I’d lost Olivia Graham. Once and for all, I’d lost her for good.
“Hey.” Dylan waves a hand in front of my face. “You okay?”
I give one quick nod and turn the attention back to him. “That’s awesome, man. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. We’re having a renewal ceremony and reception in Montana in the fall, during the Cougars’ bye week. You, Bray, Cam, Ayden, and Colt will be groomsmen. Jasalie and I are going all in on the public renewal. And you should bring someone.”
I blink. “Who?”
“A date. I told Bray the same thing.”
Brayden shakes his head, his overgrown blond hair falling into his eyes. “Dylan wants those of us who are still single to find our soul mates. I’m not getting into a relationship again for a long time. If ever.”
“You’re a damn liar,” Dylan says to Brayden. “Cam may want to stay single right now, and I get it. I hope he and Amy are still done. But you don’t have an excuse.”
“I don’t need a damn excuse,” Brayden mutters. “Relationships are hard, exhausting, and with little pay-off. I’m happily single and not looking to change that.”
Dylan and I chuckle.
“Good luck with that,” Dylan says to him. “That’s usually when you get punched in the gut by love.”
“No way,” Brayden says. “I’m going solo to your wedding renewal, dude. Like it or not.”
Undaunted, Dylan turns his attention back to me. “J, what about the mystery woman Colton was telling us about when we were in Maine, the supposed reason you moved back to Liberty Falls—can you bring her?”
I clench my jaw.
Colton was a dead man that night.
He’s never come so close to spilling about Olivia. Later, he told me he was extra emotional because the memorial for Ayden’s dad brought up memories of his late father, who passed away when Colton was a teenager. Colton was feeling off, and he was drinking, not a good combination.
He apologized because he knows I don’t talk about Olivia with anyone but him.
Not because I don’t trust the other Wilds, but I wanted to protect Olivia from any judgment or awkwardness, and I knew that the more people I told, the greater the chance of the story getting back to our families. She and I always had an “it’s us against the world” mentality, and we rarely talked to anyone but each other about our relationship.
But life is short, and I’m beyond sick of pretending I’m single and looking when my heart has been with the same girl since I was a kid.
Dyl and Brayden are watching me.
“Are things going okay in that department?” Brayden asks me quietly.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then, “You know, you’ve never mentioned a specific woman from here before,” Dylan says. “Meghan’s from college, and I know it isn’t her, anyway.”
“Right.” I pause, wanting to give them something other than a closed door. So I share a piece of the truth. “The mystery woman I came back for—she’s someone I’ve wanted for a long time, but it’s always been an off-limits sort of situation.”
Brayden whistles. “That sounds rough.”
“Understatement,” I say. “But I’m fighting for her. For us.”
Dylan nods in approval. “Good.”
* * *
After lunch, we stop by Mom and Dee’s house so Dylan and Brayden can visit with the boys.
