Page 114 of Feels Like Love
Footsteps crunched on the gravel, and I turned to find Susan coming up the path with a gardening basket.
“Another wedding?” I asked.
“Go see.” She gave me a warm smile and a gentle nudge. I frowned. “Go. Go.”
I trudged down the path, the sounds of nature putting me at ease. The trees grew close together in this area, making it difficult to see very far ahead. If I’d been down this path before, I didn’t remember it.
I emerged into a field where there were rows upon rows of grapes. And standing in the center, in front of a picnic blanket, was Bennett.
I held a hand to my mouth to cover my gasp. He looked so handsome, my heart was breaking from the sight alone.
He stepped closer. “Will you join me?”
I swallowed hard and shook my head. “What is all this?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking my hands in his. Meeting my gaze. “I’m so damn sorry, Wren.”
Everything that had happened the past few weeks caught up to me. I’d been worried about him. I’d missed him. I’d wanted closure, but seeing Bennett again, I knew my heart still belonged to him.
I nodded. “I’m sorry too. For jeopardizing your friendship with my brother. I’m sorry for pushing you to be my dating coach.” As much as I wanted to blame my brother and Bennett for everything, I knew I’d played a role too.
“God, that was torture. Wanting to be with you so badly while helping you date other men.” He shook his head, and I could see the pain I’d caused him. My heart cracked open a little more. “I know you think I was trying to thwart your dating life, but I wasn’t. I swear. And that night at Larkspur. Our first date…”
I frowned. “That wasn’t a date.”
“I wanted it to be.”
I softened, heart melting.
“Running into you wasn’t a coincidence,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” he sighed. “I knew Lucas was going to cancel your date. And I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I jerked my head back. “What? How could you possibly know that? How did you even know I was going out with him?”
“Okay. I didn’t know for sure he’d bail, but it was a pretty good guess.”
I dropped my head, closing my eyes briefly. He didn’t have to tell me the answer for me to know. “It was Liam.”Of course.“What about the profile on LoveBirds?”
“I really did start it as a way to check out the guys you matched with. To make sure they weren’t assholes or married or whatever. I never planned to message you …”
I nodded. It made sense now that I thought about the timing. Ben hadn’t messaged me until I’d expressed my frustration to Bennett.
And Bennett had never discouraged me from going on a date. In fact, I remembered thinking how many times he’d encouraged me to try another date with a different man. He wouldn’t have pushed me to go out with other men. He wouldn’t have almost let me go away with Arlo if my happiness weren’t his top concern.
In the end, it wasn’t the LoveBirds profile that had broken us apart; it was my fear. At the first hint of trouble, I’d freaked out and run.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to explain.” I took a few steps closer, pulled to him like a magnet.
He’d had feelings for me this whole time, but instead, he’d put them aside over and over to help me. If that wasn’t love—putting someone else’s needs above your own—I didn’t know what was.
He really had loved me all along. Yet I’d doubted my judgment, tricking myself into believing otherwise. Even when Bennett showed me time and time again just how much River and I meant to him.
“I’m sorry I gave you reason to doubt me.” He was close enough now, that if I reached out, I’d be able to touch him. “I may have coached you in dating, but you taught me about love. What it means to love someone without conditions. To accept them exactly as they are.”
“I haven’t done a very good job of that lately,” I muttered.
