Page 112 of The House Guest
“Because clearly it was a mistake, Dorian.”
“What were you hoping to tell me last night?”
She looked down at her feet. “I called off the wedding.”
Holy shit.
She went on. “I couldn’t go through with it. It wasn’t the right decision for me even before you showed up. But after? I was never able to get you out of my mind. And it culminated in a panic attack at my final wedding dress fitting.” Primrose stood and began to pace. “The night I decided to tell Casey everything, he said your name before I had the chance.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
She sighed. “Apparently he’d been looking at my search history and had seen how often I’d googled your name in recent weeks.” She looked away. “I missed you and kept wanting to stay connected. I didn’t feel like it was okay to contact you once I’d told you I was moving forward with the wedding.” She shook her head. “I made a mistake in thinking I could lie to myself.” Primrose took a step toward me. “But you’ve moved on with your life, and I have no right to disrupt things just because I came to theright conclusion at the wrong time. I’m in way over my head here because I waited too long. That’s on me.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t know what to say.”
She nodded. “Much like you needed to see me to tell your truth, I needed to see you to tell you mine. If all I get to do is tell you I made a mistake, I’m still glad I came.”
She stood before me, her eyes filled with vulnerability.
“How long were you planning to stay if I’d been alone last night?”
“A week. My return ticket is in seven days. My daughter is sad that I’m gone. It’s the first time I’ve ever left her. But I needed to do this. I knew you were dating someone, but I guess seeing you with her last night made me realize how serious it is.”
Wait.My eyes went wide. “How did you know I was dating someone?”
She hesitated. “I saw photos on Candace’s social media.”
I took a deep breath in and let it out. “Her name is Liv. She’s at the house right now,” I said. I needed to remind myself of my girlfriend’s existence, considering how consumed I was by Primrose at the moment. “I came over here to see if Benjamin had eggs because I was going to make breakfast. I need to get back before she comes looking for me.”
Primrose fidgeted. “Of course. I’m gonna change my ticket and head back.”
I shook my head. “You can’t do that—not until we’ve had a chance to talk this through.”
She nodded, and I was relieved. I needed to hear more of what was going on in her head, just not right at this moment.
I walked over to the refrigerator and removed the carton of eggs. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Wait for me, okay?”
She hugged her arms and nodded again. I squelched the urge to embrace her. I couldn’t do that, nor could I assure her of anything right now, since it felt like my head wasn’t attached to my body.
As I left the guest house, the sky almost seemed to sway. To think this had started out like any other morning. I’d gotten up early and watched the sunrise, grateful for the life I was starting to reclaim. Little did I know about the storm brewing just across my driveway.
My chest felt raw. I felt terrible for Primrose, coming all the way here only to find Liv and me in an intimate moment. And I felt even worse for Liv because if there was one thing I knew: I was done telling lies to protect people. I’d learned that the hard way with Primrose.
The only question waswhenI would tell Liv what the hell was going on. Would I carry on and make breakfast as if my entire world hadn’t just been turned upside down, or would I come clean the second I looked into her eyes?
When I walked in the house, I still didn’t have the answer. The smell of freshly ground coffee, which was normally a pleasant aroma, turned my stomach. When I entered the kitchen, Liv was pouring what she’d just brewed. With her hair tied up in a messy bun and wearing my T-shirt, she was oblivious to what I was about to hit herwith. I’d gone for eggs and come back with a hell of a lot more than that.
Liv turned, and the moment she smiled, I felt my heart break. It was a wonder the damn eggs didn’t slip out of my hands and crash to the ground. I was barely conscious of anything besides the fact that I was about to break the heart of the woman who’d been mending mine. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her. But there was no way around this.
Her smile faded. “What happened, Dorian? You took so long. Is something wrong with Benjamin?”
I shook my head and stepped toward her.
Liv tilted her head. “What is it?”
There was no easy way to say it. “Primrose is here.”
Liv’s face went white. One of the first things I’d done when she and I met was unload the past five years onto her. She kneweverything, including how broken I’d been when she’d met me, which wasn’t long after Primrose had announced she was moving forward with the wedding. Things with Liv had been platonic before they’d morphed into more. It was the first time I’d allowed that to happen since Primrose, but I’d finally been moving on from her—ortryingto. And now everything I’d known had turned on its axis yet again. How many times could I survive my life being upended?
