Page 99 of Best Man Speaking

She rears back like I’ve struck her. “That’s really all this was to you, wasn’t it?”

“That’s not what I meant.” I was right to have worried about only making this situation worse.

“But it is what you said.” Her eyes are once again aflame.

“And I’m telling you, it’s not what I meant. Don’t you need the money for a fresh start? Why should it matter if it comes from me?”

She looks to the ceiling. “I don’t know. If I don’t get to call it home, then neither do you.”

I let out a groan of absolute frustration. “Hallie, you can’t have it all. If you want the house, stay. If you want your new home in Edinburgh, let me be the buyer and take the money.”

She laughs, and her voice cracks with unshed tears. “You’re wrong. I could’ve had it all. I could’ve sold the house, kept thecash, and stayed here to try and start something new. I’d wanted to tell you today I was going to stay with you if you’d have had me. But that was before I found out you’d strung me along. Before you proved once again that I’m not a priority for you. I never was.”

Everything inside of me sinks.

Her plans had included a chance for more with me. Plans I hadn’t wanted to hear, had been too selfish to want to know about, instead just enjoying the here and now. The fact that I hadn’t shared what I’d wanted with her…

Hallie really did deserve better than me; I’d just been too selfish to let her go. All I could do was keep offering her a chance at the world.

All the anger and frustration inside me deflate like they were never there. My reasons for not telling her about the money her dad had offered me disappear. I should’ve tried harder.

“I’m sorry, Hal.” I know the words will never be enough. They won’t make up for the pain I’ve caused her. “I spoke to your dad, and I won’t be accepting any donations from him or his business. But I need you to know the money was never for me. Your dad, he’s been a funder of my charity for a few years now. When he found out you were here, he used the money as leverage. The charity’s important, and I’ve got young people relying on our support. It was their well-being and employment on the line. But I was still wrong. I should never have been prioritized over you, should never have kept it from you.”

She nods her response, saying nothing.

“Will you still stay here?” I ask. “At least until the wedding.” I don’t care if I sound desperate. I want her to stay for a little longer.

I watch as she pulls herself together, her shoulders rolling back and a shuttered, empty look falling over her eyes.

“Of course. I can keep up appearances for Erica and Jules. It’s not like I’ve got anywhere else I can go without making it obvious.”

She’s misinterpreted my words. I open my mouth to say something, anything, but am horrified to realize there’s a lump in my throat.

“Just do one thing for me?” she asks, no longer looking at me. Instead, she gazes out the window to where the sun betrays us by still shining.

“Anything.” I feel nervous at the apathetic tone of her voice.

“I want you to go back to looking at me like you can’t stand the sight of me. At least that way, when I’m looking at you the same way, people won’t question it.”

A chill settles over my skin. I cast my gaze to where she stands, so close and yet so far away. She might as well have already left, and there’s no one to blame but myself. The recognition is the final dagger to my heart, sharp and incessant in its pain. Hallie might be it for me, but it doesn’t mean I’m the one for her. The least I can do is give her what she’s asking for.

“Sure, Hallie.”

Her shoulders tense ever so slightly, but she doesn’t look my way again. Without another word, I turn and leave the room, my heart on the floor at her feet, exactly where it belongs.

Chapter Thirty-One

Hallie

Iwake up Tuesday morning to loud knocking.

I deserve better than this.

Pulling my pillow over my head, I squeeze my eyes shut in the hope that whoever it is will leave.

The noise persists.

“Fine!” I call loudly into the small space.Fucking fine,I continue in my mind. “I’m coming!”

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