Page 51 of Always a Roommate
Her lips twisted in distaste. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.” She froze. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
I should have anticipated that question. “I don’t know.”
“I think I do. You knew it wasn’t right, and getting the family involved would have made it a thing.”
“It was already a thing. We were engaged.”
She reached across to touch my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. I didn’t end up having to marry her.”
Her lips curved at my outburst. “Well, that’s good then. Why are you telling me now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Again, I think I do.” She grinned, proud of herself.
“You just know everything, don’t you?” I grimaced.
Finley nodded. “I really do. Okay, so you didn’t actually want to marry Diana, right?”
I shook my head.
“But you two were together for a while, so it’s only natural to mourn the end of the relationship.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she held up a hand. “Even this long after the fact. You haven’t dated anyone since her. I think telling me, or anyone in the family, is your closure. It’s this secret you’ve been keeping, and it’s out now. So, you can move on.”
“Move on…” I knew my sister, knew her notions of moving on and romance. She’d had three broken engagements—all of which made it all the way to the altar—before falling for Knox.
She grinned, and the look in her eye scared me.
I was saved by Tanner dropping into the seat beside Finley. Johnny sat next to me.
The waitress appeared a moment later, and they both ordered.
“So,” Johnny said, “what are we talking about?”
Finley clapped her hands together. “Shane wants to start dating.”
No. That was definitely not what I’d said.
Finley and Johnny had spent almost the entire dinner talking about what kind of girl I needed. Someone sweet, Finley said. Johnny thought I’d look good with a blonde, but Finley hit him on the back of the head for adding looks into the equation.
According to Finley, she had to be nice, maybe a cat owner. A single mom would be good because I wanted kids.
How she knew that, I had no idea.
But as they’d listed traits that were so completely opposite of the girl I’d spent the last week thinking about, a flash of auburn hair filled my mind.
Eventually, Finley had to leave to meet Knox, and Johnny claimed he had to do something for work, leaving me alone with Tanner, who’d been suspiciously quiet during a conversation that was right up his alley.
We walked out together and stopped by the side of his car. “Hey, you need any help at the Hut tomorrow?” I asked. “I’m taking a personal day because the inspection of the house I’m buying is in the morning. Then, I’ll have some free time.”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, only stared, until he blew out a breath. “No. There’s not really much we can do until the money comes through.” Something was off in his voice, and it worried me.
Tanner was supposed to be the happy Kelly, the one full of smiles and jokes. He was supposed to leave the doom and gloom to me.
I told myself he was just tired. We were all allowed to have those kinds of days, but as I drove home, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong.
When I walked in, Rae looked up from where she sat on the floor of the living room, her computer perched on the coffee table. Gone was the mess of a girl from the day before. This was the Rae I knew, the perfectly made up one who was still beautiful but in a different sort of way.
