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“Because for three years we were happy enough, we both wanted children, and getting married seemed like the thing to do.” She gave a shrug. “There isn’t a heck of a lot of options in a town like Harlow. Wow, saying that out loud sounds so stupid now. He loves me. I know he does. Hell, I love him too, but love isn’t enough. Not in this instance, and not in the way either of us needs.”
Emilia stared at the dusty ground, her tummy heavy like she’d swallowed a basket full of rocks. Not only had she put on an angsty show yesterday, but she’d busted up an engagement. For fudge’s sake! Next, she’d learn she’d had an unwitting hand in killing someone’s much-beloved puppy…
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—”
Sarah scoffed, one side of her lips ticking up. “No, you didn’t. You didn’t break us up, okay? Well, technically you did, but Blaine told me the minute you arrived in town. He told me about your history together. Told me it wouldn’t change anything between us. Except, no matter how much he wanted to play the hero here and continue the loving fiancé act, I knew right away where his heart really lay.”
Emilia’s blood ran instantly cold. She moved to speak but couldn’t produce a word.
Sarah gave a soft chuckle. “You look more devastated than me. Listen, I was the one who said we needed to take a break from each other, that I would step back until Blaine came to a decision on his feelings for you. I’ve always felt like something held him back, like he’d been trying to let go of some last threads of hope, that he would have settled down way earlier if that weren’t the case. And now I know what held him back. Or should I say, who? So maybe your emergence has spared everyone from making one really big mistake. God, I hope so.”
Emilia’s mouth slipped open, her ribcage slamming tight, so much so the air in her lungs fell through her lips in an audible sigh. Hearing Sarah’s take on all of this was an out-of-body experience. “W… why would you step aside like that?”
“You mean besides him telling me he’d never gotten past the idea of what could have been?” Sarah quirked one corner of her lip, a mischievous glint entering her eyes, like maybe she’d had a little more time to find the humor in all of this.
Meanwhile, a cold shiver crept into Emilia’s bones, and she marched past Sarah and toward the Pinto, hiding a flush of guilt and her desire to be away from this tough conversation.
“Emilia?” Sarah’s hurried footsteps crunched over the rocky path, her voice lifted. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Emilia kept her face angled away, half choking on her reedy words before spinning around to look at the woman whose life she’d just wrecked. “I… I’m sorry, I’m not sure I heard you right. Lots of people have a ‘one that got away,’ but that doesn’t stop them from moving on. You’re saying Blaine stalled on getting married because… because of me? It’s been ten years, and look at you, you’re perfect. You have so much more going for you than I do. Isn’t this all just a bit crazy?”
Sarah gave a light shrug, the planes of her face smoothing out. “Aggie’s husband died twenty years ago, and she’s never moved on. She’s always said she never had the desire to. It’s not unthinkable Blaine might feel the same about you.”
Sarah’s even tone jarred against Emilia’s rattled nerves. She shook her head, balling her hands at her sides to keep from clapping her palms over her ears. “No. No. That isn’t right. I’m sure Aggie spent decades with her husband. We were together for just over six months, and I ruined Blaine’s life. There’s no way—”
“Seriously, what is wrong with you?” Sarah stepped closer, the muscles around her amber-green eyes drawing into a tight squint like she studied Emilia in some kind of new light. “The man’s spent years pining for you, and you just happened to have the extraordinary chance of meeting again. The other night, he slept over and looked after you. He clearly likes you, probably loves you, so you can’t just bow out on him now like there’s absolutely nothing special about any of this.”
Emilia drew back, her voice catching as she tried to speak. “We were just two kids with a farfetched idea of what we thought love was.”
And if anything, her disagreement with Blaine and her hesitance now proved she wasn’t ready to tackle a new relationship. Heck, she’d treated him so poorly, and twice in one day, she deserved his hate. It wasn’t as if she was confident or forward enough to ask for his forgiveness, let alone another chance.
Sarah stalked closer, her long and spindly fingers wrapping around Emilia’s forearm in a gesture demanding undivided attention. “After talking to him last night, and given the look on your face right now, this is more than ‘just two kids’ with no idea what they’re doing.”
Emilia’s throat constricted, but she croaked out a reply as best she could. “You deserve him more than I do.”
Sarah threw her head back and barked out a laugh. “I’d rather be alone than compete for his love, so whether you want him or not, I’m out of this race, got it? Neither of you will find any peace until you prove once and for all whether you can make this work.”
Unshed tears prickled the corners of Emilia’s eyes, her shoulders rounding forward and dragging her usually perfect posture down. She wanted the peace Sarah spoke of, the peace she’d set out on this journey to find, only to be thrown from one ugly surprise to another.
Sarah turned toward the Pinto. “Anyway, we should go. As promised, I’ll organize breakfast for you at the bar, but I’ll say this last thing… If Blaine’s happiness isn’t with me, I hope he finds it with you. So once you’re done at Maynard’s, do me one favor and go to Oak Tree to speak with him.”
