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Since she mentioned it, I could see the similarities. “It’s gorgeous.”
She stepped out of it with a sigh. “Too bad I can’t keep it.”
“What would you do with it?” I carefully hung it on its hanger and tucked it into the waiting garment bag.
“Hang it in my closet and remove the plastic every once in a while to admire it.” She laughed. “I have little use for a dress like this now. Not unless I get a job as the next Vanna White.”
“Is that your plan? You’d be good at it.” I could totally see her doing something like that, if not just so she could dress up every day.
“I’m not sure how to take that.” She chuckled. “I haven’t thought much past getting throughSing Battle. Now that that’s done, my immediate plans are to go out for desserts with Walter and Brandon. Then after we get Walter settled in his hotel room, who knows?” She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively, then her eyes widened. “You are totally invited. I didn’t mean to exclude you after you came all this way to see me.”
I smiled at her. “It’s okay. Go have your desserts with Walter and Brandon and then get your real dessert from Brandon. You’re not the only one I came here to see.”
Similar to the first time I’d gotten dropped off at this address, the Uber driver seemed hesitant to drive away until I was safely inside. I shooed her away, even though I wasn’t sure I was going to be invited in.Please don’t let that happen.
With trepidation, I pushed the call button and held my breath. Nothing happened at first, and I wondered if the intel Evan had passed to me through Georgia was incorrect. Maybe Trenton wasn’t home after all, and I’d come all this way for nothing. While I was contemplating my next steps, the gate clicked open.Here goes nothing.
I walked up the familiar drive to find Trenton standing in his open doorway, silhouetted by the light from inside. The sight took my breath away. Just like when I’d fled from his bed after our first night together, I thought I would never see him again. My stupid pride had ruled my life, causing me to make foolish decisions that hurt me and the man I loved. I could only hope he would forgive me.
I climbed the porch steps. “Can we talk?”
He waited a beat before stepping back. “Sure.”
Heart hammering in my chest, I stepped into the foyer. Before he could close the door behind me, I blurted out, “I know why you did it.”So much for having finesse. I’d rehearsed what I was going to say, and that wasn’t it. I especially hadn’t planned on having the conversation only inches into his house. But for a second, I’d thought my worst fears were about to be realized, and he was going to turn me away without giving me a chance to say my piece. I didn’t want to miss my opportunity.
“Do you, now?” His tone was neutral, and I wished he was as bad an actor as I was, so I could determine what he was thinking. But he was a blank slate.
There was no turning back. “I think so. I might be wrong, because I have a tendency to be wrong about things, but I think I’m right.” I cringed. I sounded like a bumbling idiot. I supposed it was fitting, because I’d acted like an idiot, too, which was how we’d gotten there.
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. God, I loved his leaning. I’dmissedhis leaning. “Why don’t you tell me what you think you know?”
I took a deep breath, determined not to rush through this. “I wasn’t content being part of a pair, so you took yourself out of the equation. That also tookSing Battleout of the equation, but you knew that would happen. You knew winning the show wouldn’t be enough for me, even if I didn’t know that myself at the time.”
His expression softened. “Go on.”
“I never wanted a partner, and that was so stupid.” My voice cracked, but I continued. “I thought depending on someone else was a weakness, but it’s not. It makes me human.”
His eyebrows raised, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the edges of his mouth threatened to quirk upward. “It sounds like you’ve been talking to a therapist.”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve just had a lot of time to think. Too much. When I first figured all of this out, I was angry at you because you did the same thing my mother has been doing for years.”
The hint of a smile I thought I saw faded. “What’s that?”
“Thinking you know what’s best for me. Only unlike her, you were right.”
He didn’t bother to hide his grin, and my nerves finally settled. “Say it again.”
It took me a moment to realize what he wanted me to say, and when I did, my heart filled so much it threatened to break out of my rib cage. I wanted to smirk and make him ask again, but he’d earned hearing it as many times as he wanted. “You… were… right.” I enunciated each word clearly.
He wasn’t the only one who’d been right—I was correct in thinking that he’d done what he did because he loved me, and he’d known I needed to find success on my own terms and that winningSing Battleas part of a duo wouldn’t accomplish that. So many people had called him a selfish asshole for getting me disqualified, but the truth was that his act was entirely selfless.
Well, maybe not one hundred percent selfless, because if things played out the way I’d hoped, he was getting the girl in the end.
“Again.”
This time, I did smirk. “You were right.”
He grabbed hold of my wrist and yanked, pulling me against him. “Again.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re getting a little demanding, but okay. You were—”
I didn’t get to finish, because he covered my mouth with his.
