Page 27 of One Little Lie
“As shitty as he was to me, I knew him. His heart would never have allowed him to move on from hurting me. I came home to tell him I forgave him. After all these years, it seems like a silly thing to do, but if he’s been taking care of me, I assumed it was out of guilt. I-I needed him to let me go, but then he …”
“He what?” they both screech.
“He drank GG’s wine and told me he never hated me. He said they all loved me too much, and that was the problem.” I hesitate, wondering if I should tell them about last night, but ultimately, shame in myself keeps me from saying anything. “I don’t know. His dad collapsed right after their fight that morning. Maybe he blames himself and me. I’m not exactly sure what they fought about, but it was a different guy that walked out of that office to bring me home.”
Suddenly exhausted, I sink farther into the couch and the tears I’ve held in for years fall silently down my face.
“Ry? You know their dad had a genetic heart condition, right? It’s something he was born with, and that’s why he died?”
I sniffle because I’ve heard this all before. “Yeah, I know. Hatty does, too, but he was the last one to see him alive, and they fought. I remember hearing them yelling on the other side of the house.”
The girls flank me on either side but say nothing as we all stare straight ahead for a long moment.
“Man, that’s some star-crossed lovers shit if I’ve ever seen it,” Lexi finally says, breaking the silence.
“What happened to your fiancé?”
“After he broke up with me, he started dating someone from his office. Last I heard, they were already engaged.”
“Pfft. What a loser,” Lexi chides. “Wait. Halton had an art show?”
My stomach turns, remembering his admission last night.
“I don’t draw anymore, Rylan. It’s my punishment for hurting you.”
“He was amazing,” I whisper because the truth hurts more than I want to acknowledge.
“I never would have guessed it.”
“I have an art studio.” Ari nudges my shoulder. “Well, I have an art studio in the works if you needed anything, I mean. Do you think Colton’s killed him yet?”
“Geez, I hope not. I never wanted to come between them.”
“And after all this, you still love him?”
Turning to Lexi, something like understanding passes between us, and I cave. “I think my heart’s loved him since I was six years old. I tried to move on, but my heart has always belonged to him. Is that messed up?”
Sighing, she tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’m not the one to ask, Ry. I’ve been fucked up for most of my adult life, but if you asked GG, she’d probably say something about the heart always knowing its mate.”
Lexi’s phone dings, and she grabs it off the coffee table.
“I don’t know where to go from here,” I admit.
“Oh, Rylan. I think you’ve been away too long. Don’t you know these Westbrooks always have something up their sleeve?”
Butterflies hit my chest like an angry hive, but I tamp it down. The first flutters of hope threaten my self-preservation, and I can’t allow myself to think about what-ifs when Hatty can only talk to me after a crazy, old woman has him drugged.
“Your grandmother is a scary piece of work, you know that, right?”
“Oh, trust me. Truth wine is the least crazy thing she’s done this week.”
I stare at her in disbelief, but Ari confirms it’s true.
“I’ve known that woman my entire life. Crazy keeps getting crazier. It’s best to just clear a path for her and follow her destruction because, so far, she’s lit the path for love and happiness for each couple she’s set her sights on. Scary as hell, but right on the money.”
There goes that hope again. This time, though, I pray they’re right because one thing I’m sure of? I won’t survive losing Hatty again.
Turning to Lexi, I grin. “So, you and Easton are married, huh?” I’d completely forgotten that in the chaos of the bachelor auction, he outed their Vegas nuptials.
