.
I got up and went outside for some air. I sat on the small bench by the garden and hoped no one would come outside.
After a few minutes, someone’s footsteps crept up from behind. When I turned, it was Weldon walking toward me.
“Who needs television with the kind of drama going on in this house, eh?”
“Weldon, I came out here to be alone, so…”
He ignored me and took a seat next to me on the bench.
He let out a long sigh. “I could tell my brother really wanted to come after you. But his hands are tied, so I came instead.” He gave me a sympathetic look.
“Well, that wasn’t necessary. I just needed a little air. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re forgetting I’m the only one here who knows what really happened. So don’t feed me the bullshit that you’re okay with all this. You can be honest with me.”
Letting out a breath, I conceded, “It just…sucks.”
“Yeah, I know.” He actually looked a little sad. Then he snapped his fingers. “Hey! Want me to seduce her tonight? Break them up? I mean, look at me. She won’t be able to resist.” He wriggled his brows.
Meanwhile, his hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in two weeks, and he had bread crumbs in his beard.
But he’d managed to make me smile.
“Well, there it is…” I laughed. “The solution to my problem.”
He chuckled. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think my mother would have liked Paige, either.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because Mother didn’t like anyone—except me.” He winked.***The rest of the afternoon passed without another Gavin encounter. He and Paige left the house to do some sightseeing.
Unfortunately, they arrived home just before my shift ended that evening.
Paige went upstairs. Gavin was alone when he followed me outside as I walked to my car to leave. I pretended I didn’t see him.
“Raven…” he called from behind me.
I whipped around before losing it on him a little. “A warning about that awkward confrontation at lunch might’ve been nice.”
“I’m sorry if that upset you.”
“I have to go.” I ran to my car.
He didn’t follow.
My tires screeched as I sped away.***I headed straight to Marni’s house, my emotions bubbling in my chest. I’d been keeping her apprised of the situation with Gavin by phone every day but hadn’t seen her since the first night he arrived.
When she opened the door, I let everything out, falling into her arms in tears.
“I can’t do it any more. I can’t be in the house when she’s there. I can’t watch him with her. I can’t be around them.”
“Fuck.” She squeezed me. “I’ve been waiting for you to lose it. Have you ruled out telling him the truth?”
I pulled back to look at her. “He’s in love with her. Engaged. What’s the point?” I wiped my eyes and walked farther into the house. “Her leaving can’t come soon enough. Honestly, his leaving can’t come soon enough.”
Marni’s daughter, Julia, was in the baby swing. I bent down to kiss her on the forehead.
“What happened specifically today?” she asked.
I stood up. “They confronted me together. He’d told her about our history. I guess he felt guilty for keeping it from her.” My chest hurt thinking about it. “He gave me his word that he wouldn’t tell her while she was here. I asked him not to. The fact that he ignored that and told her anyway just proves he has no regard for my feelings. Why would he, though, right?”
“Right. He thinks you dumped his ass years ago. He doesn’t know you’re still in love with him. He has a right to know, Raven.”
“Then what? He goes right back to London, back to her.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Marni, the only thing that could ever hurt worse than doing what I did to him would be losing him all over again, and especially to someone else. This is going to sound weird, but there’s some part of me that takes solace in the fact that he loved me when I ended things. At least I know he loved me. To open my heart to him again and be shot down because he’s in love with someone else? I don’t think I could take that.”
