Page 82 of Sunset Tides
Lillian clenched her teeth. “You know you don’t own me, right?”
“How am I supposed to propose to you if you’re always running off to that island?”
“I’m not running off,” she said firmly. Also, that sounded like a threat, one Lillian knew was a bluff. He never stopped talking about proposing. It was his idea, not hers. “Do you know what today is?”
“March twenty-ninth, which means you’ve been there for over a month and – ”
“It’s the anniversary of my parents’ death. I’m here commemorating it with my mom, and my sisters, and my aunt.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Oh.”
He’d completely forgotten what day it was! And she’d thought he was calling to say something nice.
She waited, and instead of saying something nice he said, “So you’re coming home after that? I leave again next week.”
She had to resist the urge to chuck her phone into the glistening water below. “Do you expect me to always sit aroundwaiting for you to come back from your business trips? Even after you’ve seen what it’s like to be the one waiting?”
“It was never a problem for you before,” he snapped. “If you’re suddenly so unhappy, maybe we should break up.”
She turned around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Lucy was nearby, but she was distracted and giggling with Rose.
It wasn’t unusual for Mason to threaten a breakup. He’d done it a handful of times over the years, usually when Lillian felt like she was at the end of her rope.
It always worked. The idea of losing him was too much, and she’d give in to whatever fight they were having.
Yet for some reason, this time was different. She wastired. She was sick of feeling dread whenever his name popped up on her phone. She couldn’t help but notice how different things were for Lucy – she was bursting with excitement every time she saw Rob, even though she got furious at him at least once a week.
The week prior, Lillian and Lucy had been brainstorming ideas for their mom’s wedding, and it dawned on Lillian that she was more excited to plan that wedding than her own.
Coming to Orcas Island had changed something within her. She’d been away long enough to gather her thoughts and her strength.
Lillian didn’t want to spend her life waiting around for Mason. Nothing would ever be enough for him – enough money, a big enough house, nice enough cars.
Lillian didn’t want any of that! She wanted to spend time with Lucy, and Rose, and her mom and Aunt Becca. She wanted a partner who was interested in her life, someone who not only remembered a day as important as the anniversary of her parents’ death, but did somethingniceinstead of scolding her.
She didn’t want to wait for Mason anymore. She wanted tolive.
“You’re right,” she said slowly, “I think we need to break up.”
He let out a groan. “Oh stop. You don’t mean it. You’re just mad and trying to get your way.”
“It’s not my way, Mason.” She lowered her voice. “Things obviously aren’t working between us, so why are we doing this?”
“Things were working perfectly fine before!”
It was too quiet behind her. She turned and saw Lucy watching intently.
Oh well. She was getting a front row seat to the drama now.
“Yeah, things were fine before,” Lillian said, trying to keep her voice even, “because I was the one making all of the sacrifices. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that everything I do is for you? All of my work stuff is for you, Lil. All the money I’m saving is forus.We need to be responsible about our future. You know this.”
She wasn’t going to get into this argument again. He refused to hear her, and finally, she was refusing to continue explaining herself. “I’m sorry, Mason, but it’s over.”
“Yeah, great. Whatever. Bye.”
He disconnected the call and Lillian stood there, staring into the blue water. It looked so welcoming, but she knew the temperature had to be around fifty degrees.
