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“Your dad knew,” Mom sniffed.
“It doesn’t matter; it’s over with. Done. Finished. There’s nothing to talk about. So let’s move on.” I gripped my beer hard enough to break the glass.
“And he’s been a royal jerk for days. I’m guessing it didn’t end very well,” Lena said. I really wished she’d shut up already.
Mom’s irritation gave way to maternal concern. She sat down beside me at the table and put her hand on my arm. “What happened, sweetheart?”
I sighed. Avoiding the topic was clearly not going to work. Might as well unload everything. So I told my family, in abbreviated terms, what happened with Chelsea and Meg.
“Dude, that chick needs a muzzle,” Lena snarked.
Mom tutted sternly. “I never liked Chelsea. She always seemed so disingenuous.”
That was one way to put it.
“She’s not a problem anymore. I got a call from her attorney this morning, and she’s agreed to the terms of the divorce.”It was the one good thing that had come out of the shitty situation.
“Well, that’s good,” Mom said, patting my hand like I was still a kid.
“Then what’s the problem? It was all a mistake. Meg has to see that.” Lena took the food off the stove and started dumping it unceremoniously into bowls.
“I don’t know what Meg thinks. She won’t speak to me. And truthfully, I’m tired of her choosing to believe the worst in me all the time.”It was true, and it wasn’t. I was tired of it, but not enough to not be with her. I just didn’t think it was up to me to do anything about it.
Lena slammed the bowl down in front of me. “Men are such idiots,” she proclaimed.
“Huh?” I didn’t understand why she was so worked up. I expected Mom to chastise her, but instead, she nodded, agreeing with my volatile sister.
“They are. I had hoped I’d raised you better than to be an idiot, Adam.” Mom looked incredibly disappointed.
I turned to my dad. “Do you know what they’re talking about?”
Dad shook his head but wisely kept his mouth shut.
“Meg thinks you chose Chelsea over her once already,” Lena began.
“I told her that was bullshit. I already explained why I did what I did. I shouldn’t have to repeat it,” I protested.
Mom and Lena pursed their lips and glared at me in unison. I felt myself shrinking beneath their stares. Jesus, they were scary.
“Do you love her?” Mom asked bluntly.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. There were some things I’d always own up to, and loving Meghan Galloway was one of them.
“She wants you to choose her. She wants you to keep reminding her that she’s the one you want. We’re all a little insecure inside, and you have to make her see that she’s the one you’ve always wanted. The one you’ll always choose,” Lena informed me sagely.
“We all want to be swept off our feet. So go sweep that wonderful woman off her feet,” Mom said with a smile.
“And that will work?” I sounded so small. So scared. And I was. When it came to Meg, I was terrified. Terrified of losing her forever.
Mom put her hand over mine. “Some things are meant to be. And you and Meg are meant to be. I saw that when you were kids.”
“But what if it’s too late? What if she goes back to New York? What if—?”
“And what if the world ends tomorrow?Whatever. Man up, Adam. Go get her,” Lena snapped, clearly losing patience with me.
All three of them looked at me, expectantly.
“All right then.” I got to my feet, my food uneaten. “Uh, should I clean up—?”
“Go!” Mom, Dad, and Lena yelled together.
“Fine. I’m going!” I started for the door, then stopped, turning around to my family. “Thanks.”
Chapter 22
Meghan
I stood in the middle of my bedroom, feeling like I was stuck in quicksand. I couldn’t move, yet I knew I couldn’t stay. I had called Damien that morning to tell him I was planning to come back to New York in a few days.
“So soon?” he had asked.
“I’ve finished doing what I needed to do here,” I told him, trying not to sound as sad as I felt. I thought I’d want to get back to New York, to my life, as quickly as possible.
That had all changed. Now the thought of leaving brought nothing but pain. But I couldn’t stay. Not after things had ended with Adam. I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t put myself through the daily agony of sharing a town with him. Not now that I knew what it felt like to love him so completely.What I felt for Adam as a hormonal teenager paled in comparison to the all-consuming love I felt for him as an adult.
It sucked.
“You don’t sound happy. I thought you loathed the idea of spending time in tiny town America,” Damien prodded. “I’m thinking it has something to do with a certain dimpled man you swore you were going to avoid.”
