Page 52 of Fighting Fate

Talking isn’t the reason I’m here, but I shake my head and follow her. The late afternoon is warm, and Dorian has the back doors open, allowing the smoky scent of the chiminea burning outside to float indoors. When I sink down into the rattan couch, Dorian follows suit.

Taking a deep breath, I blurt, “I think-I think I have a problem.”

“Oh. Okay…” She nods, pouring us both a cup before settling back into the opposite side of the couch. We sit in silence for a moment, sipping on our coffees. “So… Are we going to talk about it?”

“I think I’m in over my head. I thought that I could be casual about things with Rory and…and…”

“Ooo…you love him,” she chortles lightly, taking a sip of her coffee to hide her grin. “I knew something was different!”

“That’s a stretch. I like him…a lot. He’s not what I expected at all, and I feel like if I don’t distance myself, then things are going to get out of hand. But every time I try to, he pulls me back.”

“Stop fighting it, then.” With a shrug, she finishes her coffee, putting her mug down on the table before she sits back into the couch and puts her legs up beside me.

“I’m shit at this stuff…my taste in guys is fucking terrible…”

“Well, you said he’s not your type, right? He’s not what you expected? Perhaps that’s a sign that this is different. That it’s worth taking a punt on?”

“He’s leaving in three months, Dory. You more than anyone should know how it feels to have that hanging over me.”

My chest fists around my heart as I recall how broken she was when her fiancé up and left her.

“Everything happens for a reason, Chooch. As much as I loved Phillip, I know that Jake is the only man I could spend the rest of my life with. Phillip gave me Daniel, but Jake…he gave me my heart back.”

“Jake didn’t live on a different continent. His career doesn’t dictate where he goes…” The more I talk, the more I sound like I’m clutching at straws.

“Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?”

“I don’t know,” I admit, swirling the dredge of coffee left in my cup.

“I spent too many years fighting so hard to protect myself from hurting that I was sabotaging my own happiness. Don’t do that. Don’t cut your nose off to spite your face because in the end, the only thing you’ll have left are regrets.”

“But I already know how Rory and I are going to end. We’ve had an expiration date from the beginning. We’re a limited thing.”

“But you’re still something, limited or not. Besides, a lot can happen in three months. Have you spoken about it?”

“Not properly, but he’s full-on, and the things he says make me think that he wants more.”

“Do you trust him?” Dorian waits for my reply. While I deliberate the answer in my head, she adds, “Nothing is ever written in stone, Will. You know what they say about the best-laid plans.”

Standing at the sound of the front door slamming shut, she shrugs. “Only you know what you can live with in the long haul. You can protect yourself and spend the rest of your life wondering what if, or you can take a chance…and maybe…” She grins as Jake rounds into the kitchen, making a beeline for her.

Dorian forgets whatever she was about to say the second he wraps his arms around her. Scooping her up by her butt, he lifts her into a kiss that she’s laughing too hard to return when he sings, “Honey, I’m home.”

“It gets sillier the more times you say it,” she tells him with a giggle when he nips the tip of her nose, setting her back down on her feet.

Jake’s tall and immaculately put together. Side by side, they look like the perfect power couple. When she leans into him, her head rests on his chest while he combs his fingers through her hair.

“Did I interrupt something?” Jake asks. The tone is teasing, and I just know he’s going to make some stupid quip when his brown gaze greets mine. “Wait, were you talking about me? Is that why my ears were burning?”

“No, it was probably your old man hearing aid about to blow.”

“More like a divine warning that you’d be here.” With a smirk, he reaches forward and ruffles my hair, knowing that I hate it. “It’s good to see you, Willie Bean.”

“Can’t say the same, coffin dodger.”

“Okay…okay…will the two of you give it a rest now?” Dorian smacks his bicep to get his attention. With his full focus back on her, she runs her fingers through his dark hair, telling him, “Go shower, and I’ll order pizza in instead.”

“I promised Daniel we’d make it from scratch.”

“You’re sure you still want to?”

“A promise is a promise, Pretty Girl.” With a kiss to the top of her head, he heads back into the house, calling to Daniel to finish up the game and get ready to make dinner.

Meanwhile, Dorian watches on with a goofy smile as Jake pulls the ingredients they need onto the kitchen island. The happiness she feels at the mere sight of him is palpable. It vibrates in the air around us in a way that makes me smile too because it reminds me of how my heart practically leaps out of my chest that first instant that I lay eyes on Rory. It happens every single time. The anticipation of that first kiss, of the stroke of his hand on my face, or just the warmth of his closeness.

“If he makes you happy,” Dorian sighs, perching on the coffee table in front of me. “Even if it’s just for a little while, it’ll be a chance worth taking. Don’t you think?”

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