Still, Jordan barely looked at her. What was wrong? She could put it down to tiredness or jet lag. Or perhaps he simply just didn’t want to see her. He still hadn’t taken anything from the container.
“Look, I made sure to bring your favourite.” Jordan didn’t like sweet things too much, but he did enjoy a lemon tart. As did she.
“I’m not too hungry.”
Oh. Her heart dipped. Whoever said the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach obviously hadn’t met Jordan. Still, she wouldn’t give up.
“It’s good to see you,” she said softly.
He nodded, finally meeting her gaze for the briefest second, then immediately looking away. But in that second, she’d glimpsed pain and sorrow, and her heart wrenched.
She stepped closer. “Jordan, I had to come see you. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for my behaviour. I’ve treated you so badly, and I’m so sorry.”
His lips parted, like he might be about to say something; then he shook his head.
No? What did that mean? He didn’t believe her? “Really, I am.”
“EJ, I can’t …” He thrust a hand through his hair, tousling the curls that had grown back in recent weeks; then he glanced away, a muscle throbbing in his jaw.
“You can’t what?” She got in his space. “Can’t forgive me?” She blinked back tears. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice broke. “Please? Have a tart.” Maybe that would sweeten him up.
He sighed, and weariness washed across his features. Of course. He didn’t need this from her today. She’d pushed in too hard, too fast, just like she always did. But a lifetime of pushiness was not going to get solved in a week.
She stepped back, placed the container down on the nearby tree stump. “I’m sorry. You’re probably tired still. I … I’ll let you get on with things.”
“EJ—”
“No, seriously, it’s fine. I … I hope you’ll be able to talk to me when you feel like it.”
She swallowed hard then turned away. Waved to Graham as she hurried off.
She couldn’t stop. Had to escape. This was excruciating.
She swiped away tears. Because her worst fears seemed to have come true.
She had broken her friendship with Jordan in two.
Chapter 23
The look on EJ’s face haunted him the rest of the day, then through church the next. He’d been tempted to plead jet lag for not going today but figured that could hardly fly when he’d managed to spend an entire afternoon fencing yesterday. So instead, he’d made sure to arrive late and sit in the back with some visitors on the opposite side of where the Bennetts sat. Then, as soon as the sermon was finished and Pastor Bryan prayed, he stole out the door, knowing that Elinor, on computer projector duties at the back, had seen him sneak away.
And yes, he was being a coward, but he needed time to figure out what to say.
His parents hadn’t asked too many questions this morning, thank goodness. Maybe they’d just figured he was still tired. And he was. He was tired of not knowing how to progress in conquering these feelings for his best friend. When she’d shown up yesterday so unexpectedly, he’d frozen. Earlier, he’d been grateful for the chance to work off his confusing emotions, and then, bam, there she was. A man needed time to figure out what to say. A woman couldn’t come waltzing up in her jeans and boots holding out lemon tarts like she did this all the time.
That wasn’t the EJ he knew. It wasn’t the EJ his parents knew, either.
His phone vibrated with a message. Not EJ. She’d left a dozen messages, but none since yesterday. Which made him wonder just what would happen now.
A tap came at the door. Mum. “Oh, here you are. Look, I wanted to let you know that Elizabeth asked if we could do another bonfire here this Saturday night for Liv and Liam’s engagement party. Did you have plans?”
“No.”
“Good! Well, we’re planning a barbecue and cake, maybe some fireworks if we can get the permit sorted in time. That sounds like fun, right?”
“Sure.”
She frowned. “Jordan, is something the matter? You’ve been awfully quiet ever since EJ came yesterday. Oh, I need to get used to calling her Emma-Jane again. Can you believe it?”
