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She threw her hands into the air. “I don’t know. I thought for sure she was well on her way to being the first one to outright defy our father’s rules.” Her voice softened. “I’ve never seen her so upset. That’s the reason I came over. I thought for sure you gave her the same ultimatum you gave me—when you ended things.”
James grimaced. The ultimatum. That was the first decision that had set his life on this course. If he hadn’t broken it off with Brielle, then he wouldn’t have had the chance to date Constance. Could he really be upset about those past decisions? This time around, Constance had been the one to break it off.
Based on what Brielle had said, maybe he could get Constance back. If she was actually in love with him, it shouldn’t be too hard.
He met Brielle’s gaze. “So you weren’t in love with me, but you still hated me enough to tell Constance that we shouldn’t date. Why would you do that?”
“It wasn’t that I hated you. I mean, you sorta bruised my ego when you broke up with me. No one had ever done that before. But it’s more than that. Constance doesn’t take big risks. If you told her to stand up to our father or you would break up with her, I knew she wouldn’t do it and you’d end up breaking her heart.”
“Oh.” His chest tightened. “But that’s all? You didn’t want me to be with her because you were worried I’d hurt her.” He forced himself to relax. This might mean that Brielle was in his corner. Maybe he could get her to talk to Constance on his behalf.
She nodded. “And…”
He stiffened again. “And what?”
Brielle folded her arms. “And that little detail about us dating first.”
“Why would that matter? It was in the past.”
“I wasn’t sure it would matter. But I didn’t want to risk it. I could tell she liked you so much. And she knew how many guys I’ve dated over the years. I just—didn’t want her to think of herself as second place.”
His brows creased. “But I broke up with you.”
She shrugged again. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I was right.”
James moved toward her. “What do you mean you were right?”
“She overheard me talking to Dianna about us.”
Every last bit of hope he’d been feeling crashed to the ground and shattered at his feet. “And she wasn’t happy.”
Brielle shook her head. “She threw pillows at me and told me to leave. She said that we must have been laughing at her about all of it.”
He pulled out a chair and collapsed onto it. “So that’s it then. She’s not even going to hear me out and let me explain. And I can’t ask you to vouch for me because she’d just read into that.”
“Probably.”
He dragged a hand down his face. “I can’t believe I lost her.”
“Not for good. I mean… you might be able to win her back after she lets things settle.”
James shook his head. “You forget that I know just how stubborn you Callahans can be. I know she’s not going to do anything until it’s her turn to get married. So, unless you have a secret fiancé in your back pocket…”
She made a face.
Right. Brielle wasn’t ready for a long-term relationship or she was too scared for one. Either way, she was the wall that stood between Constance being willing to date him or anyone for that matter.
“But you never know. Constance is one of the most forgiving people I know. It might take some time but…”
“But I don’t want to wait that long.”
She pressed her lips into a thin frown. “I know. I’m sorry.” She moved closer to the door. “I should probably go now.”
He nodded. Then his head snapped up. “Bri?”
She paused and glanced in his direction.
“Do you think that maybe you and your older sister could talk to your dad? I plan on trying to win her back, but if Zeke is still in the way, I don’t think she’ll listen to me.” It was a long shot. He didn’t even dare hope that Brielle would be up for it.
