Page 81 of Patio Lanterns

“Please, Robin. I don’t want to talk to you or anyone else right now.”

She stood up. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I can’t stay long. People are due to arrive any—”

He finally lifted his eyes and glared at her. “Then you should probably go.”

“Aren’t you coming?” she asked. “I was really counting on you to be there.”

“Yeah? Well, I was really counting on you to be truthful with me.”

“Me?” Her face crumpled. “What are you talking about? I’ve been nothing but truthful with you.”

“I saw you and Aidan together at his place last night. Don’t bother denying it.”

Robin lowered herself onto the armrest again. “Yeah, I was with Aidan last night, but it’s not what you think.” She released a heavy sigh. “Lark saw you rubbing my neck yesterday, and was immediately suss about something going on between us.”

Aw, shit. He knew that massage was a bad idea.

“So, I panicked. To throw Lark off the scent, I asked Aidan out right in front of her. But I swear, I only did it to protect us.”

“I’m not stupid, nor am I blind, Robin. I saw what I saw. You were in Aidan’s arms, and it sure looked like a lovers’ embrace.”

“A lovers’ embrace?” She choked on a guffaw. “We hugged. That’s it. We’re friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be. I assure you, there was no passion involved whatsoever.”

“But you told me you were obsessed with Aidan.”

“Yeah, when I was fourteen fucking years old. It was a schoolgirl crush, and I went a little overboard,” she said flatly. “Haven’t you ever gone completely gaga for some girl?”

He clicked his tongue, looking up at the girl he’d lost his head over.

She smiled. “Aww, Rick. That is so sweet.”

“No, it’s not sweet. It’s messed up,” he groused. “I feel like such a fool for believing it when you said we had something special. But now I can’t help but wonder if you were playing me this whole time.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” she said, looking hurt.

“Then why didn’t you tell me before you went out with Aidan behind my back?”

Robin’s jaw dropped. “Because it was nothing. We grabbed a burger at Capsized. Then he wanted to show me his place, so we had a beer over there, and then he drove me home.”

Oh.

“You’re right, maybe I should’ve let you in on my plan first. But I swear, nothing happened, nor will it ever happen between me and Aidan. You want to know why?”

“Why?”

“Because Aidan’s secretly in love with Lark,” she said. “And I’m…,” she paused, taking a deep breath as she straightened her shoulders and held her head higher, “…pretty crazy about the guy I’ve been seeing too.”

He dropped his head in his hands. She hadn’t been playing him after all. No one had played him but his own damn insecurities. Now he really felt like an old fool.

“Rick,” she said gently. “I know this may be hard for you to believe, but you’re the one I want to be with.”

His vision blurred with the flood of emotions. He stared straight ahead into what was left of the fire. It faintly glowed hot as it continued to smoulder.

“You’re rock steady and goodhearted. You’re kind, generous, and levelheaded. Basically, you’re everything I wish I was. I love how accomplished you are and how much stronger your life experiences have made you. I love your laugh, I love your smile. I love looking at you and the way you look at me with wonder, like I’m the first star in the night sky,” she said, her voice quivering. “You make me feel like I matter, that I can do anything. You value me for who I am, instead of measuring me only by the mistakes I’ve made.”

Robin’s words rang in his ears before they sank in much deeper, resonating inside his core. He was such a fucking fool for letting his self-doubts run amok, causing him to question her motives and jeopardize the best thing that had happened to him in years.

“I am so sorry, Robin. I’m sorry that I doubted you,” he said. “I just saw you two together and went into this tailspin. I didn’t know what to think.”

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