Page 57 of Kane's Awakening
Anna didn’t answer right away. Instead, she sat her tea down and went over to the oven to check the casserole. When one minute of silence turned to two and then three, I started tapping my fingers on the countertop.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked, hating the silent treatment. “Youalwayshave something to say, so spill it. Don’t make me tickle the answer out of you.”
She huffed and flipped around to me. “I think you’re wrong. That’s what I’m thinking. Jesus, Rye. The guy was hurting. A guy—based on what you’ve told me—doesn’t exactly wear his feelings on his sleeve. Ofcoursehe’d retract back inside his shell when things were starting to get serious. However,youare the type of guy thatdoeswear his emotions out in the open, and you aren’t exactly hard to figure out. You love romance, so he knew that was the one thing to hurt you most. To push you away.”
She approached me and took my hands in hers. “You take everything at face value, Rye. You don’t see the underlying meanings.”
“Tell me how you really feel,” I muttered, looking away from her.
Could she be right, though? Had Kane shown his vulnerable side, got scared, and then intentionally upset me to push me away?
“You know I’m right,” she said, releasing my hands as the oven beeped. She took out the casserole and sat it on the stovetop, letting it cool. “Maybe try calling him.”
“Not sure that would be a good idea,” I said, burying my face in my hands and focusing on taking deep breaths, using the three second method that always seemed to do the trick. “I kind of went out with someone else today.”
Metal clanked, and I looked up to see she’d dropped the spatula. “What?”
“I know. It’s out of character for me to jump from one guy to another so fast. But Kane upset me, and I thought I needed to be spontaneous.”
It sounded stupid when I said it out loud.
“Who’s this other guy?”
I told her about Max, and it was weird that I’d been more affected when talking about how Kane had hurt me than I was when talking about my date with Max. He was intelligent, handsome, kind, and funny—basically everything I’d always said I’d wanted in a man, in a life partner.
But he’s not Kane.
“Momma, is dinner ready?” Theo asked, walking into the kitchen and hopping up onto the barstool beside me.
“Almost,” Anna answered before ruffling his dark hair. “It’ll be about five minutes. Want to help me set the table?”
He nodded and jumped back down to help.
No more was said on the subject of my love life, but for once I wished it had been. I needed some serious advice with how to handle that mess. In the meantime, I was going to give Max a chance. Where we were headed, it was too soon to tell, but at least with Max itcouldgo somewhere.
I wasn’t going to chase someone who didn’t want to be chased.
