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“The fact that she had a panic attack at the mention of being with me. I’ve told her in a million different ways that I care about her, that I’m willing to take things as slow as she needs. The only thing I asked for in return was her heart.”
“She didn’t sayanythingto you? Give you a reason for why she suddenly didn’t want to see you anymore?”
His questions made me pause, thinking back to exactly what Marissa said when she shattered my heart into a million pieces.
“You never thought about that, did you? You were so focused on your pain that you didn’t listen to what she was saying, you ass.” Nolan takes a sip from his glass, his eyes locked with mine as shame fills me.
“I heard exactly what she said. She said that she cared about me.” I finish my second glass and pour another one, hoping to dull the pain, if only for a little while. “That my life would be better without her in it. She’s just scared of getting hurt again, but I’ve told her a million times that I would never do that to her.”
“But actions speak louder than words.”
I slam my glass down on the bar top, the amber liquid splashing on my hands. “I wish I could make it all go away. Her pain. Her fear. I’d give her anything she asked of me in a heartbeat. But she doesn’t or is too afraid to trust me.”
“But have you honestly given her a reason to trust you?” Nolan takes another sip from her glass as I lean forward, barely missing his chin with my fist. “Calm down, man. I know you. I know your feelings for Marissa are the real deal, but does she? You’ve been back in her life for a few months. She had her heart very publicly broken, and I have a feeling that she never truly healed from that.”
“Tell me something I don’t know, asshole,” I growl, throwing back the last of the whiskey in the glass and pouring another one.
“But what proof does she have that you aren’t full of shit?” Nolan takes another step away from me as I lunge forward. “The next time you swing at me, I’m going to hit back. Now sit the fuck down and listen.”
“Remind me again why I haven’t fired you yet?” I growl, plopping back down on the stool.
He completely ignores my question and continues. “Marissa knows nothing about the man you are today. She knows the boy who left town the moment he could, just like her sister and just like the man she planned to marry.”
“But that’s not why I left.”
“You and I both know that, but does she? She only knows what you tell her, but she’s learned not to place all her trust in someone’s words.”
I pause, listening to what he’s saying for the first time since he came into the bar. Marissa and Sutton were thick as thieves. I’d even go as far as to say they were more like best friends than sisters until Sutton left for college. From what Marissa has told me, she’s hardly talked to her sister since she left town. Sutton never even came home for a visit before breaking things off with the cheater and getting engaged to Colt.
Campbell is a slightly different story. Not only did he break her heart and every promise that he made to her while they were together, but he almost immediately married another woman and moved away. Giving someone else the life she always imagined she’d have with him.
“Fuck,” I huff, my shoulder sagging.
“You get it now, don’t you?” he questions, grabbing the bottle and my empty glass. “Actions speak louder than words.”
“I’m an idiot. She thinks I’m going to leave, so she doesn’t want to give me her heart. Not because she’s afraid that I’ll break it, but that I’ll toss her to the side like everyone else in her life has, besides her parents.”
“Now you’re using your brain.” Nolan slaps me on the shoulder, placing a glass of water on the bar in front of me. “She needs to see that you mean everything you say. Show her you’re serious about starting a relationship with her.”
“Keeping all my plans for the future was a mistake.” I drop my head into my hands, and regret and sorrow wash over me. “What the fuck do I do now?”
“Show her.”
It’s like a light bulb goes on in my head as the perfect plan forms in my mind. I check my watch, noticing that it is only slightly after eight a.m.—too early to get too much done, but I can get started.
“I have to go.” I jump off the barstool, stumbling slightly.
“No, you need to chill the hell out for a minute. You just drank your weight in whiskey.”
“But I need to go back to Texas, call the realtor, and—”
“You need to go upstairs, take a shower, and drink some more water,” Nolan interrupts me, coming around the bar and wrapping my arm over his shoulder.
“But I can’t waste any more time! I need to make sure Marissa doesn’t slink back into her shell.”
“She won’t go back into her shell in the next few days. All she needs is a little push in the right direction.” Nolan grunts as he practically drags me toward the stairs leading to the spare apartment. “I’ll call your mom while you pack and shower. I’m sure she’ll have no problem getting you a ticket on the next flight to Texas and calling the realtor to ask her to meet you at your place to sign the contracts.”
“I need to speak to someone about buying the Meyers Farmhouse on the edge of town, too.”
