Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Again, that’s because I thought telling you meant the end of everything. On top of that, these past few days were pure chaos. And then all of a sudden, the wedding was here, and your son arrived with the jerk he’d been banging while we were a couple. I didn’t want you to find out the truth from Brad, so I was hiding from him.”
“So, when exactly were you going to tell me you’d dated Brad, and that you approached me initially to get back at him? On our ten-year wedding anniversary?”
My voice shook with emotion as I exclaimed, “It’s cruel to joke about that! I really, really like you, and some ridiculous part of me started to think maybe we could end up together. That’s why it was agonizing—keeping this secret, thinking it would destroy us when it came out, and then finding out you fucking knew, almost this whole time.” My voice broke at that last bit, but I refused to let myself cry.
Malcolm’s rigid posture relaxed as he said, “I’m sorry. I had no idea you were struggling with that. I just assumed you were staying on track with your plan, and like I said, I was holding on to the hope that you’d open up to me eventually. Now I get why you didn’t do that—because you were worried I’d break up with you. But even if I hadn’t already known your secret, I never would have done that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m crazy about you, Daniel.”
I shook my head and blinked to fight back tears. “That can’t be true. I lied, right from the start. I’m a bad person.”
“No. You’re not. You were hurt and angry because of what your ex-boyfriend did to you, so you decided to get back at him. Was it a good decision? No. But you’re human! It’s not like any of us make great choices all the time, especially when our emotions get the better of us.
“And you didn’t go through with your plan. In fact, you went out of your way to hide from Brad, because you didn’t want to wreck what you and I were building. You chose me over revenge.”
“Of course I did, and I’m so sorry for keeping that secret from you. I wish I could go back in time and change things, because you deserved the truth, right from the start.” I looked away and murmured, “You’re the kindest, most wonderful person I’ve ever met, and I can’t imagine what you could possibly see in me.”
“Then let me spell it out for you. You’re sweet and considerate, and there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for the people you care about. Just look at the way you took care of me when I had that migraine, or the way you stepped up with my sister’s wedding prep. You went way above and beyond to help, and that speaks volumes about the kind of man you are.
“You’re also fun, and interesting, and unpredictable, in the best sense of the word. When you climbed over that fence and into my life, you shook up my world. And let me tell you, it desperately needed shaking up. I was burned out and uninspired. The music that used to fill my thoughts had gone silent, and when I lost it, I lost myself. Then you came along, and it was like you turned up the volume on my life. All of a sudden, I could hear the music again.”
Malcolm pulled something from the pocket of his tuxedo jacket and held it up to show me as he continued, “This is a song that’s been bouncing around in my head all day. I finally had to grab a cocktail napkin and jot it down. That’s what you’ve done for me.”
“It could be a coincidence,” I muttered. “Maybe you just happened to move past your writer’s block around the time we met.”
He shook his head. “No. I know for a fact that’s not the case.”
“How can you be so sure?”
There was raw emotion in his voice when he told me, “Because all the songs are about you, Daniel. Every last one of them.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and whispered, “That’s the best thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“Now, will you please get in this boat and let me rescue you?”
I held my hands out, and he took them and helped me climb from my boat to his. Then he cupped my face between his hands and kissed me, and it was full of love and hope and optimism.
I hugged him and asked, “What do we do now?”
“We go back to the lodge, eat a lovely meal, and dance at my sister’s wedding.”
“I doubt Joy’s going to want me there after all of this.”
“Joy’s perfectly fine. After you left, she completely took control of the situation. Her mother-in-law started to complain, but Joy shut her right down. It was like, once pulling off a perfect wedding was no longer an option, she could finally stop pretending to be the perfect daughter-in-law. She could just be Joy, who it turns out is a real bad-ass. That’s also who Felix fell in love with in the first place.