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Dianna scowled. “That’s none of your business.”
Her hands came up and she laughed. “But you say it. You know what’s holding you back. So let me ask you something else. Are you being held back for a good reason, or are you being held back by fear?”
Her arms folded tightly across her chest and she stepped back from her sister, not liking how easy it was for Brielle to poke her in her most vulnerable places. “Fear is a good reason.”
Brielle shrugged. “You are allowed to have that opinion. But what would you tell that kid you’ve been working with if he said the same thing?”
And just like that, Dianna’s arms dropped to her sides. Brielle’s point had been made. She’d sliced through all of Dianna’s defenses, making her look like a coward.
“Fear is what drives us, Dianna. Fear is what makes usdomore.Fightmore. Go after the things that are worthmore. There isn’t a historical advancement that wasn’t built on the backs of men who were scared. Do you think those Wright brothers weren’t scared?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “You bet they were scared. But with every failure, they persevered. We don’t gain anything from hiding. Mistakes make you grow. Allow yourself to be uncomfortable for once in your life and reap the rewards.”
Dianna’s mouth fell open. She didn’t shy away from new things as much as she used to. But apparently she hadn’t hid it all that well either.
Brielle’s focus shifted elsewhere, then bounced back to Dianna. “I’m going to find someone to dance with. Just think about it. Tristan isn’t a local. If there is any chance that you will regret walking away from him, I recommend you think real hard about what would be worse. Taking a chance, or sticking with what you have.”
“But he might not even want me after—”
Brielle gave her a small smile. “Guys are easy. I would wager he’s just as miserable as you are. You were the one to break up with him. Set things right and give him a chance to tell you what he wants.” She took Dianna’s hand in hers, squeezed it, then wandered off.
Dianna glanced over to the fireplace only to find Tristan had disappeared. Her heart fluttered and her stomach flipped over. The club had grown more congested during the course of her conversation with Brielle. He could be anywhere.
Her gaze darted back and forth, seeking him out—not that she planned on doing what Brielle had said. She just wanted to have her eyes on him in case he headed her way. Then she could prepare herself for a conversation.
That’s when she saw him. And it wasn’t what she expected at all.
Tristan was chatting with another young woman. One of the girls from town. She smiled and laughed, and they glanced at Mathew who sat nearby with his favorite book in his lap. They were clearly making a connection.
Tristan was smiling, too. That smile he had reserved for her.
Dianna shoved that thought back to the depths of her soul. She didn’t own that smile. Especially since she’d broken up with him.
The twisty, churning feeling in her stomach intensified and nausea overwhelmed her.
The realization hit her like a punch in the gut, and she hated it more than she despised anything else in her life. She’d been a coward. There was no other way to describe it. She’d done exactly what she tried to stop Mathew from doing. And that was getting in her head and stopping herself from finding joy in something.
She missed what she had found with Tristan.
She missed being a person Mathew could count on as more than just a teacher.
Brielle had finally been able to break through the strange walls she’d built around herself and explain things in a way that she couldn’t logically argue with.
And as much as she hated it, she couldn’t walk away from it either.
For as far back as she could remember, she couldn’t pin down a single moment when she’d experienced jealousy. Sure, she’d envied certain people and their abilities, but with a sort of admiration. She’d been able to stand back and acknowledge that these other people were capable of things she was not. She could accept they had strengths where she had weaknesses and the other way around. She was even capable of analyzing certain scenarios and understanding where she fit in all of it.
Right now was not that kind of feeling.
The knots that had formed were hot and tight. They overwhelmed all of her other senses somehow. All she wanted to do at this very moment was storm across the room and push that woman aside. She wanted to face Tristan and demand to know why he wasn’t coming toher. Why wasn’t he fighting forher?
There was a part of her that knew these thoughts were illogical. They had no place in her heart or her mind. And yet they existed all the same.
It was a pretty good thing that she wasn’t immature enough to do any of that. She was strong and independent, and when Tristan was ready to talk to her, maybe—maybe she’d bring up the possibility of trying again.
But what if he told her no?
Well, then she’d do the respectable thing and accept his response. And immediately hurry home where she could eat an entire pint of ice cream and hate how she’d let him slip from her fingers.
Tristan glanced toward her, and their gazes locked like they had several times before. She stood frozen, unable to move, unable to tear her eyes from his. He’d caught her staring.
