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Elizabeth managed a light smile. “Okay. Thanks.”
“Don't forget, we have a meeting at ten.”
There was a knock at their bedroom door, and Lisa smiled as she poked her head in.
“Good morning, ladies. Um, Liz, you have a visitor.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll just be a minute.” Elizabeth's heart pounded in her chest, and after Lisa closed the door, she sat unmoving on her bed.
“Hey, come on, he's just a guy,” Marie said quietly. “Go out there and do what you need to do and say what you need to say. Say what youmean.”
Elizabeth grimaced. “Such inspiring words of wisdom.”
Marie laughed. “They might not be the words of a poet or a philosopher or something, but that's all it really comes down to. Say what you mean, mean what you say. Tell him how you really feel so there's no questions or doubts after. If you love him, tell him. If you never want to see him again, tell him. Just make sure you mean it, because regret is a crappy thing to live with.”
“So I’ve been told. Thanks, Marie.”
When she walked into the living room, she and Will stared at each other for a long, awkward moment. Once again, she felt a surge of warmth as she looked him over. He looked tired and still had shadows under his eyes, but he looked good.
“Come on, we can go out back,” she said softly.
She led him through the house, heading for the back deck; it was about as much privacy as they would be afforded. A wall of humidity hit her as soon as she walked outside, making it sticky and uncomfortable.
“How–how are you feeling?” he asked hesitantly. “Um, the concussion.”
She shrugged. “I’m fine. The headaches have pretty much stopped.” She leaned against the railing, her eyes averted from his, and knew he was waiting for her to make the first move. “Why did you come here?”
“I wanted to see you. I told you that already.”
She shook her head, and it was as if the conversation they’d started in the parking lot had never been interrupted.
“This is what I was talking about last night, Will! It's all aboutyouand whatyouwant. I can't believe you came down here, followed me to a bar, and got up on that stage. Honestly, what were you thinking? That you'd sing me a song and everything would be okay?”
“No.”
She continued on as if he hadn't spoken. “It wasn't so long ago that you asked me to leave you alone. And you know what? Idid. Why can't you do the same for me?”
He eyed her warily but said nothing. She turned her back on him as she looked out over the yard, and it was silent for a long moment before she turned to face him again.
“When I got home from the hospital and you found out I was going to Boston with Jane, you called me and told me not to come. You told me you didn't want to see me or talk to me.Not yet, you said. And I listened. I stayed away. I didn't call, I didn’t text, and I didn’t go after you.” She took a deep breath. “God knows I wanted to, because I felt like–I felt like I was dying inside. But I let you go. I let you have your time, and your space, and do you know what the worst thing about it was? I didn't even know why you needed it or wanted it, because you wouldn't talk to me! But I gave it to you anyway, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. At leastyouknow why I'm hurting, why I'm angry. Now it's your turn to give me whatIneed.”
“I only came here to see you, to talk to you, hoping maybe,maybe, you’d be willing to talk to me. The song—” He grunted. “Okay, that was stupid, I admit it. I shouldn't have done that, even though I meant every word. But as far as giving you what you need... You made it pretty obvious what you wanted and needed last night.”
“Last night was a mistake. That's why I left this morning. It was a mistake.”
His eyes widened, and she could see that she’d hurt him, though he quickly schooled his expression.
“You can call it that if you want, but that's not what it was to me.” His eyes softened. “Not having you there when I woke up this morning...it was lousy. But five days ago, you told me you still love me.That'swhy last night happened, whether you want to admit it or not. That's why I'm not giving up.”
“Fine. I wanted you last night, I admit it. You didn't instigate anything; it was all me. I wanted it to happen, and I knew it would as soon as I saw you. But it's done, it's over with.”
“And you got to walk away from me.”
Her mouth dropped open. “That'snotwhat this is about.”
“Whether you planned it that way or not, that's what happened. I came here to see you, to talk to you. That's it. You can't tell me that when you were kissing me, encouraging me to take you to the inn, refusing to let me talk, that you didn't realize you'd be building up my hopes. I wanted to talk, you wanted to have sex.”
“You didn't seem opposed to it.”
