Page 89 of His North Star
“What I’m trying to get at,” he said pointedly, “is that he’s been so in love with one person that everyone else was just a distraction.”
Was it Jen? My stomach curdled. It had to be her. Ty said she had a boyfriend when she first came to the firm. If she was single now, his timing with Lys made sense, especially if they’d been working on The Peak listing together. But why did Charlie think I had to know? And that it had to beright now?
“Okay?” I asked.
“It’s time you both stopped dancing around your feelings and just admit you love each other.”
My eyes bulged. Short gasps of air seized my lungs.
“I. . . I. . . I. . . don’t even know what to say.” A knot formed in my stomach. Ty didn’t love melike that.
“You know why he really bought this house, don’t you?”
“Because it wouldn’t sell.”
He looked at me like,really? “You fell for that, did you?”
My brows pulled together. Well, not anymore. “Why did he buy the house?” I asked, my voice a hoarse whisper.
“To be close to you.”
My pulse pounded in my ears. Charlie spoke the truth earlier. This information should be shared by Ty, not him. This big of a revelation,ifhe was even accurate, had no place coming from Charlie. He could be speculating. Pushing his wishes onto us. I could recall countless times parents, teachers, and friends had commented that Ty and I would end up together. What rule out there dictated that two people who were best friends since childhood would inevitably become hitched? Besides, he only loved me like a sister.
I raised my chin. “No. He bought it because it was a good investment.”
He laughed as if I were naïve. “You picked the kitchen design.” It was a statement. An accusation.
“Ty asked for help selecting between two options. I chose the one that appealed most to me, but he had final say on each item. I don’t even know exactly what it will look like when it’s done.”
“It’s going to look like the picture he showed you. Right down to the faucets and lantern lights.”
Why did Charlie know the details of the conversation Ty and I had?
It was as if a bullhorn blared in my face,because he’s right!
His features softened. “I hope one day you are confident enough to say what you actually feel. You both deserve happiness, and if you can’t see that it’s with each other”—he shrugged—“well, then, I guess a life of misery is what you prefer.”
With that, he left me in the closet.
Ty was a friend. Not a boyfriend. Not the future.
Unless.
I unlocked my feelings for Ty, letting them burst free. Allowed myself to see Ty as my partner in all things. Just like when he showed me the nursery, and when we danced in my kitchen, and he held me while I told him about Blake. Not in six years as a backup, but sooner (once my heart was somewhat back together). Coming home, here, every night to him. Curling up on the couch together. Goosebumps rose on my arms.
My fingers absently rubbed circles against the denim I held. I was in no place to go after Ty right now. If he honestly felt that way about me, he had to say it. I wouldn’t be the first. I was damaged. Weak.Not good enough.
But Ty was. He always had been. Regardless of what I overheard. Or what Charlie stated. If Ty really loved me, it would be up to him to make the first move.
CHAPTER 23
“Maren, my dear, how good it is to see you!” Phillip said, crushing me in his arms. For being almost seventy, his grip remained strong.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long. Life’s been crazy at work lately.”
“No need to apologize. I can understand that.”
He had five extra decades of experience over me. I had zero doubts he empathized with everything I’d gone through the past year.
