“Grace.” Rory’s ragged breath exhaled my name. A storm brewed in his eyes. God, why was he always so damn conflicted? So primal and unstable. I couldn’t do this with him again, put my life on hold while I waited for him to get a handle on his. He wasn’t going to. He was never going to… as much as my heart desired it.
“No.” I snapped awake, pushing him. “No. I can’t do this again.”
He took a step back, shaking his head. “I know… I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry. I don’t blame you. You deserve so much better.”
Oh, hell no. Rory wasn’t going to play that game with me. I’d offered him unconditional love. He was the one who couldn’t accept it.
“Stop it. Just stop. I deservedyou, Rory. And you deserved me. It never had to be more complicated than that. You chose someone else, and now I’ve moved on. I have a boyfriend. I’m”—I swallowed the word down hard—“in love with him.”
He studied me with laser-focused eyes. “You’re not. I know you.”
“You knew me before. Past tense. You don’t know present tense Grace, the one you created when you abandoned me. I’m not going to risk a sure thing on the off chance that you might want more than a hookup.”
His eyes flickered with anger. “Like you were ever just a hookup to me.”
It was a mean thing to say. I knew that. We’d been so much more. But that didn’t change a thing. I couldn’t go back and end up with nothing.
“You know I’ll always love you,” I said, my broken words barely audible. “I’ll always want you. I’d always put my life on hold for you. But don’t make me do it, Rory. Don’t make me choose because I can’t survive you again.”
A sharp knock on the door jolted us both apart.
“Grace, are you in there?”
It was Elliott.
I glanced at Rory, witnessing the defiant anger in his eyes and knowing he was one irrational decision away from blowing up my entire world. I placed my finger over my lips, nonverbally begging for his compliance.
Hastily clearing my voice of heartbreak, I replied to my boyfriend, “Yes, I’m here.”
“Well, shite, Grace,” Elliott said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Oh god.” A breath caught in my throat. “Is it Quinn?”
“Yes. But good Quinn news, not bad. He’s out of surgery. Doctors have repaired the damage, and your badass brother is expected to make a full recovery. Now get your tush out here! Everyone’s celebrating.”
My legs instantly turned to jelly, and I would’ve crumpled to the ground in relief had Rory not been there to catch me.
“I… I…” My heart pounded viciously in my chest as I tucked my shirt back into my jeans and fluffed out my tangled hair. “I’m so relieved. I’m coming out. Just give me a second.”
“Take your time. I’ll be here waiting.”
Of course he would be. Elliott was dependable like that.
“Is that him?” Rory whispered.
“Yes.”
“He sounds”—a muscle danced in his cheek—“nice.”
I ignored the contempt. “He is, actually.”
Rory watched as I checked my reflection in the mirror for any telltale signs of cheating.
“And he’s good to you?”
It was none of his business, but since he asked… “Yes.”
Rory nodded and toed the ground. “Then I’m happy for you, Grace. I know you don’t believe me, but that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
