“No, it’s not that it didn’t work out. It’s… it’s…” Her eyes blur as she struggles with her words. “It’s just not needed anymore. Thank you for checking in.”
She hangs up, setting down the phone and slowly sliding it away from her, as if creating distance can decrease the pain stirred up by the call.
“Addison?” I say her name softly.
She turns to look at me, her blue eyes bright and a tear stuck in her lower lashes. “That was a wedding venue I filled out an interest form for last year. They wanted to let me know they’d had a last-minute cancellation if I was still interested in having my wedding there.” Her voice is raspy, and so, so sad.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. My hand rubs slow circles on her back.
“I don’t know what to do.” She closes her eyes. “Everything is confusing. I have so many thoughts and emotions, and they all feel so wrong.” Her eyes open and she looks at me.
I wish I could take it all away. All the pain and sorrow. I want to take it all away and replace it with something good.
“Addison?”
She finishes wiping a napkin across her eyes and looks at me.
“I have an idea. Are you in?”
She eyes me for a moment, then nods.
“Let’s take showers, then meet me at my cabin when you’re done. Dress like we’re going on a walk.” I stand up.
“Thanks, Brady.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
She catches my hand. “Yes, you have.”
Without thinking, I lower my lips to her temple and quickly kiss her. It’s not a big deal. It’s an act of kindness, a human touch offered to another person in need.
Except it’s not.
And I think we both know it.
14
Addison
My hand is raised,poised to knock, but it remains suspended in the air. I don’t know what Brady has planned, and I’m nervous.
The call from the wedding venue earlier really threw me.
Is any of this a good idea? Should I be spending time with Brady?
Am I even single? I mean, yes, I am single. For all intents and purposes, I’m single. Warren’s family made certain I knew that if I was leaving their son behind in Chicago, then I was closing the door on ever being a member of their family or marrying their son at all.
As if there’s any chance their son will wake up. I researched, I read, until my eyes were bleary. Here’s what I learned: Warren has a snowball’s chance in hell of waking up.
Still, everything feels unfinished.
Warren’s family thinks they’ve cut the cord for him, but only Warren and I can do that. And at this point, onlyI’mcapable of doing that.
And I have. Sort of. At least, I thought I had. I came to Lonesome under the impression that I was closing that chapter in my life. But then I met Brady, and the attraction I know we both feel confuses the hell out of me. Because alongside the attraction is guilt, and it sits heavy on my chest like an anvil.
The door to cabin seven swings open, even though I didn’t knock. Brady smiles, but it’s not a warm, welcoming grin. Restraint keeps his lips from really curling upward, and his eyes are wary.
“You okay?” he asks tentatively.
