Then the creak and groan of the porch steps as he moves up.
Glancing down at my phone—he’s a little early—I lock the screen and open the door, even before he has a chance to knock.
“Hey.” His eyes widen with surprise. His lips, curling into a kind smile. But it takes only a single second for his expression to fall. “Wait. What’s wrong?”
“What?”
Hestalks forward and cups my face in his hand, dragging his thumb across the top of my cheek. “You’ve been crying?”
“Oh.” I brush him away, gentle despite my rebuff. “No, I’m fine.”
“What happened? Is it your grandma? Is she?—”
“No. She’s fine.”I think. I have no clue. “I’ve been going through my files now that you’ve given us a few names to work with, that’s all. There’s a lot to unpack, and reading about my brother has been kind of hard. You’re a little earlier than I was expecting.” I swipe beneath my nose and take a single step back. “And the rain is kind of disappointing, huh? Maybe we should?—”
“My bed and breakfast owner, Camille, told me about this place out by the lake that has shelter.” He flashes an easy smile. “She knew we were planning to head over to Picnic Point, and could tell I was disheartened at the prospect of canceling, so she gave me directions to somewhere else nearby. Means we can still get lunch and not get rained on. If you still want to go, that is.”
He’s leaving it up to me. While rain pours from the sky, hammering against the grass and creating puddles in Ollie’s pot-holed driveway, Darcy remains a complete gentleman.
“I would really like to spend the day with you, Rose. And if you’re cold, we could change the destination. There’s a diner in town we could hang out in—which’ll come with a constant supply of mediocre coffee,” he snickers. “Or Camille has a nice sitting room at the front of the house for guests. Plenty of coffee there, too. I already packed a picnic lunch, so we can take that wherever we’re going.” His expression drops. “But if you’re not feeling up to it…”
“No. I am.” I take another step back. “It’s okay. I like the idea of going to the diner. I wasn’t expecting you for another half an hour, though, so I didn’t get a chance to brush my teeth.” I cross the threshold and scoop Poppy up before she can escape out the front door. “Give me two minutes and I’ll be ready for you.”
“No problem.” He hovers in the doorway, dipping his hands into his pockets, then pulling them out again. Setting them on his hips, then allowing them to dangle by his side. “You won’t think less of me for being a complete awkward mess, will you? It feels like I’ve gone all the way back to the start. Trying to impress a beautiful woman, kinda terrified she’ll reject me.” He coughs out an uncomfortable laugh. “I know I said that stuff last night about how I’m not worried about this, since you loved me before. But my bravado has slipped a little in the light of a new day.”
“It’s fine.” I scratch behind Poppy’s ears and carry her back another half dozen steps. “Come in out of the rain if you want. I’ll only be a moment.”
“Really?” He gingerly crosses the threshold and glances around. “You sure?”
“Yeah. But this isn’t my house.” I stop at the doorway leading to the hall. “I’m just a guest, so don’t wander around or anything. It’s not my place to allow that.”
“I won’t snoop.” He drops his hands into his pockets again and rocks back onto his heels. “I’ll wait right here, I promise.”
“Great. I’ll be quick.” I spin on my heels and make a beeline for the bathroom, smearing toothpaste onto my brush and setting Poppy on the long marble vanity.
“So what’s with you and Doctor Darling, anyway?” Darcy calls easily from the living room, his tone relaxed. Even as guilt lances through my stomach—since Darcy is, in fact, my fiancé—his question is void of accusation. Not even a hint of bitterness. “They don’t have proper outpatient facilities in small towns like this, so the surgeon has to bring you home?”
I scrub, scrub, scrub my teeth, the paste foaming in my mouth while Poppy tiptoes forward and licks the bottom of the faucet. Turning the tap on, just barely more than a trickle, I let her drink, careful not to dribble toothpaste onto the top of her head. “I was meant to go to this place in the next town over. But he knew I was scared and was kind enough to open his home to me.” I spit and scrub, smoothing the furry aftermath of coffee from my teeth, and when my phone vibrates with an incoming email, I spy Billy’s name on the screen, delivering on his promises quicker than I expected. Rinsing my mouth clean and washing the toothbrush, I toss it into the cup right beside Ollie’s and simply stop.
Smile.
I bathe in my moment of contentment and stare at our toothbrushes side by side.
His is green. Mine is purple. We share a single tube of toothpaste, and beside that sits a bottle of cologne that smells exactly what my happy dreams smell like these days.
Maybe I chose Darcy first, agreeing to marriage and planning a life with him. But I’m not that Rose anymore. I’m not the woman who loved him. I’m me, and as I stare at myself in the vanity mirror, my eyes pink from tears and exhaustion and still, glittering with the million colors I’ve never really been able to see—but Ollie can—I know I won’t choose Darcy a second time.
He’s confident I will. Certain we’re meant to be together.
But I can’t imagine a world where Ollie exists all the way over here in a tiny town called Plainview, and I’m somewhere else… with someone else.
I don’t accept it.
I love Ollie. I love our cat. I love our joint tube of toothpaste, and I lovethat instead of tossing away the mug I chipped way back when I first came to stay here, he repurposed it, bringing it to the bathroom and making itourtoothbrush holder.
It’s better than a giant diamond ring, as far as I’m concerned.
Turning off the tap and wiping my mouth with a towel, I scoop Poppy up in one hand, and my phone with the other. I pat my back pocket to ensure I have everything I need, then spinning on my socks, I charge back along the hall and step into the living room to find Darcy standing between the couch and the coffee table, his head tilted at an angle that makes reading the topmost files easier.
