Page 107 of Situationship
“I love you,” she whispered, although it didn’t feel like a declaration so much as an albatross around her neck, weighing her down and taking her under.
“Love shouldn’t be a burden, Bianchi.” If it was, he was doing it wrong. Maybe the problem was he loved too much. Amanda had left because she felt suffocated, Maddison was moving across country to find freedom he couldn’t give her, and Teagan,God,Teagan . . . She’d once left him because she’d said he would have kept her from the life she wanted.
He’d lost so many people he loved over the years, he didn’t think he could handle one more.
“Do you love me?” he asked.
“This isn’t about you and me, it’s about giving the father of my kids another chance to make things right.”
He could blame it on bad timing or wanting different things, but none of that mattered when someone was in love. Message received, loud and clear.
The dull emptiness in his chest was more painful than he’d imagined. It felt as if his lungs were filling with ice water and his heart was struggling to beat in the face of the piercing agony.
He stared at her, taking in the way she smelled, how soft her hands were in his, and how perfect she was. But unless she was willing to push past the fear, no amount of time and space would help.
“You’re giving the wrong man a chance.”
Chapter 27
Love is not determined by the one being
loved but rather by the one choosing to love.
—Stephen Kendrick
Harley’s heart was breaking for her sister, and she didn’t know how to help. She wanted to murder Frank.
But she had a pretty good idea Colin would tell her to get in line. So she’d done the only thing she could think of to help, distracted the girls with catching sand crabs.
Each of her nieces had her own pail filled with sand and a little seawater. A dozen burrowing crabs tickled the bottoms of their feet as the waves rushed back into the ocean and the little creatures dove into the soaked sand, leaving tiny air bubbles in their wake.
After they had a pailful, Harley held their hands as they waded knee-high into the ocean. They waited for the water to rise over the top of the pails and as the wave rolled back out, they tipped the pail out and watched the crabs skitter sideways across the wet sand.
A gentle wave rolled in, pushing the crabs back, but instead of fighting the force, they surfed the tail of the tide. Instead of running from an obstacle that was five times their size, they danced from side to side, finding a new perspective, then jumped right in again until they found their footing back on the sandy shoreline.
When it came to life, Harley was like the crab, more alive when she was surging into things head-on. In love she let the waves of emotion throw her off balance. Keep her from riding the surf. She was afraid that the tide would pull her under. Instead of riding the wave of feels, she’d gotten caught in the riptide—pulled out to sea, alone and scared.
Harley, the sister and aunt, was no longer scared of love. She’d faced more waves these past few months than in her entire life, and she’d learned to dive back in and find her balance.
With Bryan she was ready, for the first time, to dive back into the tide, back into Bryan’s life. If he’d still have her.
With the girls settled on the blanket, eating their Otter Pops as the sun set, Harley pulled her phone out of her pocket.
IDECIDED TIME IS OVERRATED.
DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU DO WITH IT.
A strangled laugh escaped and the words became a little blurry. She quickly texted back.
IDON’T KNOW WHATI
WANT TO DO BUTIWANT
TO DO IT WITH YOU.
UNLESS YOU HAVE
OTHER PLANS.
