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Her sister threw her hands into the air and let out a huff. “You know, there’s nothingwrongwith falling in love with someone. No one said you can’t enjoy starting a life with that special person. It’s not what I want right now, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t allow yourself to find your own brand of happiness.” She turned away from Dianna, then scooted right up next to her and draped her arm around Dianna’s shoulder. She pointed in the direction of a large fireplace on the other side of the room. “That man over there means something to you whether you like it or not. Something is telling you that walking away was a mistake, and you should probably listen to it.”
Dianna’s eyes landed on Tristan and her heart skipped. He was dressed like he’d been for the other party Shane had thrown for the adults. Just seeing him dressed like that brought back the memories of that night and the way she’d taken a chance when she kissed him.
Tingles, hints of the reaction her body had that night returned.
Teasing her.
Tantalizing.
“See,” Brielle murmured. “I might not want to settle down for my own reasons. But that doesn’t mean I can’t see when my sister is completely head over heels for someone else.”
Tristan glanced in her direction as if he could hear their conversation. Dianna’s breath hitched and she pulled away from Brielle to face her. “It’s not that I don’t want to be with him.” The confession escaped her lips before she had a chance to realize what she was going to say. Her face burned hot with embarrassment. She shifted again so her back was to Tristan and there was no possibility that he would see it. “I mean, I don’t know if I want to be with him. I love him. I do. My feelings were never a question.”
“Then what’s holding you back?”
Dianna’s jaw clenched. Her heart hammered irreverently. Brielle wasn’t going to understand. No one ever did. It was like a vise had been clamped around her heart and her lungs, making it hard to breathe if she even considered moving forward with Tristan. Any step in that direction would cause her physical pain.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
She felt the exact same way as she relived their breakup. Any time she thought back to that moment, she regretted it. Dianna knew it wasn’t normal. She wasn’tnormalin any sense of the word.
So now she was juststuck.
Stuck between two equally terrible feelings.
Stuck between two things that made sense and didn’t at the same time.
Dianna let out a sigh. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do,” Brielle shot back. “You know what’s holding you back, just like I know what’s holding me back.”
She frowned and stared at her sister with a little more understanding. Brielle didn’t want to be in a relationship for reasons she chose not to share. She might be scared or have her reasons, but she was confident in them. “Why aren’t you interested in getting married?”
Brielle huffed. “Who said I wasn’t interested?”
“I just thought… seeing as you don’t date anyone for more than a few weeks.”
Brielle studied her. It was as if she was battling herself regarding whether or not she should disclose any of this. As if she anticipated that Dianna would lean one way or the other based on her response. Then she let out a resigning sigh. “I’m not going to be defined by who I marry. Every guy I have gone on a date with expects something from me.”
“You can’t know that.”
Brielle arched a brow. “First, it was that I was an easy mark. Ihadto get married if I wanted my sisters to have the same opportunity. Then there were those who were only in this for the thrill—the sneaking around.”
“Shane doesn’t seem like he fits either of those.”
“He’s theworstone.”
Dianna’s frown deepened with confusion.
“He’s this bigshot who has to maintain appearances. He wants a girl on his arm to show off like some trophy.”
Dianna arched a brow. That sounded a lot like what Brielle was good at. She was a charmer.
Upon seeing Dianna’s expression, Brielle rolled her eyes. “I’m not a brainless piece of jewelry. I have dreams and desires. I want to make something of my life. There’s no way I can do that with any of the guys here. I’d forever be in their shadow.” She folded her arms and tapped her fingers there. Then her features softened and her voice lowered. “We all have different things we need in a relationship. Our personalities need to be fed in a way that makes sense. I’ve resigned myself to not finding a guy. I’ll have my fun and when I get the chance to do more with my life, then I will.” She laughed. “I’ll probably end up as the crazy old spinster at the end of the road with a herd of goats to take care of. Who knows? But at least I’ll be happy.Youneed to figure out what that is for you.”
“But that’s the problem. I don’t know.”
Brielle gave her a pointed look. “When you tell yourself why you can’t be with him, what do you say?”
