Felicity blinked. That wasn’t the point of the story at all. How had she gotten that? “What?”
“You have to learn to trust him.” Martha’s expression softened. “In a relationship, there’s always some give and take. You can’t expect him to be the one to give everything, while you’re not contributing or sacrificing. Honey, there’s always sacrificing going on. The trick is to do it out of love, and not resent him for it.”
Martha stood and patted Felicity on her shoulder. “When you’re ready to fully commit to him, you go back to that man and tell him you love him. You belong together.”
She padded off to the gate, leaving Felicity with her mouth open. Of all the nerve. Felicity wasn’t the one who was holding back. Aiden was the one who always put her second. This whole thing was Aiden’s fault.
Wasn’t it?
But as she sat and waited for her zone to be called, guilt surged in her throat. Had she been placing too much on Aiden’s shoulders? Was she not sacrificing enough for the relationship? Was she being unreasonable?
She’d always thought a man should treat his wife like a queen. But what about her? Was she not treating Aiden the way he deserved to be treated?
The conversation from last night echoed in her ears. She’d asked him to give up the resort. What kind of a woman does that? She’d been completely unreasonable. And the worst part? She’d known it at the time.
Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. Why was she doing this? Martha was right. Felicity was just as much to blame as Aiden. And last night Aiden had confessed his love for her, but she’d turned her back on him.
The woman called the last boarding zone and she mechanically stood, staring at the crumpled ticket in her hand, unable to think clearly. Would Aiden forgive her if she ran back to him? Could she humiliate herself that way?
Felicity swallowed, and her vision blurred. What about all the times she waited for Aiden, only to be stood up? Would her life end up being a series of disappointments if she went back to Aiden? The memory of her standing at the courthouse, waiting for him, clutching her flowers and realizing the gut-wrenching truth that he wasn’t going to show up surfaced. She blinked back the tears.
The woman at the ticket desk glared at her then got on her loud speaker to say one more time that it was the last call for boarding the flight. Felicity walked forward.
She was not going to be a doormat.
Chapter 23
Aiden rubbed Mabel’sfur as the dog panted and wagged her tail with pleasure. His back hurt from leaning against the palm tree, but he didn’t really want to sit in the sun. And he didn’t want to go back to his villa. Not with the chance of running into Felicity one last time before she left.
Her words echoed in his mind.It doesn’t change the fact that he can’t give me what I need.
He exhaled and shifted against the scratchy bark of the tree. “Well, this is it,” he said to Mabel. “I told her I love her and she left me. Again.”
The hollow feeling in his chest threatened to envelop him. He’d been rejected by Felicity a second time. And it hurt worse than he’d ever imagined. His throat burned with the pain.
A rustling came from behind him and he turned to see Grams. He thought maybe she’d be mad at him, but she just stood there, a look of calm on her face. “What are you doing?”