AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s because I thought Fiona nipped him.” I smirked.
“You can keep telling yourself you don’t like him, but we all know. And Drake isn’t the only dream of mine you helped come true. You changed your whole life for me to buy and run the inn. Now tell me what happened between you and Patrick.”
I closed my eyes. I knew Charlotte would never leave until I spilled my guts. Maybe she was right—I would feel better if I just let it out. I sighed and opened my eyes, meeting Charlotte’s imploring ones. “Do you remember Nina?”
“The roommate you brought home a few times who was shocked we went to restaurants without valet parking?”
I laughed. “That was her. I suppose she was a little shallow.”
“A little?” Charlotte popped a brow. “I remember her telling me when I was fifteen that I should consider getting a boob job.”
I cringed thinking about it. “Okay, so maybe she was a lot shallow, but she was sweet and a good friend. And I don’t think she could help it. Her mom was a perfectionist and, from what I could tell, addicted to plastic surgery.”
“That’s sad.”
“Yeah, it is. Nina had a lot of insecurities because of it, even though she was gorgeous.”
“What does she have to do with Patrick?”
I clung tighter to my pillow. “He was a family friend of hers. I met him on that trip I took with Nina after Jared broke up with me our junior year.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
“So, didsomething-somethinghappen between you two?”
“You could say that,” I said high pitched.
“Like howsomething?” She was eager for details.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t ask you what goes on between you and Drake in the honeymoon suite when you sneak over to the inn every night after you put Jameson to bed.” Not that it was hard to imagine, but I didn’t need any details. In fact, I insisted that she didn’t give me any.
Drake had the honeymoon suite booked until the end of the year even though he was gone most of the time. Even now, he and his parents were only visiting through the weekend. They wouldn’t return until a few days before the wedding. Drake was wrapping up some loose ends on his latest film and closing on the house he’d sold in LA. Then he was taking a hiatus. I truly hoped he would be true to his word and be happy with life in Fair Hollow with Charlotte and Jameson. It was quite a bit different than the Hollywood scene.
Charlotte blushed and bit her lip. “We talk.”
“Uh-huh.”
She giggled. “Anyway, tell me about Patrick.”
“Char, he was ... well, perfect.” I mean, I knew that wouldn’t last. No one is actually perfect. But Patrick had given me three incredible weeks of perfection.
She reached out and rubbed my arm. “You never spoke of him when you got back. What happened?”
I turned and lay flat on my back, staring at the popcorn ceiling that needed to be scraped and repainted. The cottage needed a lot of work, but it would all have to wait until the new year. I thought back to how Patrick had called in sick to work so he could drive me to the Denver airport, over two hours away. How we stood outside his car kissing for so long, an airport police officer finally told us to knock it off and that Patrick needed to move his car. Yet Patrick stole another kiss and then another. I promised I would call him as soon as I got home. We would plan for him to visit. Then ... “Jared showed up in baggage claim. He’d begged Mom and Dad to let him pick me up. He got down on bended knee with a diamond ring for the whole world to see.” Emotion filled my voice.
Charlotte covered her mouth with her hand. “You never told me that.”
“Because I didn’t say yes. I told him I had to think about it.” I hadn’t wanted to humiliate him, even though he had broken my heart. “He’d never done anything so bold. He kept saying how sorry he was and that the time we spent apart were the worst weeks of his life.”
“That must have been so confusing for you.”
“It was.” I wiped an errant tear that had leaked from my eye and was running silently down my cheek. “I convinced myself Patrick was a holiday fling, a rebound, even. I already had my doubts it was as special as I thought it was. He was already a doctor by then.”
“Ooh la la.” Charlotte fanned herself. “How old was he?”
“Twenty-seven.”
