“Wait,what?” That was the most nonsensical… “He was marryingyou,Aim. He probably barely even noticed that—”
“His best friend stopped returning his calls?” she asked ruefully. “And forgot his birthday? And didn’t come to his wedding? Yeah, right. You’re not an idiot, Jay, but I’m pretty sure you’ve acted like one where Rafe was concerned.”
“Nonsense.” I swallowed. “Ineverforgot his birthday.”
“Okay. But you never bothered to text him happy birthday either, so what was he supposed to think?”
“I… hadn’t thought he’d care much at all.”
But even as I said the words, I realized how ridiculous they sounded. Even if he’d been in love with Aimee, he hadn’t suddenly forgotten my existence from one day to the next. My stupid jealousy had made it feel like a zero-sum game… but it hadn’t been.
“If you love me, promise me you won’t waste this one golden opportunity to make things right. Lay your cards on the table, Jay. Tell him how you feel. It would make me feel way less guilty.”
“Guilty? What could you have to be guilty for?”
She sighed. “For all the things we’re gonna talk about when you get here?”
“You’re infuriating.”
“Back atcha. ‘Cause here’s another piece of crucial info it seems like you haven’t figured out yet: it should always have been you with Rafe. And I swear I didn’t realize it until now, but if I were a betting woman, I’d say he wished it had been even then.”
My heart literally skipped beats—one,skip,two, skip, skip—and my head whirled like the wind whipping through the trees beyond the parking lot. I clenched my free hand into a fist so my nails dug into my palms, but even the pain couldn’t convince me I wasn’t dreaming.
“Uh. No. That’s not… accurate,” I blurted desperately. She hadn’t seen the way Rafe carefully folded her letter. The way he’d dropped everything to go to Wyomingon a planefor her. “He loves you. You loved him.”
“Still do, but… not romantically,” she said weakly. “Ask him.”
“Ask him? Ask him what? Jesus, Aim. I asked him to tell me what was wrong with you and he wouldn’t tell me a damn thing because he’d made a promise to you. He made it seem like I was asking him to divulge state secrets. And you want me to ask him if he’s in love with his ex-wife?” I laughed, a short, desperate little sound.
“Exactly. Ask him exactly that.” Her voice was fading. “Tell him I said to tell you everything. That the secrets are over. And tell him I said to stop being an idiot and rememberwhyhe made that promise to me in the first place.”
I sucked in a shaky breath. “But I—"
“Well, well,” another voice—a teasing,malevoice—said on Aimee’s end. “Looks like April was right. You’re supposed to be resting, babe.”
Babe?
“I’m laying in bed. Can’t get more restful, Doc.” Aimee’s thready voice carried a fond, flirtatious tone I’d never heard her use in her life… not even when talking to Rafe. “And I’m speaking to Jay.”
“Finally,” the man said.
“Aimee? Who’s that?” I demanded. “What’s going on?”
“Jay, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you when you get here, okay? Talk to Rafe,” Aimee whispered. “Love you.”
“But—"
She disconnected… and the heavens opened.
I stared at the far side of the portico, where Chet was hanging up the pay phone dejectedly. Fat droplets of rain speckled the back of his shirt and the ground around him. Chrissea clearly wasn’t relenting, and Chet looked a little lost.
I totally understood that.
I stared down at the phone in my hand and took a deep breath. My fingers trembled. I’d wanted Rafe Goodman forever, and I’d gotten used to the idea that I couldn’t have him. The idea that he ever might have felt the same way about me was… was….
I had no word for it. It scared me to death. It made me angry. It made me feel stupid. It made me feel… hopeful.
I pressed my fingers into my eyes. It was like the Universe was saying,Hey, Jay! There’s a chance everything you ever wanted could maybe happen!And there I was, shaking like a leaf.
