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Grrrr.
She pushed as hard as she could and freed herself. “What are you still doing here? I said you could spend the night but you had to be gone when I got back!”
“Honey.” He reached for her again.
She jumped away. “Not ‘honey.’ Candy. No, Catherine. No, Ms. Graham.”
“You don’t mean this.” He smiled pityingly. “I wanted to tell you in person that I’m considering moving back to the neighbor—”
“No.”
“We could have a second chance to—”
“No.”
“If you’d just let me—”
“Listen.” She flashed her hands up, elbows locked straight, stopping him and keeping him at a distance. “I am in love with someone else. In love the way I have always wanted to be in love. The way I kept telling myself I was in love with you, but I was completely deluding myself.”
“Candy, that’s crazy. I want us to try again.”
“You don’t want me, Chuck. I’m not the same person. I like to…here.” She held up an extra Cupid outfit she brought back from Mrs. Abernathy’s. “I like to wear things like this, now. All the time.”
“Baby, you don’t know what you—” He took in the outfit and his eyes popped. “Really?”
She stuffed it hurriedly back into her bag. Okay, that didn’t work. “I have a date in half an hour. You have to go.”
His face fell. “You’re serious?”
“Hello? Hello? Have you heard a thing I’ve been saying?”
She jammed her hands onto her hips, because otherwise she was going to smack him. “No. You haven’t heard me. You never have. It was always about what you wanted for all those years, and I went along with it because it was easier than trying to get through to you. That isn’t what I want anymore. I have found a guy who cares about me, who understands who and what I really am, and accepts…”
Chuck’s eyes were glazing over. He wasn’t listening. He was trying to think of new ways to win the argument. How many times had she lived this exact scene?
She sighed. A lot of the fight went out of her. What was the point? She took his arm and propelled him to the front door. “I’m sorry, Chuck. You need to leave. Now. I have to get dressed.”
“In that fake little costume? That’s not a real part of you.”
Candy laughed bitterly. “This little costume brings out all the very real parts of me you couldn’t handle.”
That got through. His face darkened. “You’ll regret pushing me away someday, Candy. When this little fling blows over, you’ll—”
“Maybe. But that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Please go.”
Finally she got him to the front door, literally had to push him out, then had the immense relief of seeing him head for his car. Relief so immense she even managed some friendly feelings toward him. “Safe travels, Chuck.”
The slight change in tone had him turning back. “If you change your mind—”
“No.” She pointed emphatically to the road. “No. Go.”
“I bought you flowers for Valentine’s Day. Roses. The way you always wanted me to. They’re in the kitchen.”
For one sucker moment she was touched. Then instinct nudged her and she laughed to herself. When she belonged to him he’d never bothered. Only now, to get what he wanted.
“That’s sweet of you, Chuck.”
“A dozen. Because I love you.” He took another step toward her, eyes pleading. “I love you, Candy.”
“Thank you, Chuck. I loved you, too, but that’s over. You need to go.”
“Long-stemmed, they’re long-stemmed. Red.”
“Goodbye,
Chuck.”
“I didn’t write a card, though, I figured I’d get to talk to you when—”
“Goodbye,
Chuck.”
She waited until his car was out of sight and gave a shudder, of sadness and distaste but also of release. Truly gone. He was truly gone, not only from her house and from her life, but from her heart. And Justin was the reason.
Justin. Oh, my God. She had twenty minutes to get ready.
Back inside, she was on her way to the stairs when a flash of red caught her eye from the kitchen. Flowers. Gorgeous flowers. Entranced in spite of herself, she went over to them, touched a perfect bud, inhaled the rich, sweet scent. Beautiful.
