Page 70 of Since the Day We Wished

As she slipped on her bathrobe, Emma walked over to the couch and flipped on season three of a reality show to distract herself from her thoughts. But it was no use. Tears streamed down her face, soaking the throw pillow beneath her head. Riley jumped up and licked away her tears, then nuzzled his head against her chest. Emma wrapped her arms around him, seeking solace in his affection as she postponed the inevitable. She knew that she would have to end things with Luke, maybe not today, but soon.

As if on cue, her innermost insecurities began to echo louder, whispering that she was not worthy of the love and happiness she so deeply desired. The thought of losing Luke, the man who had made her believe in love once more, stirred an unfathomable sadness within her, leaving her with a loneliness that seemed determined to be her lifelong companion.

Chapter 34

Luke

Luke was pacing back and forth in his office after sending what felt like the hundredth text to Emma, but she had yet to reply. A week had passed since the incident with Jeremiah at school, and he was growing increasingly worried. He even stopped by the rescue, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but she wasn’t there. And the Barking Orders treats hadn’t been restocked, which only added to his concerns. If she wasn’t leaving the house and she wasn’t answering her phone, what was she doing? Was she okay? The mere thought of her in any sort of pain was maddening.

Looking down at his phone, Luke realized he couldn’t wait around any longer. Enough was enough. He refused to go another minute without knowing if Emma was alright, so he grabbed his keys and walked out to the car.

As he drove the ten minutes across town to Emma’s cottage, he passed Phil’s Diner. Luke thought about how they’d first met there and how they’d found love again. It had all seemed surreal, but now he couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that something was wrong. Emma had always been quick to respond to his messages, so her silence was troubling.

When he turned onto Emma’s street and drove up to her cottage, his heart skipped a beat. She was outside playing catch with Riley. Everything was okay, Luke thought. He parked the car and got out, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Emma!” He waved and jogged over to her as Riley sprinted toward him.

“What are you doing here, Luke? Riley, stop that! Get down.”

Luke squatted down to give Riley a head scratch while keeping his eyes on Emma. “I’ve been worried about you. I haven’t heard from you in a week. Did you get my texts? And I called a few times too.”

She threw the tennis ball in her hand up in the air and caught it. “Oh, yeah, I got them. You don’t have to be worried about me. I’m fine.”

He furrowed his brow and tilted his head, confused by her nonchalant demeanor. The last time he had seen Emma, she was crazy about him and asked him to stay overnight. Now they were having a conversation like two strangers. He stood up and reached out, trying to put his arms around her shoulders to hug her, but she stepped back.

“What’s wrong, Emma?”

“Nothing. I just...I’ve been thinking, that’s all. About us.”

Luke nodded. “I’ve been thinking about us too, Emma. Maybe we can talk about this inside?”

“No, I’d rather stay out here,” she said, not meeting his eyes.

“Okay, let’s stay out here. What have you been thinking about?”

She took a deep breath and looked up at him for the first time. “This isn’t going to work out, you and me. I think it’s time for us to face reality and end it.”

Luke’s pulse quickened. “End it? What the heck are you talking about? Emma, I’m crazy about you—”

“You may think that, but it’s going to change, Luke.” She threw her hands up in the air. “We barely know each other, and I feel like the farther we go on, the worse it’s going to get.”

“Emma, what do you mean? Help me understand.”

Emma threw the tennis ball, and Riley ran after it. “I’ve been reflecting a lot this week, and I’ve been able to look at things from a different perspective. We should’ve been upfront with Jeremiah from the beginning. Relationships can’t be built on lies. You and I can’t work, Luke. I won’t be the reason you can’t mend things between you and your son. If you’d step back and look at it like I did, then you’d agree with me.”

Luke shook his head. “Emma, looking back, maybe we should’ve told him sooner. But Jeremiah misread things, and I’m so sorry he said those awful things to you. I know they’re not true, and so does everyone else. Jeremiah will too someday. We just have to give it time—”

“No Luke, you have to give it time.” She called Riley and walked to the door to go inside.

He knew Emma was hurting, but never thought she’d break up with him over all of this. Luke couldn’t accept it. He wouldn’t. “Emma, we can work this out—”

“It was good seeing you, Luke. Please, just go.” She turned back to him and folded her arms in front of her.

“Emma, don’t do this.”

“We’re done. Goodbye Luke.”

Before he could respond, she turned around to go back inside, with Riley following behind her. Only when the door shut behind them did it sink in for him that they were actually broken up.

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