She glanced around the room, like she was taking it in for the first time. “And you’re okay with this…ordinary life?”
“Yes. Because it’smine. I chose it. And I choose her.”
Her gaze flashed back to him. It took her a few moments, but finally she nodded. “Well…I’m not going to stand here and fight for you to see my worth. Obviously, I can’tmakeyou marry me. I’ll leave.”
Just like that? It felt too easy. “I wish you nothing but the best, Bronte. And I’m sorry that I wasn’t more direct with you. I shouldn’t have assumed my parents would get the picture and break things off for me. That was wrong.”
“Yeah.” That was all she said.
He stepped into the hall.
There would be repercussions from his parents for what he’d done. But he didn’t care. Everything he’d said to her was true. This was his life, and he was living it on his terms.
Bronte hadn’t been devastated, of course. More bewildered. Hopefully him choosing more for himself would encourage her to do the same.
When he reached the car, he pulled out his cell and texted Polly.
Joel: Hey. Just checking in. You doing okay?
Their kiss from the previous night had been playing over in his head all day. And it reminded him of exactly what he was fighting for.
Her.
Them.
A future together.
Polly: It’s been interesting. And busy. Any news about Jonah?
Joel: Not yet. Hopefully soon.
He’d just hit send when his phone rang. It was his mother.
Well, that news had traveled fast.
He didn’t answer. He needed to get to work, and whatever they thought they needed to say to him…they didn’t. He’d told them not to contact him again, and he’d meant it.
Polly was his priority. His team was. And keeping this town safe.
20
“Ican’t believe your mother pulled this off,” Maggie breathed, gaze darting around the bar.
“There was no talking her out of it.” Which was crazy. Her mother and Jonah hadjustbroken up, literally days ago. In her opinion, her mother was being a drama queen. But when Olivia Mack wanted something, she made it happen. “I didn’t want to enable her by helping too much, but?—”
“You still blew up the helium balloons and wrote ‘hashtag freedom’ on them?”
“Hey. You did too.”
Maggie chuckled. “Guess we’re both suckers.”
Polly grinned.
Her mother had wanted to label it a divorce party. But she wasn’t divorced yet, so she’d gone with a breakup bash. She’d stuck with the black dress code and bite-size sandwiches. They’d even been able to find a blank sash that Maureen had then embroidered with “almost single and ready to mingle.”
It wasn’t technically true. Her mother was far from ready to mingle. But this was a good distraction, and not just for Olivia. Her mother racing around to organize it had allowed Polly tocompletely bury her head in the sand and ignore everything going on with Joel and Jonah and the mystery killer in town.
Dusty stopped beside them, his white beard so long it brushed against the tall table. “So this is a divorce party?”
