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"Yeah."
"You two are a good fit. You and I never were."
"You're right about that," he said, and found himself falling into conversation with her easier than he thought he would. "I fell in love with the prettiest girl in town. I put you on a pedestal, and projected everything I wanted out of life on to you, expecting you to toe the line. I was blind to the fact the things I wanted weren't the same things you wanted."
For the first time, she smiled. "I did the same thing. You were the boy all the girls in town wanted, so I set my sights on you. Then I thought I could turn you into the man I wanted you to be, but you were never that man. I was wrong to try and change you."
"So we both screwed up."
She laughed then. "We should have never gotten married. We were never right for each other."
"I'm sorry I hurt you."
Her eyes glistened with tears. "I'm sorry, too."
This wasn't what he expected. She wasn't what he expected. All these years, he'd had an image of her in his head, and she wasn't that person at all.
"Are you happy now?" he asked.
"I am. I'm getting there. I love my job, and where I live. I'm seeing someone who treats me well, and we do want the same things. I've learned to be honest about what I want--and what I don't want. I have learned from my mistakes."
He inhaled, let out a long breath. "Yeah, I'm still learning, obviously."
She laid her hand over his. "Do you really love my sister?"
"Yes."
"No hesitation. I like that." She stood. "I love her too. She's perfect for you."
He needed to ask, needed to know. "Does that hurt you, that I'm in love with Calliope?"
She paused, tilted her head. "Not at all. I think maybe we're both moving on, don't you think?"
"I think so." They both stood and he helped her with her coat. "I'm sorry for the pain."
She hugged him, and he realized he felt nothing. No anger, no bitterness, nothing at all.
She turned around and smiled at him. "I wish you happiness, Wyatt. And I'm so glad Calliope forced us into this. I hope we can work on being friends someday. Maybe even...in-laws?"
He smiled back at her and walked her out.
Now he needed to go find Calliope, because he had a few more apologies to make, this time to the woman who really had his heart.
Chapter Eleven
Calliope paced on the back steps of the hotel, switching from angry to hurt back to angry again, then tossing in worry and angst for good measure.
Her stomach was a ball of knots. She could use her best friend and a tall margarita right now, but Tori was otherwise occupied somewhere with Brody. She made a mental note to call her tomorrow for a full recap of what that kiss had been all about.
She was going to give Wyatt another half hour--mainly because she was freezing her ass off out here--but also because he needed to cool off and so did she before they talked again.
"You didn't leave."
Her head shot up at the sound of his voice. He was standing at the top of the stairs.
"You're not wearing a jacket," she said.
"What?"
"It's freezing out here. Where's your coat?"
"Inside."
"Then let's go inside before you freeze to death."
"Calliope. Aren't you mad at me?"
"Furious. But I don't want you to get sick and it's cold out here. I'll yell at you inside."
He shook his head and helped her up the stairs and inside.
"Where would you like me to yell at you?"
He punched the elevator button and they rode up in silence to the penthouse floor. She noted the floor, but otherwise stayed silent, figuring she'd have plenty to say when they got to wherever they were going.
When he pulled out a key card and slid it into the penthouse suite's door, she turned to him. "Really?"
"Yeah. Figured we'd live it up tonight."
"Huh." He pushed the door open and held it while she walked in. When he flipped the switch, she resisted the urge to gasp.
The room was opulent. She'd always wondered about the penthouse suite at this hotel. Now she didn't have to wonder anymore. It was lavish, decorated in creams and blacks, with marble flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows and more square footage than her entire house.
"Would you like a drink?"
"No, thank you," she said, pulling off her coat and laying it over a chair. As she rubbed her chilled hands together, she walked to the window, surveying her entire town in one sweep. Beautiful.
But she wasn't here to enjoy the view, so she turned to face him.
"I know I meddled, that you asked me not to contact Cassie and have the two of you meet. But here's the problem, Wyatt. I love you. And you're never going to be whole until the past is firmly in the past where it belongs. And maybe I don't do things the right way all the time, but I'll always have your back. I'll always want what's best for you. So you know what? What's best for you is me."
"You're right."
She pause her train of thought. "What?"
"You're right. About all of it. I did need to talk to Cassandra. We both needed to exorcise the past. We both did things that were wrong, but I was the worst. I had it in my head that she was the enemy, and all this time I carried this giant grudge. She wasn't the enemy. She was just the wrong woman for me."
"You talked to her."
"Yes. It's over for good now. We mended fences."
Some of the tension dissolved and she dropped her shoulders. "Oh. Well, I'm glad. Better now?"
He came toward her. "A lot better. I feel light now, Calliope. Like a weight was lifted off me."
She nodded. "Good."
He picked up her hands, slid his thumbs over them. "The past is gone now. All I want to think about is the future. The only person in my future is you."
Her heart squeezed.
"I love you, Calliope."
"I love you too, Wyatt."
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I'm probably going to say I'm sorry a lot over the next fifty or sixty years, so get used to it."
Her heart did a little song and dance, fluttering in her chest. "Okay."
He dropped to his knee. "I want to marry you. I want to have kids with you. A lot of kids. I want you to move into my big house that you fell in love with, and raise those kids with me there. I like dogs. Do you like dogs?"
She swiped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks. "I love dogs."
"Good. Will you marry me?"
