Page 106 of Broken Vows

I’m delusional. Any moment now, I’ll wake up. There’s no way Theo is here. He got married yesterday. He should be in his honeymoon suite planning the rest of his life with his wife. Not sitting here in another city—where I am.

As if he senses my presence, he turns to me, meeting my gaze with tired eyes and an anguished smile. “Hey.”

Even if I wanted to, I can’t move. My body is frozen in shock.

“Care to join me?” he casually pats the space next to him, as if he didn’t just leave his wife to come find me on a rough, splintered, wooden picnic table.

I feel torn. I bite back the urge to tell him to fuck off from how he treated me yesterday, but the fact that he’s driven the three hours to get here probably means I should at least hear him out. “I drove by the lake,” he says, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re right. It’s beautiful.”

Theo. Is here. With me. “How… how did you know where I was?”

A hint of a dimple appears on his beautifully chiseled face, his expression sheepish. “I forced Justin to tell me.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “Aren’t you supposed to be waking up in the honeymoon suite right now?”

His gaze sweeps mine and his plush lips lift into the slightest grin. “I had somewhere more important I needed to be.”

“You did?”

He nods. “I did.”

A moment passes as I study is eyes. “What does this mean?”

“It means the wedding is off.”

His declaration leaves me numb. A part of me would love nothing more than to say this is the best news ever and jump into his lap, but I can’t. My heart is too fragile, like a bird with a broken wing, perched at the edge of a branch, knowing it can’t fly.

We sit in silence. The faint murmurs of visitors chatting in the background and the breeze rustling leaves are the only sounds around us.

I can’t believe he’s here.

He’s barely looking at me. I want to ask him so many questions. How did the parents deal with the news? Has the wedding been postponed or canceled for good? But self-preservation kicks in and stops me from asking anything more.

“I’m so sorry, Lexie. For everything.” He runs his hands down his face. “The way I spoke to you yesterday is unforgivable. I… I needed to push you away, to make you hate me. I wanted to save you from me.” He takes another long pause and stares back at the creek. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

I respond with a nod. I don’t doubt that he’s sorry. For what happened in Boston, for lying, for breaking my heart. But still, I don’t know what him being here, now, means.

“If you don’t mind,” he says, “Annabelle would really like to talk to you.”

I nod. He taps his phone, hands it to me, then stands up and steps away to give us some privacy.

“Hey, Lexie,” Annabelle says after only a few rings. Her voice is a little hoarse, still groggy, but warmer—lighter—than the last time we spoke. “I’m so glad Theo found you, and that you at least let him let me talk to you. I’m sure your head is spinning right now.”

Understatement of the year.

“When we spoke yesterday and I encouraged you to go find Theo, I truly thought he’d come to his senses and tell me the wedding was off. I’m so sorry I put you through that. You must’ve been heartbroken.”

Another understatement.

I glance at Theo who’s staring at the ground, no doubt trying to eavesdrop.

“You don’t owe Theo anything,” she says gently. “I completely understand if you’re hesitant. I’m sure you’re angry, hurt, and probably terrified of giving him another chance. After some… let’s call them challenging conversations last night, he got stuck in his own head and decided he wasn’t going after you. Not because he doesn’t want to be with you. The man has wanted you since the moment he met you.” She takes a breath and continues. “I think he felt like he didn’t deserve you, that you’d be better off without him. But I see the good in him, flaws and all. And I know you do, too. So, I told him to come find you. That he deserves happiness, just like you and I do. All I’m asking is that you listen to what he has to say. Okay?” She pauses before cheekily adding, “Besides, you can’t say no to the bride.”

I finally exhale the breath I’ve been holding, a small, strained laugh catching in my chest. A moment passes, then another, when I say, “Okay.”

I hand the phone back to Theo, and his fingers graze mine before I pull away. I’m not ready to touch him yet. Not until I know where we stand.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I ask Theo.