Page 35 of No Apologies
Trey nodded, as if he understood, and maybe he did. He’d told her earlier that another woman had caught his eye in recent weeks as well. That he’d known it never would have happened if he was really invested in their relationship. Both of them had been interested in other people but they’d remained quiet about their true feelings because they were afraid of hurting one another, because they were friends.
It was ironic really. The man that she’d been in a relationship with, the one she should have been feeling all of these intense things for, was the one that she knew was nothing but a friend. Yet the man she wanted more than anything, couldn’t get off her mind and had admitted, at least to herself, that she was in love with, was the one that swore they were nothing but friends. Of course she’d been confused about what to do.
“It’s not a crush though, is it?” Trey smirked and she realized her eyes had drifted back to her phone, “I mean, I’d hate to think I got passed over for a crush.”
She smiled, “No, it’s not a crush.”
“I know.” He smiled back softly, “I knew it the day he showed up in the woods when we were camping.”
Her breath caught at that admission. She knew exactly what day he was talking about. He’d only convinced her to go camping with him once and it had been a disaster. She’d hated every second of it. She might have grown up in a tiny, backwoods town but she was not a country girl, not by a longshot. Her idea of outdoor fun was sitting by the pool with a fruity drink and a good book. Being out in nature where there was dirt and bugs was for… well… people that weren’t her.
It was one of the many reasons her relationship with Trey was doomed from the start. He loved nature in all its wild glory. He fished and hunted, both things that made her pity the poor little creatures. He liked camping and not in the five star lodge sort of way she did. They were complete opposites when it came to their views on the great outdoors, mainly that he thought they were in fact great and she did not.
She’d been miserable the entire time she’d spent camping with him at the falls but that wasn’t why the memory made her throat tighten. It was because the day he was talking about was the day Jemma had come home to Old Settlers. It was the day that had changed all of their lives, they just hadn’t known it yet.
“What? How? I mean… really?”
He snorted when she stammered, “Yeah, it was kind of obvious, Sky.”
“It was?”
She blinked, confused about what it was he’d seen that day. She’d always been very careful about her interactions with Colt when Trey was around. In fact, she never really let them near each other if she could help it. She’d kept them cornered off in their own private sections of her life as best she could but she hadn’t been able to keep them apart that day because Colt had come stampeding into their camp with the express purpose of interrupting her private time with Trey.
“The whole time we were out there you’d looked at me like you were a prisoner and I was torturing you for fun or something. Thenheshowed up, walked into camp like he had every right to be there and you should have seen your face.” Trey scoffed, “You lit up like he was there to rescue you on a damn white horse or something.”
Skylar studied her wine glass again and tried to remember exactly what she had said and done when Colt came storming into their camp that day but she came up empty. All she really remembered was seeing him and then her heart had started to race like it always did at the sight of him and everything else had blurred. He’d told her why he was there, that Jemma was back in town and needed her help, and she’d gone with him, no questions asked.
Looking back, she thought there was probably a very good possibility that she hadn’t been able to hide her body’s response to Colt that day. She’d been in shock. She’d been surprised when he showed up and then he’d told her about Jemma coming home because she was running from her abusive ex and Skylar had almost lost it. Between the rush of shock and concern, she hadn’t given a single thought to the way she’d reacted to Colt.
Clearly, whatever had happened, it had stuck with Trey. That had been over two months ago. And he hadn’t said anything until she made it clear she was going to end their relationship tonight. She wondered why that was. Had he simply not cared enough to fight about it or had he known they were over already but hadn’t wanted to admit it?
He’d told her earlier, amid their breakup, that he didn’t want to lose her friendship but it was more than that. He’d been worried about losing Owen too. And as strange as it was to her, he’d even been concerned her parents wouldn’t accept him around any longer. She’d known that the one thing Trey had in common with Colt was familial issues but she hadn’t realized how much he really did rely on her family until that moment.
He was one of them. Maybe she’d never look at him like a brother. He’d never see her as a sister. But the easy comradery and friendship they’d enjoyed even in the last hour proved that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“In my defense, I probably would have looked at Michael Meyers like he was a savior if he’d showed up in the woods that day.” She teased.
Trey chuckled, “Yeah, I can’t visualize you leaping into Michael Meyers’ arms.”
“I didn’t leap into his arms.”
“Maybe not, but you wanted to.”
Skylar took a long swallow of her wine, finishing off the glass, and hoping she could blame the flush in her cheeks on the alcohol. Because he was right and they both knew it. She hadn’t thrown herself at Colt that day, not physically, but if she hadn’t been with Trey, if she’d thought, for even a second, that Colt would catch her, she would have.
But he wouldn’t have caught her. And she still wasn’t sure he would. Which dimmed her good mood.
He wanted her. She was sure of that now. But he’d still pushed her away yesterday when she went to the shop. He’d been just as mean and rude as he’d ever been. Only this time, he’d apologized. It was a giant risk, pressing him on the issue ofthemwhen he swore there was nothing between them, but she couldn’t keep playing this game. If it meant losing him as a friend, then so be it, but she had to know for sure she couldn’t have more with him or it would haunt her forever.
“Looks like I’m all out and need a refill.” She pushed off the couch, “You want another beer?”
Trey raised an eyebrow at her abrupt change of discussion, “No, I’m good.”
“Just me then.”
“You sure you want another?” He held out an arm as she tried to walk past him, “You have to drive home.”
Skylar rolled her eyes, “Don’t act like this is about me driving. Two glasses of wine aren’t going to make a difference in the three miles to my house.”
