Page 126 of New York Love Stories: Vol. 2

The tension between us is thick and full of the emotions we both share. I can barely hear Tealey’s quick breaths over my own pulse rushing through my veins.

I love her.God, I love her.I love her more than I ever thought I could love anyone.

“Tealey . . .”

She pauses, hesitation warring in those sparkling blues. Finally, as I shove my hands in my pockets to stop from reaching out to her, she pulls the door open a bit wider.

Her eyes dart to the floor as if looking at me is too hard. “Jackson went for a run. If you want to come in for a minute, that would be okay.”

Relief swamps me as I try not to overreact. “I’d appreciate that.”

She moves away from the door as I enter, keeping a wide distance between us. Not having her pressed against me in our usual greeting is another dagger in my heart and a reminder of all I’ve lost.

All we’ve lost.Because my actions caused Tealey to lose, too.

She moves to the leather couch, where it looks like she’s been camping out. Stuff is littered across the coffee table, from soda cans to snack wrappers, balled-up tissues, and a paperback book.

Closing the door behind me, I take the opening as an opportunity to lay out the rest of my case. Though I’m not sure where to sit or if I should stand. I’m thinking right next to her probably won’t go over well, so I sit in a chair on the other side of the coffee table from her.

She settles into the cushions and then twists her hair on top of her head, fastening it with an elastic before she rests back. Gnawing on the inside of her cheek, she toys with the belt of her robe and then takes an audible breath. “Go on.”

“Do you have any questions for me? Anything on your mind?”

She glances away with a look of annoyance filtering through her features. “Too many to bother asking at this stage.”

“What stage is that?”

“The one that has us going in reverse instead of moving forward with our own lives.”What is my own life without her? Doesn’t she see?

“I don’t want that,” I say, trying my best to stay calm and not just blurt out that I love her. She needs to be heard, especially after what I put her through. So, I let her lead.

She furrows her brows, seemingly baffled. “You don’t want what? The reverse or the forward?”

“Either. Neither option works for me.”

She arches a brow. “Well, this isn’t only about you anymore.”

“It never wasonlyabout me. I tried to do my best for everyone who wanted a piece of me and failed miserably.”

“You failed because you focused on the stuff that was always going to come back at you negatively. Such a tangled web you weaved.” She pushes up, her back stiffening. Her hands clasp together in front of her chest. “You had me, Rad. You had me and chose to lose me over what you keep calling a charade. Getting engaged goes beyond a faux romance that was supposedly performed for Marlow’s dad.”

Taken aback, I stare at her, now knowing why she was so upset. “You heard I was engaged?”

The question makes her bristle. “Every guest heard you were engaged, that you made it official with Marlow down on the beach before the wedding.”

What the fuck is going on?“Who’d you hear that from?”

She crosses her arms over her chest again. “Doesn’t matter,” she says pointedly.

Now everything makes sense. “It sure the fuck does matter. Someone telling you something that they had no right to say is my fucking business.”

“Not if it doesn’t change things.” She summons a deep breath, but it’s shaky. “An engagement is a declaration of your love,” she says, her voice sounding wistful. “It shows the world you’ve found your soul mate.”

I thought we were on the right track. My heart beats faster, like I might be given the chance that I so desperately want. That I need. To have it lost in an instant based on gossip . . . I’m to blame. I’m the one who hurt her. It’s because of me that she would even believe that lie.

Then her eyes pin me to the couch. “Rad, you talk a good talk, but it was about walking the walk as well. You and I were always sitting on the same side of the table. We had nothing to protect from the other. We were on the same team. Team us. But just when I thought we were really coming together, you turned against me. You just didn’t give me the courtesy of knowing your feelings had changed.”

“We were on the same team. We are. We still are, Tealey.”

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