Page 79 of Wild Dreams

Her voice was soft so I wasn't worried anyone would hear her.

I nodded. "I'm sorry. I should have told you."

Her forehead wrinkled. "I can see why you wouldn't. It wasn't like I told Chance right away that I was dating his best friend."

"You're not mad?" I asked, my heart thumping wildly. The last thing I wanted to do was lose my best friend.

Scarlett let out a breath. "I always guessed there was something there. Are you okay?"

I drew in a shaky breath. "I will be."

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry." She drew me in for a hug, then said, "Chance doesn't want a relationship."

Tears stung my eyes as she pulled away. "I knew that. He never lied to me. I just thought he'd change his mind or see how incredible we could be."

She drew back. "I can't believe he did this to you."

I held up a hand. "I don't want you to confront him. He didn't want me talking to you about it. But I couldn't pretend that nothing was wrong. Or lie to you that I was never involved with your brother. It didn't feel right."

She met my gaze. "I'm glad you told me. How did you leave things?"

"We haven't talked in a couple of weeks. He probably got busy with work and just never got around to breaking things off."

Scarlett drew in a sharp breath. "You're kidding?"

"It sucked. But we knew this was going to happen. He was always honest with me about what he wanted." It didn't make it hurt any less. I touched her arm. "Please, let it go. It was nothing."

Her expression was pained. "But he hurt you."

"I want to process this in my own way without any interference," I said firmly.

Scarlett searched my face, then finally nodded. "I can give you that."

"Thank you," I said as Eli headed toward us.

He stopped in front of us with a grin on his face. "You two ready to put on a show?"

"Absolutely," I said, hoping that Scarlett didn't let on that I'd told her anything significant. It wasn't the best timing, but she'd asked what was going on and I couldn't lie to her. Not anymore.

"I'm going to tell the kids we have two minutes." Eli disappeared, and Scarlett turned to face me, holding my shoulders. "Are you going to be okay?"

I smiled. "I always am."

"If you need me, I'm here for you."

I blinked away the tears. At least I had my best friend. She hugged me once more. Then she went onstage to talk to the audience and introduce the play. I stayed off stage so I could direct kids and help with any emergencies.

I was tense, but I was able to enjoy the play as it unfolded. The crowd loved the traps, laughing when they didn't work. It was exactly how I hoped it would be.

The kids did a great job, and only one kid forgot a line. We were developing these kids' acting skills and, hopefully, teaching them resilience.

Afterward, I watched as everyone went onto the stage and took their bows. Eli and Scarlett went last since they performed as the parents and in charge of everything. The crowd stood and clapped.

I hadn't seen Chance in the crowd. He was still avoiding me. I didn't want him to ignore Scarlett just because I was always around.

It was ridiculous to make things awkward with his family. We had to hang out together. Surely, we could move on and be adults about it.

It might take longer for the pain in my chest to dissipate, but I'd be okay. Eventually.

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