Lucas snorted. ‘I doubt that …’
‘She feels really bad about missing the date, but she didn’t know. Luc, you have to stop blaming people for the bad feelings you have inside.’ Mia’s tone was almost pleading. ‘Why would she do that on purpose, huh? Is she a bad person? Because she seems pretty decent to me.’
Lucas shook his head, but what Mia was saying made sense. He knew that. He knew that he pushed people away when he was struggling or hurt. Willow wasn’t a bad person; she never had been. That was kind of the problem.
Willow was one of the best people he’d ever met.
That was why the disappointment was hurting him like never before.
‘I’ll apologize to her,’ he said finally. ‘I’ll talk to her tomorrow, I promise.’
‘You weren’t always like this,’ Mia whispered, moving closer to him. ‘There was a time when you were more in touch with your feelings. You let people in.’
‘And look where that got me …’
‘It got you further than this ever will,’ Mia replied firmly. ‘You keep pushing and one day you’ll find yourself alone. Do you really want that?’
‘Of course not …’ he croaked.
He would never want that. It was what he feared most.
Mia gently rested her head on his shoulder. The soft voice of Dolly continued to soothe them.
‘I love you, Luc,’ she said finally. ‘But I want my brother back. I want you to be happy.’
‘So do I,’ he whispered back.
It was all he’d ever wanted.
‘I still don’t think Willow and Jake were ever that strong, you know? Especially towards the end.’
Mia and Lucas had moved into the kitchen and were now demolishing the rest of the cheesecake. Johnny Cash was playing, and Lucas was feeling a little more relaxed. The beer had probably helped.
‘Why do you say that?’ Lucas asked carefully.
Mia pushed her plate to one side. ‘That cheesecake is amazing, Luc, seriously! You need to make it again and make sure the whole town knows about it. I could have easily eaten the whole thing.’
Luc nudged her. ‘Enough about the cheesecake. I want to hear your theories about Jake and Willow …’
‘Isn’t he the guy you never liked in school? I’m trying to remember it all now.’
Lucas was playing with his food, no longer feelingparticularly hungry. If he was honest, he didn’t really like to think of Jake at all and especially not when they were all in high school.
It wasn’t good for his blood pressure.
‘Tell me more about this Jake!’ Mia probed. ‘Do you just hate him because he was Willow’s boyfriend?’
‘No, of course not; it’s up to her who she sees. It’s not my business.’
‘Funny …’ Mia teased. ‘Because you seem pretty interested now …’
‘I never said I didn’t like a bit of gossip.’ Lucas shrugged. ‘I assumed they were pretty together until recently, that’s all.’
But did he, really? He couldn’t deny that there had been some kind of weird energy between them ever since she had been back. And what about the day when they had kissed at the lake. And then later, at The Diner – that had gotten really hot real quick. He was still worried that she saw him as some way to get back at Jake, but he also couldn’t ignore the whisper of hope that sat in the back of his mind.
What if this was what she wanted? And he kept messing it up, because he was so damn scared of being hurt again?
He couldn’t deny the heat between them. Willow made him catch his breath like no other person and his heart actually felt like it was about to stop beating every time she came close.
