Emily finally turned toward him, and her golden eyes locked on his. “Then why did you kiss her?”
His heart froze. “What are you talking about?”
She set down the paintbrush. “I saw you kiss her Wednesday night.”
“When? Where?”
She pursed her lips and picked up the brush. “Forget it.”
Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently turned her toward him. “I can’t stand this distance between us. What are you talking about?” And then his mind clicked into place. “You mean Wednesday night in the driveway.”
She sniffed. “It doesn’t matter.” She spun back to the mural.
“No, itdoesmatter. And I didn’t kiss her.Shekissedme, and I pushed her away. I told her it was over, and she said, ‘That’s what you think.’ I didn’t know what she meant, but that must’ve been when she cooked up her stupid idea to tell our parents we were engaged.” He touched her shoulder. “You have to believe me. I’m telling you the truth.”
She shook her head. “Look, forget it. We were kidding ourselves when we thought we could make this work. You clearly belong with Claire, and I’m okay with that.” Her voice sounded thick.
“But I’mnotokay with that, because I disagree.” He touched her shoulder again. “Please look at me.”
She turned, and they stared at each other. A heavy silence settled between them, but so much was left unsaid. Everythingwas falling apart before his eyes, and he needed to find a way to fix it.
He had to find the right words to get through to her. Why couldn’t they communicate like they used to? How had things gotten so complicated so quickly?
“I wish you both all the happiness in the world.” Her words faltered, and she swiped the back of her hand over her eyes.
He swallowed, and his eyes pricked with threatening tears. “I know you don’t mean that. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice. I don’t want Claire. I don’t want to date her or marry her. I never proposed to her. I’m telling you the truth.”
She wiped away a few tears. “It doesn’t make sense that Claire would cook up such an insane scheme. Why would her parents and your parents believe a lie like that? And who in their right mind would even try that? Why would she make that up? Was this just another one of the crazy pranks you all played in high school?”
“I don’t know what that was. But I think she did it because she can’t let me go.” He took a shuddering breath. “She’s maniacal enough to try that. You know she’s pulled some crazy things over the years. Don’t you remember when she told the entire junior class that her father was running for mayor, and it wasn’t even true?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Claire craves attention. She’s always wanted all eyes in the room to be focused on her. I don’t even think she loved me. She only loves herself and the life she thinks she should have.”
Silence stretched between them once again. For a moment, he thought he might’ve won her back, but then her brow puckered again.
“But you didn’t deny it last night.” She wiped away more tears.“You didn’t tell them that you wanted to be with me or that Claire was a liar. You went along with it.”
“I was completely blindsided. I was so shocked by her announcement, and then her mom and my mom started to talk all at once, and I couldn’t get a word in. And I’ll admit it: I worried so much about hurting my mom in that moment. I didn’t know how to make everyone happy. And goodness knows I didn’t makeanyonehappy. Least of all you.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled it out of his reach. “I tried to stop you from leaving, but you ran out the door so fast.”
“Did you really expect me to sit there and listen to Claire discuss your wedding?” She shook her head. “She deliberately invited me to hurt me. You know that, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I do, and I’m sorry. If I had known what she was going to do, I would’ve stopped it.” He searched her face, hoping to find the right words to convince her to forgive him. “I’m sorry for everything she did to hurt you, and I’m so sorry I didn’t make it right in the moment. I’ve been sick over this. You can’t give up on me. On us. We can make this work.”
She swallowed, and her eyes filled with fresh tears. “No, Jake. I don’t think we can.”
Her words crushed him, and he tried to swallow against his dry throat. “Why not?”
“Because I’m not supposed to be your girlfriend or anything else. I’m your buddy, your friend, yourbest man.” She gave him a sardonic smile, but he could see the pain in her eyes. “And that’s okay. That’s why we never dated.”
“No, you’re wrong. We never dated because I was too stupidly distracted by Claire to notice you had feelings for me. If I had been more observant, then we could’ve moved to the next level. But I can’t do anything about the past. I’m herenow, beggingyou to forgive me for not acting sooner. Let’s give this another chance. Please.”
She sniffed and his heart twisted.
“I’ve waited most of my life for you to choose me,” she said. “You once asked me why none of my relationships worked out. The truth is that I measured every man I dated against you, and none of them lived up to the image I’d built of you in my head. None of them were kind enough, loyal enough, thoughtful enough, funny enough, or handsome enough. I held on to this childish dream that someday you’d realize I was the woman you needed in your life, and we’d date, and get married, and raise a family here in Splendid Lake.”
“We can still do that.” His voice sounded raspy. “Just give me a chance. Please.”
