He frowned but remained silent.
“Dad and I go to your family Christmases and Thanksgivings. Your brothers start to feel like my family, and my dad starts to feel like yours.”
“I like that world.”
She dragged her gaze back to the moon. It was so bright against the dark night sky. “It doesn’t exist.”
“It could.”
Could it? After everything? “In another life, maybe we could have gotten it right. But we live in this one. And in this one, love wasn’t enough.”
“It wasn’t that love wasn’t enough, Callie. It was that I loved youtoo much. I needed you tolive.”
Her belly contracted. Then it rolled and twisted, making her feel so unsettled that she quickly pushed to her feet. “I should get back inside.”
She’d only taken one step before he grabbed her arm.
She didn’t want to look up at him; each time it was too hard to look away…but she did.
“You gave up on us and ran,” he whispered.
“Igave up on us? I felt like I wasdrowning. It hurt to breathe! Then I realized I had to let go or get dragged under. So I let you go, Lock. I let you go because I had to.”
Instead of releasing her, he inched closer, his fingers slipping up her arm. “I don’t think either of us let go. Not really. Regardless of where we were in the world, we’ve always been tethered to each other. I’m here now. We’rebothhere. And we care about each other. That has to mean something.”
The truth of those words felt like a kick to the belly. “I’ll always care about you, Lock.”
He lowered his head, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again. He didn’t. His cheek grazed hers, the warmth of his skin slipping inside her, before he whispered, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait as long as you need.”
Tell him now. Tell him what happened.
She opened her mouth, begging the truth to set itself free. Begging those words he deserved to hear to finally come out.
“Yo, is Jake out here?”
Lock cursed and stepped back. He turned and yelled something back to the guy, but Callie was already retreating.
What was she thinking? Had she really been about to break the news to Lock of the worst night of her life at his brother’s engagement party? When there was music and drinking and dancing just a few feet away?
Jesus.
She jogged back to the house and stepped inside so quickly she ran straight into Hamish. The cup of beer in his hand spilled all over her chest.
She gasped and stumbled back, the cool liquid seeping through the material of her top, onto her skin.
Hamish’s jaw dropped. “Callie! I-I’m sorry. I didn’t s-see you.”
“It’s my fault.” She weaved around him and down the hall.
Aspen’s eyes widened when she passed her. “Callie?”
She kept moving, needing to be away from the crowd and the noise. She didn’t get a chance to close the bathroom door before Aspen slipped in after her.
“What happened?” her friend asked, the second the lock clicked.
“I walked into Hamish and—”
“No, not the beer. What happened outside? I saw Lock follow you out there, and now you’ve lost all the color in your face.” Aspen stepped forward, voice quieting. “Talk to me, Cal.”
