Page 3 of His North Star
I held my chin up at an angle. “No.”
“Come on.” He nudged me with his elbow. “I don’t like seeing you unhappy, and the best way to get over a broken heart is to get out and have some fun. It’ll take your mind off Blake. I’m not saying you should jump into another relationship. I’m only suggesting you get out. Besides, even Lys likes him.”
That had some merit. I trusted Ty’s girlfriend, Alyssa, more than I trusted him when it
came to tastes in men. But I had no desire to meet the next victim Ty had lined up. Blake had crushed me. Completely and incomprehensibly. The process of picking up the pieces of my heart took time. So, yes, I went on forced dates to appease Mom and Ty, but my heart wasn’t in it.
“The answer is still no,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Why are you so mean?”
I’m the mean one? Had he met his cousin? “Why are you so stubborn?”
He clasped his hands out in front of him as if he were praying. His eyes were wide,
pleading. “Just come out with us tomorrow night. No pressure. I won’t even tell him it’s a date.”
“I hope you three have fun, then.” I stood and stared out the side window. My distorted
image stared back at me in the reflection.
“Please?” He joined me at the window.
“No, thanks.” I turned to look up at his face, his tall frame forcing my neck back.
“You need to get back out there. Even if it’s just to socialize. Please, Mare Bear?”
Blast him for using my childhood nickname in that gentle tone to get to me. I gazed at the flecks of gold scattered like stars across his emerald eyes. Usually, I’d do anything he asked of me.
I released a sigh. “I really, really don’t want to.”
“I don’t like seeing you so sad.”
“I know you don’t.” My anger deflated. “But I need time.”
“How much longer will you need? It’s been three months already.”
Already?He didn’t get it. He’d never been engaged before. Never offered his heart to another to hold and keep. Blake took my heart, that I willingly gave him, and laughed. He mocked my gift, chewed it up, and spat it back in my face. Then walked away as if I were a pathetic pawn he’d taken pleasure in toying with.
I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms against my chest. “Oh, please, wise one. Tell me how my life must play out according to you? How quickly should I move on?”
He smirked. “Blake’s an idiot. He wasn’t the one for you. End of story. Why live in the past?”
“You make everything sound so cut and dry. It’s not.” He didn’t know the real reason I struggled with my breakup. I hadn’t told anyone the entirety of what happened out of shame for not seeing Blake’s lies earlier. Even Mom only knew a little.
He went back to the couch and spread out, occupying the entire loveseat. “And you make everything sound so dramatic.”
I scoffed. “I’m not, and you know it. Wouldn’t your heart take some kind of a hit if you broke up with Lys?”
“It’s a moot point.”
“You’ve been dying to say ‘moot’ all day, haven’t you?” I smirked.
He chuckled. “Guilty.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed along with him. Our humor naturally subsided, and we fell into a comfortable silence. Really, though, how could he move on so fast after a five-month commitment?
Hold up.
