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“Have you admitted to yourself what you’re feeling?” Presley poked him in the chest with her pointy fingers. “Spoiler alert. That’s not heartburn.”
He rubbed the center of his chest, uncomfortable for myriad reasons. He’d prefer not to have this discussion firing-squad style. He didn’t want to have it on Christmas Eve, either. And he sure as hell didn’t want to admit what he’d since figured out in the long, lonely days that had passed since Hallie dumped him. It was devastating to realize he was in love with a woman who didn’t want him.
He sagged on the couch. “I want her. You don’t think I know she’s worth fighting for? I’m in love with her and terrified she’s going to turn me down. Do you know how hard that is for me to admit? Especially when you three hate me as much as she does.”
Presley’s hand landed on top of his. She didn’t squeeze the life out of his fingers but instead offered a comforting pat. “We don’t hate you. More importantly, Hallie doesn’t hate you. I promise that’s not why she broke up with you.”
“Then why won’t she return my calls or my texts? Why did she break up with me? If I’ve learned one thing it’s when a woman is ready to leave, they leave.”
“And your policy is to let them?” Cassandra asked.
He’d always had trouble with that part. He preferred to do the breaking up whenever possible. The fear of failing miserably had kept his past relationships short and shallow. And now that he was in love, possibly for the first time, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.
“By then there’s usually nothing left to fight for,” he murmured.
So not the case with Hallie. He had agonized over losing her for too many sleepless nights and too many tumultuous days. The man he knew himself to be had been wrestling with the man emerging now. He loved her, but she’d made her decision. He had no idea if he could change her mind.
“I don’t know what she wants,” he admitted, and hating how it sounded like defeat. “I’m afraid what I offer won’t be enough.” After all, what they’d had hadn’t been enough for her.
Hannah sighed. Cassandra echoed that sigh with one of her own. Their gazes were soft, almost sad. When he thought he’d won over his sister-in-law and two future sisters-in-law, Presley turned on him.
“Do not give up. Especially if what you said is true. You love her? Man up and tell her.”
“Pres, she asked for space.”
“Women don’t know what they want,” Cassandra said. “If you loved her, you would go to her right this second and confess that you’re a miserable bastard and can’t bear the idea of living without her. Are you waiting for a guarantee she’ll take you back? Spoiler alert, there are no guarantees.”
“How can you stand living another day without her?” Hannah asked. “Isn’t it obvious she was missing today?”
Yes. It was. The chair at the dinner table sat empty next to him, a literal reminder of what he’d lost. His family had arranged themselves around the barren chair as if holding vigil for the woman who should have absolutely been by his side.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he said, “and I know you love Hallie as much as I do...”
Three sets of eyebrows slammed over three adorable noses.
He licked his lips and gave in. They were right. He’d let fear and the uncertainty of the future make his decisions for him. He’d never been more disappointed in himself. “I’ll talk to her, okay?”
“That’s all we ask,” Presley said sweetly. “Who wants hot cocoa?”
“I do,” Hannah and Cassandra said as they stood.
“Don’t breathe a word about this to your brothers,” Presley threatened Gavin.
“And don’t tell Hallie,” Hannah added.
“Go get ’em, tiger.” Cassandra elbowed him on her way out.
The girls dispersed, leaving him alone. He stayed on the sofa for a moment, hands folded in front of him as he thought through what had just happened.
A confession he hadn’t planned on making, especially to the women who would totally use it against him the first chance they got. But he couldn’t regret saying it. He was in love with Hallie. Which explained why he’d been feeling like garbage.
Was Cassandra right? Was it possible Hallie didn’t know what she wanted? Had she made a preemptive strike, ending things before he could to save herself from heartbreak? And, the biggest question of all: If he confessed he was ready for the more she’d spoken about, was it too late to win her back?
Hallie was the only person who could answer those questions. He needed to talk to her, and he needed to do it right away. When he stepped from the room, every member of his family and extended family paused, cocoa mugs in hand, and watched him expectantly.
“Where is she?” he asked Hannah. “At home?”
Hannah nodded and gave him her first genuine smile of the evening.
