Page 54 of Undeniable

My eyes widened, and I dropped everything in my hands, including the box of paint supplies, as I whipped around. The banner he’d been working to hang above the festival entrance was perfectly placed and beneath it, shadowed from the grueling sun by the ticket booth, were Brendon and James.

Not thinking past my current distress, I beelined for them, making sure to approach from an angle in which only James would notice me. I stepped up behind Brendon in enough time to hear that I was too late.

The sinking feeling in my gut was never ending. James’s expression appeared unaffected, but even after all those years, I knew him better than that. That mask of calm was skillfully hiding everything else he might be feeling.

“I’m glad there’s no hard feelings with everything that happened between me and Ivy. There were so many times I wanted to reach out to you. But after everything that happened during the freeze a couple months ago… we just didn’t work, and I didn’t think it mattered anymore.”

James nodded along and when he caught sight of me over Brendon’s shoulder, he didn’t react. His mask was firmly set in place, but the flicker of recognition and understanding in his eyes couldn’t have been disguised.

“Yeah, man, no hard feelings. I’ll… let you get back to what you were working on. I’ll see you around.”

They shook hands, the entire exchange too civilized. Brendon walked off without noticing me behind him, which was only a minor relief. I knew I’d have to face him once again, but the last place I wanted that awkward interaction to take place was in front of James.

I stepped forward into the space Brendon vacated and contemplated what to say while nervously playing with the hair tie wrapped around my wrist. James shook his head several times, his eyes dropping to the ground in front of us.

“You dated him?” he asked quietly.

I nodded and breathed out a “yes,” which was nearly as quiet as his question.

“But it was more than that, wasn’t it?” His blue eyes caught and trapped my own, all the words vanishing from my mind so quickly that I could only manage to nod.

“You were engaged.” It wasn’t a question as much as it was a statement, and I found my voice again. Because I had to correct him.

I shook my head. “No, that’s—”

“That’s the way he made it sound.”

“We weren’t engaged,” I said quickly. “He… he asked, but I said no. We lived together, though.” He’d let his mask drop, no longer the calm, unaffected impression he’d given Brendon. He allowed the torrent of emotions to play out over his face.

I wanted to tell him what I’d told Forrest and thought to myself only minutes earlier—that I didn’t owe him anything, including an explanation. But he was hurt. For some reason, the truth about Brendon and my relationship had hurt him, and I didn’t know why it mattered, but I couldn’t stand to see that painful expression.

The furrow between his brows was deep, and his throat bobbed as he forced himself to swallow. He shook his head again, but his eyes studied mine like he was searching for something and was coming up empty every time.

“Why’d you say no?” I couldn’t have guessed that would be his question, and my surprise meant the truth tumbled out of my mouth.

“Because I couldn’t marry him.”

He nodded and continued before I could explain further. Because I wanted to explain further, if only to ease some of the tension between us. Tension was almost always there, but it felt even more uncomfortable than usual.

“Let’s help your mom,” James said, glancing to where my mom was standing precariously atop a ladder, trying to hang another sign on one of the booths.

He turned without another word, leaving me standing there contemplating everything that had happened.

He knew now, whether he realized it or not, the reason I’d left Willowwood. Brendon proposed during that stupid winter storm. And after I declined, I couldn’t be there any longer. Rumors stirred, and I had to leave the house Brendon and I shared. He bought me out of my half and I escaped Willowwood hoping to leave that part of my life behind, only to findhimin the middle of nursing my self-inflicted broken heart.

Brendon and I had been together for a few years. We were content, living in easy harmony and without conflict or concerns. Brendon was nice and caring and the perfect man I’d always imagined myself with.

Except he also wasn’t and never could be, no matter how hard he tried.

NINETEEN

James

Years.I’d spentyearskeeping my distance from Ivy, and she’d willingly done the same to me.

I’d become used to our little song and dance—she ignored me, I ignored her. There was a grunted or half-hearted greeting every once in a while when we had to be around one another, but otherwise, nothing.

But it was so interesting how quickly things changed.

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