Page 213 of Holding On To Good

“And this new house won’t be?” Willow asked.

“It will be mine,” Miranda said quietly, fiercely. She swallowed. And when she spoke again, it was in a broken whisper. “I just want something that’s mine.”

Feeling herself weakening, Willow shored up her defenses—and reminded herself of all the reasons why she shouldn’t feel sympathetic toward this woman. “I can’t help you. Urban and I… I mean, J&K… is… splitting up.”

It was the first time she’d uttered those words out loud, having chosen not to tell Hayden or her family what had happened between her and Urban until after Lily’s wedding.

And who is the first person she tells?

Miranda Watterson.

It was like the end of the world as she knew it.

She wasn’t crazy about the resigned, knowing look on Miranda’s face, either. “He finally told you he’s in love with you, didn’t he?”

Willow’s mouth popped open. She snapped it shut. “What? He’s not… we’re not…” But for some reason she couldn’t pull off her tried and true we’re just friends spiel. “He didn’t mean it.”

“The man has been in love with you his entire life,” Miranda stated firmly, as if her words were the truth, the Gospel and the Law of the Land all rolled into one. “Of course he meant it.”

“No. He didn’t. And he hasn’t been in love with me his entire life.” Even if Urban had said the same thing. “He couldn’t have been. He was with you, remember? He was going to marry you. He chose you.”

Once again, Miranda tilted her head, but this time added a pursed mouth to the look. “You’re not nearly as bright as I thought you were, are you?”

Bristling, Willow narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

“You can’t be,” Miranda continued as if Willow hadn’t spoken. “Because if you were, you wouldn’t let something that happened over a decade ago keep you from being with the man you love.”

“I never said I loved him,” Willow said quickly.

“Which just proves my point. Or maybe it’s not stupidity that’s holding you back. Maybe,” she continued softly, “it’s vengeance. A way for you to get back at Urban for hurting you. What better way to both protect yourself and get a little payback at the same time.”

Willow went hot then cold. Her skin prickled painfully. Her breath whooshed out of her like Miranda had just kicked her in the chest with one of her wedge heels. “I didn’t… I wouldn’t…”

But, oh, God, she had. She did.

“And for the record,” Miranda continued while Willow stood there, stunned and speechless and ashamed, “Urban didn’t choose me. He settled for me. That was his mistake. Mine was letting him. But yours? Your mistake was not fighting for him.” She sent Willow a look that was half snide, half pitying and all you are such an idiot. “Guess it still is.”

With those softly spoken words ringing in Willow’s ears, Miranda turned on her high heel and sauntered herself down the walk.

Leaving Willow reeling with the truth.

Miranda was right. About everything.

Willow was stupid.

Stupid and vindictive and every bit the coward Urban had called her.

But she had no idea how to change it. Any of it. Wasn’t sure she could.

No matter how much she wanted to.

Chapter Forty

“This,” Verity announced as she burst into Urban’s office Saturday afternoon with all the majesty and arrogance of a queen on a mission to lop off a few heads, “is an intervention!”

He wasn’t going to miss these overly dramatic, teen-angst-filled moments when she went to college, that was for sure.

“I’m working,” he said, then made the mistake of glancing up from the estimate he’d been blindly staring at the past twenty minutes.

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