Or not…since he was approaching her with a smile on his face. Could it have been that easy?
“Thanks Annie, I needed to hear that.”
Josh reached for her hand with both of his, holding tightly. She was hovering on Cloud 9, his hands so warm and rugged, just as she had
remembered them. That is until she felt something foreign poking her
between their hands, something that felt a lot like paper…
Oh no.
Dread crept into every corner of her heart. He wasn’t really holding her hand because he wanted to. He was only doing what he’d promised his best friend he would do; exactly what she had planned for him to do. What she felt in her hand was a check. The check Brian sent him to deliver.
How stupid could she have been to think he might actually accept her apology?
She had failed.
Big time.
With no other option, she gracefully accepted defeat, pasted a smile on her face, which he would surely see through anyway, and grasped the check. She fought back the tears, swallowed her pride, and thanked him. Now she only hoped it would all end quickly. She only wanted to lock the front door with him on the other side.
Seeming to read her mind, which was scary but predictable, Josh casually released her hand, simultaneously breaking her heart, and asked the last question she wanted to hear at this moment.
“See you at the wedding?”
Then, without waiting for her to answer, he turned and walked out of her shop. Annie stood weak-kneed until he was out of sight. He had just walked out of her life…again, and it was still her fault. Was this how it felt when lovers died of broken hearts?
For the first time, Annie would be going home early.
***
As Josh steered his Jeep away from the curb in the quaint little mountain town he’d grown up in, he was in shock. He hadn’t anticipated Annie having that type of reaction to his visit. He was pretty proud of himself that he could muster the strength, especially while touching her, which always made him weak and warm all over, to thank her and walk away.
What his heart was telling him to do was wrap Annie in his arms and never let her go but his head protested. He hated the way they’d ended their relationship but in the little amount of time they actually saw each other between their schedules, all they ever did was fight. Nothing he did was the right thing or good enough according to her. He couldn’t recall now how longhe’d even put up with her selfishness before everything blew up and he’d walked out.
The real kicker was that he loved living with her. Before their careers got so time-consuming, they had a lot of fun together. She really had a great sense of humor and knew how to make him laugh. That was one of the many things he found important in a relationship.
He’d also never stopped loving her, and he knew that without a doubt now, after seeing her, touching her again. But could she really have changed? Human nature is a quirky thing. There’s no way he would go back to living that same life again. Loving her didn’t mean he was willing to risk his happiness and the things that were important to him. She’d given a really convincing, heartfelt apology but he wasn’t sure it could be that easy for him. She’d have to try a little harder…years in a relationship that should have been give and take, 50/50—not he gives, she takes.
They needed to open up the lines of communication and talk. A lot.
The reception really wasn’t the place for them to have quiet time alone to hash out their past but what alternative did he have? She looked surprised that he’d allowed her to pour out her feelings and with little more than a thank you, he was out the door. He had to admit he felt a little bad and it was a risk, but he hoped she would still show up for the reception. Annie wasn’t the type to skirt her responsibilities, and her best friend also wouldn’t be happy if she weren’t there.
It was just who she was so she would suck up her pride and paste a smile on her face no matter how hurt she was. He sure hoped anyway, he was counting on it.
Ever since Brian had asked him to do the favor, Josh had been doing a lot of hard thinking about how he could make it work in his favor. True enough he’d been keeping his distance, but he hadn’t any clue what was going through her mind. He’d left her hanging and hadn’t talked to her until today. She’d had a lot to say too, and he’d never expected it. He only wished he hadn’t waited til the day before the wedding to show up.
Since she wasn’t in the bridal party and would be working at the reception setting up the cake, they wouldn’t see much of each other but once he got to the reception, he would make every minute count.
He grabbed his phone and dialed his buddy Brian.
“Hey man, yep dropped off the check.”
He blew out a laugh when Brian asked how it went.
“I won’t lie, I debated long and hard about not going at all and giving you some excuse. I knew your bride wouldn’t be happy if I backed out so I decided to just go through with it. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Annie.”
He listened to his friend while he sat at a stop light waiting to turn.
