Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
He smirks. “Don’t contain your excitement on my account.”
“I won’t. Promise.” I focus on inhaling my drink.
Garrett leans against the frame of the bookshelf. “I remember Sara saying something about a sticky situation with the best man and Joe’s sister when she asked me but I wasn’t paying attention. I’ve had way too much on my plate these past few months.”
“It’s sticky, all right.” A retort involving Bill’s semen builds on my tongue, but I let it die there. There’s nothing funny about my predicament. I drag my fingertip along the book spines as Garrett did, heading in the other direction, holding my breath, waiting for his punch line.
“It’s shitty what he did to you. What they did to you.” There’s no hint of amusement in his tone to suggest he’s getting perverse joy from my misery.
“Do you even know what they did?”
“I can guess, if Izzy’s involved.”
“Not a fan?”
“It’s not that. It’s just …” His words fade.
I peer over my shoulder to see him frowning at the carpet in thought. “It’s just what?”
“She might not have set out to go after a taken man, but she’d also convince herself it’s okay if he’s the one who instigated it. In the end, it’s about what she wants being more important than anyone else. She can be selfish like that.”
“Are you speaking from experience? Because you seem like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“She had a big crush on me for years, but I was never interested, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Why not? She’s beautiful.”
“She’s bland, and she has no sense of humor. I’d be bored.”
That she didn’t win Garrett over brings me a wave of relief I didn’t expect. “I don’t understand how Sara can be best friends with someone like that. She seems so sweet and kind.”
“She is both of those things, and she accepts Isabelle, faults included. Isn’t that what a best friend does?”
“I guess.” Scarlet has my back, no matter what. And, as much as I am Team Shane, if she decided she didn’t want to be with him anymore, if she got drunk one night and fucked around with another guy, I’d still be her best friend. I’d tell her she’s an idiot, but I wouldn’t leave her corner. “Chicks before dicks?”
He smirks. “For the record, I know she gave Izzy hell when they first hooked up.”
“Yeah, Joe punched Bill and cut him off for two weeks, until that charity event they were all at.” I snort. “Hard to hold a grudge when that person introduces you to the love of your life, right?” I smile sadly. “I used to think Bill was the love of my life.”
“He’s not.”
“Well, that’s super obvious now.” I swallow the lump, feeling Garrett’s eyes on me as I scan the book titles without reading any. “But hey, if they hadn’t hooked up, I wouldn’t have moved to Polson Falls. We wouldn’t have met, and I couldn’t have been a huge thorn in your ass.”
“On second thought, I hate Bill and Isabelle.” He sucks back a gulp of his drink.
I laugh, despite the conversation. “I guess it doesn’t matter who instigated it. They’re together now.”
“But you’re not over him.” It’s a statement rather than a question.
“Believe me, I am so over him. If he came in here on his knees right now, groveling to me, I would never go back.” I mean it, but I also know it’ll never happen. The way he’s going about his life with her in his arms? I’m the furthest thing from his mind anymore.
Garrett’s eyebrows arch with doubt. “Then why did you bolt? You don’t seem the type.”
“Because I’m not over how much it still hurts.” How my heart both aches and feels hollow at the same time. How hard it is to digest that my life has veered in an entirely new direction, and I had no choice in the matter. “Our lives have always been so intertwined. I mean, look where I am.” I throw my hands out beside me. “I can’t get away! Plus, it’s all too fast, you know? We broke up in October, and everyone expects me to just suck it up? I thought we were going to get married. Sure, he was a bit gun-shy when the topic came up, but I figured it was because of his ex-wife, Debra.” I’ve never been able to say that name without it sounding sour. “Turns out it wasn’t her. It was me. I’m not enough. The years I put into that relationship, all the history between us … none of it was enough.” I didn’t expect to blurt out that vulnerable truth so easily, and to Garrett of all people.
Oh no … my bottom lip is wobbling. I tip my head back and down the rest of my drink in one gulp, hoping it will quell the threatening tears.