I cast a long look over my shoulder in the direction of the man who’s already long gone.
“She’ll only win if you let her,” Luke says.
I sigh. “What else have I got to lose?” The truth is out now. I’ve lost Sawyer. There’s nothing else.
“Got your palm cards?” Luke asks.
I lift my clutch.
“Good. Stop by the ladies’ room. Fix up your makeup, and we can finish this. Together. Okay?”
Luke holds the door open for me, but I glance back one more time before I go inside. Sawyer is long gone.
That’s the part Luke will never understand.
Kristen’s objective wasn’t me. It was Sawyer all along. I was the sacrifice. He was her prize. And because I didn’t trust him with the truth about who I was, he’ll never forgive me. We were over before we even started.
Kristen has already won.
Dear Elsie…
Dear Elsie,
Tonight didn’t go as expected.
I wish you trusted me. You had a husband…and another life. In that one moment, everything made sense, but I wish you’d told me the truth.
Tonight wasn’t for talking.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about all of it. You. Me. I’ll tell you how I feel. And you’ll…
Elsie, why does it feel like you’re about to break my heart?
There was a question that was constantly on my mind back when I first saw you in town. I remembered it tonight when I watched your world crash at your feet.
Run away with me?
21
Lingering clouds even after an offer of pancakes
I stick my handout from under the warmth of the comforter and fumble over the ice-cold nightstand for my watch.
I blink. The tiny hands swim from fuzzy to clear.
4.45 a.m.
I groan into my pillow. Six hours in bed and not one minute of sleep. My legs are lead, every muscle aches, and I have no energy to face the day. And it’s my fault.
Every conversation, and every chance Sawyer gave me to tell him the truth, will spin on repeat until I talk to him.
My stomach twists into a knot so tight I scrunch into a ball. I should have been honest with him. He deserves that, but don’t I also deserve the chance to explain? The one time he refused to listen was when I needed him to give me five more minutes. After everything we’ve been through, surely I’m worth five more minutes?
I throw off the comforter.
Sawyer has been patiently teaching me how to stand up for myself. Battling past the impossible wall between me and my fear of conflict is still my greatest challenge. But whether or not my knees wobble, Iwilltalk to him.
I shower in record time and grab a dress off the hanger. I stuff my feet into my Ugg boots, and I’m still fumbling with the buttons of my dress as I fly out the door and down the stairs.
