Page 97 of Forever and Other Lies

“I’ve known her for over two decades.”

Tommy let an annoyed breath hiss out between his teeth. “You’re missing an entire step. The whole dating first.”

“We dated for a month.”

“Fake dated!”

“Oh, it was far from fake,” Derek grinned.

“Does Jayna know that?”

“She told me that she loves me.” He lifted his palms upward.

“And then you walked out the door,” Tommy reminded him.

“And,” he drew out the word. “Like you said, I’ll apologize for that.”

“Derek, you can’t just show up on her doorstep with a lame apology and a ring.”

“Yeah, that didn’t exactly work for Nick.” He scratched the two days’ growth on his chin. “I’ll need something extra.”

“Oh, you’re already extra enough.” Tommy shook his head back and forth. “Just take some flowers, your lame apology, and ask her out to dinner.”

“You ARE saying that you think she’ll say no!”

“Oh, I’m definitely saying that!” Tommy rolled his eyes. “You have a lot to make up for.”

Derek smirked. “Care to place a wager on it?”

Tommy laughed and stared at Derek’s dirt-covered pickup. “You’re on. If she says yes, I’ll wash your truck for a month.”

“I want it waxed too,” Derek added.

“Hold on.” Tommy held up his right hand. “When she says NO, you wash my truck for two months and clean up the dog poop in the yard.”

Derek extended his hand. “No problem, because she’ll say YES. And I’m planning to get a puppy too, so add clean up after my dog, who won’t have a stupid name.”

They shook on it. For the first time since he’d walked out of Jayna’s hospital room, he felt hopeful. He would fight for her like Tommy suggested, and she’d agree to marry him. No way was he spending the rest of his life without her or losing this bet.

He wanted what Tommy had, and thankfully, that wasn’t his brother’s girl as well. For a while, he had become consumed with the idea of Leighton. It wasn’t only Tommy at the age of ten who had been drawn to Leighton. He had loved being around her, too. Then she’d made the choice between them, and like everyone, she chose Tommy. Something broke inside him that day. As a result, he became the ‘no good’ boy, and then man that everyone expected him to be.

But Jayna saw him differently. She saw him as he was, accepted him, and understood that the bad boy act was just that—an act. He could be himself around her, with no pretense. And yet, he’d pushed her away. He had yet again broken her heart, and for that, he would do whatever it took to make it right.

Chapter 49

Derek had yet again broken her heart. Jayna knew he wasn’t the type to change his mind. He did exactly what he wanted and never did anything he didn’t. And the last thing he wanted was to be in a committed relationship.

Even with that knowledge, she’d fallen for him all over again. He’d come to her rescue, a knight in shining armor just like in the fairy tales she had disparaged. She had started to believe in the idea of a soulmate and forever love. She’d allowed the fantasy to build in her mind; Derek moved heaven and earth to find her. It would have made perfect sense for him to follow the ambulance to the hospital, refusing to leave her bedside while confessing his undying love.

Instead, he’d shown up a day later, reluctantly entering her hospital room. He didn’t want her. He never had. She saw it in his eyes once he finally made eye contact, before he walked back out the door as fast as his legs could carry him.

He’d warned her not to fall for him. And yet, she had. That made her the world’s biggest fool. Not once, but twice. Shame on her this time. She knew who he was, and, sadly, who he wasn’t.

He wasn’t the guy for her or anyone. Despite her certainty of his feelings for her, she knew he would never give in to them.

What a waste! Together they could have been incredible. But she couldn’t force Derek to love her any more than she’d been able to make her parents love her. Maybe she was unlovable, after all.

The late afternoon sun cast a warm glow through the large bay window of her living room, yet she shivered. Despite the room’s warmth and tranquility, her mind was anything but calm. She couldn’t get warm. She could still feel the chill of that damp root cellar and smell the strong pungent odor of rotting apples. It was a fruit she would never eat again.

---