Nathan’s steps hesitated as he half turned to face me. “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice less brusque than a moment before. At my nod, he said, “I’ll see you at ho—” He caught himself and violently shook his head once. “Later.”
I watched him leave, wondering what happened between him and Allison. I had enough self-preservation instinct not to follow and ask.
Gemma whistled after Nathan moved out of earshot. “That man isfine. Good work, girl.”
Relief flooded through me at seeing rings on her finger.
Not that it mattered. Nathan could do what he wanted with whoever he wanted, but I didn’t want to see it.
“Oh, he’s not… we’re not…” I rushed to clarify. She eyed my engagement ring. “I’m with someone else.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You know, I just took a batch of brownies out of the oven, if you want to come in.”
“That’s the best invitation I’ve had in days.”
Gemma opened the door to the bakery for me. “I can already tell we’re going to be good friends.”
11
BRENNA
Now
My phone rang asI climbed up the porch steps.
The call I’d dreaded all day.
I sighed deeply, wishing I could ignore it. After the fight at the café this morning, talking with Gemma for hours, and dinner with Derek, my social battery was depleted.
But this conversation with Jack couldn’t be avoided. He was supposed to pick me up from O’Hare about now. I texted earlier to tell him I wouldn’t be on the flight and said it’d be easier to talk by phone.
And apparently, now was the first break in his busy day. I dropped onto the steps, feeling cold seep through my jeans.
“Hey, Jack.”
“Brenna.” His tone was clipped. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”
I fought a sigh. “No, of course not. Sorry, this trip has been… a lot. I didn’t expect—”
Jack cut me off. “What happened? What’s keeping you from our plans?”
I swallowed hard. I knew he’d be upset I wasn’t coming to Chicago. We hadn’t seen each other in person in more than a month, and during that time, our communication in general had tapered. Sometimes, it didn’t feel like I was even in a relationship, more on my own than supported by a partner. I wished Jack could see this wasn’t easy on me, but he placed the blame for our separation solely at my feet. And now with this canceled trip, he couldn’t see beyond how it affected him.
“It’s a long story.” I launched into a recap of the will reading and the stipulations Gordon placed on the inheritance. I spared no detail, except that I was living in the same house as my first love and hanging around with another ex-boyfriend. It wasn’t as if I had much choice in the matter.
“Just sayno,” Jack responded as soon as I finished my explanation.
“What?”
“You don’t need a house or a business in your hometown, so say you don’t want them and be done with it.”
“I can’t,” I blurted out but then remembered Jack didn’t know about my long-term plans for Molly. “I mean, the money would be helpful, you know… with my family.”
“You’re staying with them until they’re back on their feet. That’s what you said.”
The massive guilt—that I was letting Jack down, that I was withholding information he’d hate—settled in the pit of my stomach. He deserved the truth. He deserved someone who would be there for him, someone committed to building a futurewith him. This was why I’d needed to go to Chicago in the first place, to talk to him about our relationship. His disappointment in me, my unhappiness.
It was easier to have it out on the phone thousands of miles apart, but I owed him more. I agreed to marry him. I committed to him. I took that seriously. I wanted to give us one last shot at getting back to a good place. We’d been good once. He pushed me out of my comfort zone. He helped me come alive when I was struggling. He’d made me happy, but now the guilt over not being enough crowded out those good feelings.
