Page 154 of One Night Only
Declan stares at me. “You look like you’re about to cry.”
“I think you should take a look at these. And read her letter. And maybe you…maybe you should—”
“Should what?” he asks calmly. Too calmly. “What are you saying?”
That your wife is in love with you.
And I think you’re still in love with her.
“Sarah?”
“Just take some time to think about this,” I say, taking a small step back so my heel hits the door. He doesn’t follow. He’s holding himself still like he doesn’t trust himself to move.
“I don’t want any more time,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of time. Now tell me what Fiona said to you.”
“It’s not her.” A lie. “Don’t be mad at her. She didn’t say anything bad about you. This is me.”
“You’re using that line on me right now? Are you serious?”
“I think you just need some time to—”
“Declan?”
“Just hold on,” he yells at the group. “Don’t do this,” he says, turning back to me. His eyes bore into mine with such intensity I can’t look away. “I mean it, Sarah. I’m not chasing after you again.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
He rears back and I panic. “I didn’t mean it like that,” I say hurriedly. “I’m not… I’m not breaking up with you.”
“No,” he says. “That you can’t do. How can you break up with me when you won’t even admit we’re at the start of a relationship?”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“You’re going to keep doing this,” he says as my thoughts collapse into each other. “Aren’t you? I’m not him, Sarah. I’m not Josh and I’m not your mother.”
“I know that.”
“Do you? Because it feels like every chance you get you try and find something to drive us apart. Are you that scared of something serious or do you just not want it with me?”
“She came all this way to—”
“I don’t give a shit what she did. I told you I feel nothing romantically for her, but you’re convinced I’m…what? Secretly in love with her? Using you to get to her?”
“I just—”
“Just what?” He waits as I flounder before him. There’s a burning in my chest that moves to my throat.
“I just want you to be sure that you know what you want.”
It’s the wrong thing to say. The shutters come down as he closes off from me and I wonder once again how I messed this up so badly.
“I know what I want, Sarah,” he says finally. “But I’m not going to wait around for you to figure out what you do.”
He takes the folder from me, shoving it under his arm. “Thanks for dropping this off,” he says. “And I’m sorry again about your job.”
“Declan—”
“I’ve got a whole other disaster to deal with right now, if you can let yourself out.” He doesn’t look back at me as he returns to the now quiet group. “Take care of yourself, Sarah.”
