“I think you’ll figure it out. You’re getting something most people don’t: a second chance.” He stands and heads to the kitchen, hunting for snacks.
“How do I even go about doing that?” I yell before I follow him.
“Simple. You do what I say.”
I lean in the doorway of the kitchen. “I don’t think I like this plan.”
Owen pulls out a box of Cheese-Its and grabs a handful.
“When you see her again, be ready with solutions. If she’s hesitating, you ask her to marry you again in a less lame way. Either way, she’s probably moving in. And if she’s desperate enough to marry you, you both have a year to figure out if you want to make it work.”
He grins and shoves several crackers in his mouth.
“It’s ridiculous that you make sense while eating like a teenager.”
I’m not going to admit I don’t need a year to figure out if I want to make it work. I know I do.
Regret has caused me more sleepless nights than the farm has.
“You wouldn’t be so stressed about this if you didn’t still have feelings for her. So let’s get a plan in place, and you can move forward. Be happy.”
Sometimes I hate how close Owen and I are. He sees things without me ever saying a word.
I want to erase the hurt I caused her, but I can’t.
But I can work to prove I won’t do it again.
“I’ll make sure a room is empty for Phoebe. I’ll give Chloe my room, and I’ll sleep in one of the other guest rooms. When we run chores in the morning, we’ll brainstorm ideas for a shooting space for Chloe. I’m not sure how to make it work, but we’ll figure something out.”
“There’s the spirit,” Owen says, finally giving up and pulling a Rice Krispies treat from the cabinet.
The back door swings open, a gust of cold air sweeping in with my sister.
“Please tell me you’re joking,” she says, phone in hand and a frown on her face.
“I never joke about marshmallow goodness,” Owen says with a mouthful.
Her gaze goes straight to me—not Owen.
I straighten. “Long day?”
She laughs once, sharp and humorless. “You’re not charming your way out of this.” She raises her phone and angles it my direction. “Owen said you were asking Chloe to marry you.”
Owen freezes mid-bite. “Wow. Way to throw me under the bus.”
“This isn’t funny,” Evelyn snaps, shrugging out of her coat and tossing it on the counter. “You run into her on a field trip, and suddenly you’re making marriage plans? Like nothinghappened?”
“Evie,” I warn.
“No.” She shakes her head, pacing the wood floors once before stopping short in front of me. Her sapphire eyes flash with anger, and surprisingly, hurt. “I watched you fall apart the last time. I watched you shut down, Aiden. I’m not doing that again.”
The words land heavier than shouting ever could.
“You don’t know the whole situation,” I say carefully.
She can’t, because I only admitted it to Owen a few minutes ago. But I owe her the same. After she calms down, she won’t be open to hearing what I have to say now.
“I know enough,” she fires back. “I know that not long after she came to visit, she broke your heart. I know that it wrecked you, Aiden. I know it tookyearsto get you back to something that looked like yourself. And then we lost Mom and Dad, and I lost you all over again.”
