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HENRY
This is becoming a pattern,” I joke, taking a seat next to Edie at the side of the lake. “I didn’t expect to find you out here.”
I came out here for some fresh air and to see if this is where Edie ran off to, but a fierce protective instinct surges through me when I see Edie’s makeup is smeared from crying and her face is crumpled with sadness.
“Hey, Edie.” I keep my voice gentle as I wrap my arm around her shoulders. Her body tenses, but she doesn’t pull away. “What happened?”
Edie sniffles and drops her head into her hands. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She sniffles again, pulling a napkin from the pocket of her dress and blowing her nose.
“I’m not going anywhere. If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine, but I’m not leaving you alone.”
Several minutes pass as we sit at the edge of the lake. I wasn’t kidding when I told her I’d stay here and keep her company, even if she didn’t want to talk. Edie is clearly upset, and I’m not abandoning her.
She sniffs. “It was just some mean girl bullshit. You saw those women sitting in front of me in the reception hall?”
I nod. One of them approached me aggressively, assuming she could snap her fingers and I’d go back to her room like I was some kind of toy she could choose. She was outwardly pretty, but that was all she had. She wasn’t Edie.
Edie is the real package – beautiful inside and out.
“Yeah, what about them?”
“They were,” Edie glances at me, her forehead creased with stress, “saying mean things about me. They didn’t realize I was sitting behind them.”
“Ignore them.”
“Henry,” she sighs, “it’s not that easy. I know what they said is what other people think.”
Tension ripples through me. It’s not surprising to hear those women are bullies, but I’ve never seen Edie upset like this. “What did they say.”
Edie pauses as if choosing her words carefully. “The short version is they wondered if you and I were a couple, then they said I was just some desperate fat girl hoping to get the good time you’re apparently famous for.”
Ouch. I knew I had a reputation for not settling down, but to hear I’m an unrepentant Casanova hurts in an unexpected way. I never intended to be involved with those women – but the love of my life kept me at arm’s length. What was I supposed to do?
Edie twists her fingers together, not looking me in the eye. She has no idea how incredible she is.
“You don’t see what I see, Edie. Let me tell you.” I gently stroke her chin and move her head so she’s looking me straight in the eye. “I see a woman who is intelligent, kind, sexy, and worth waiting for. It may have taken years for us to get together, but I am one-thousand percent certain about you. I’ve tried to fall for other women when I thought you weren’t interested in me, but I can’t. No one comes close to you.”
“I’m nothing special.” Edie tries to look away, but I move to kneel in front of her.
“Dammit, Edie. Yes, you are. You’re an amazing woman. Those cruel women have absolutely nothing on you.”
“You don’t have to say that.” Edie’s voice is deflated.
It hurts to hear her think so poorly of herself. I had no idea. I decide to try another approach. “What did you think last night was?”
“One of your famous hookups?”
I look at Edie, hurt that she could think I’d treat her like that. “You might remember that you kissed me,” I tease, reaching up and stroking her blonde hair. “Why did you do that?”
“Honestly? I’ve wanted you since we first met. And…” She pauses. “Before we came here, I told myself I wouldn’t date anyone for a long time. I know I have a reputation as the fun party girl who doesn’t date anyone for long, but it’s because they didn’t want to stay with me. It was easier to date around, like you.”
“And those men were fools.” If all the men who’d broken or bruised Edie’s heart were lined up, I’d happily go down the line and punch them all in the gut. I understand why a lot of men judge a woman by her body, but they’re all idiots. Bodies change, but the quality of a woman’s heart doesn’t, and that’s not even accounting for the sex appeal of a woman with some meat on her bones. Edie is sexier than any woman I’ve ever seen. She fills out a dress in a way that makes me weep with longing.
Edie gives me a small smile, and my heart skips a beat. “But coming here with you, it… everything was suddenly different because we were sharing a room. It was a glimpse of what it would be like to be with you all the time. I realized… I have a lot of emotions for you that have no place in a friendship. It scared me.”
“Why on earth would you be scared?”
“Because of how much I want you. I’m terrified that all your flirting with me was a joke, and then I kissed you and—"
