Page 62 of Cups of You

Amber frowned. “What do you mean?”

Tasha took a sip of her wine before answering. “Woman to woman. You never seemed to be all that interested in him and he seemed to just want an attractive woman on his arm.”

“We were together three years.”

“But were you though?” The question hit Amber like a dagger, and she set her glass down before she accidentally dropped it.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that what you seemed to want was never compatible with what he wanted.” Tasha put her glass down as well. “Look. Everyone knows he’s pushing to be some hot shot in the world of finance. He’s gaudy, out there, and wants to make a damn statement no matter how unwanted wherever he goes.”

“Which drives me nuts.”

“Exactly,” Tasha exclaimed throwing her arms wide. “You seemed to hate the attention being on you like that and yet you always went along with it. I never understood it. Honestly, babe, how many sacrifices have you made for him?”

“I mean—”

“And how many has he made for you?”

“I…” Amber’s voice trailed off as she realized she didn’t have an answer. It was no secret that she had been harboring some resentment in their relationship for a while, but she hadn’t realized it was so visible to others.

Why did I always go along with his shit even when I knew it made me unhappy?

“Did you ever talk to him about you two moving back to your home together?”

Amber frowned as soon as Tasha suggested it. The thought of dealing with Josiah’s complaints alone was enough to not want him there. Plus, then he would know more about her than she wanted him to, and it was that thought that drew her short.

“No.”

It was the truth, and it was startling. Even the few times Amber ever contemplated returning home, Josiah had never been part of it. It seemed to be the answer Tasha was expecting because her expression was devoid of surprise.

“Is that because you know he wouldn’t have liked living there or because you wouldn’t have wanted him there?”

“Both.”

Amber’s voice was quiet, but she didn’t need her ears to hear the truth of her own answer. She felt that down to her bones along with the knowledge that if her parents had been alive, she would never have even entertained the idea of dating him let alone changing all her plans for him. This life she had been living for the past three years was so far from what she wanted.

I’m ready to go home.

It was the truth she had been running from all these years because it meant facing the past. It meant occasionally thinking of the what ifs as she walked through town or seeing snatches of memories when she visited familiar places. It meant letting herself be happy again in the town that mourned her parents’ deaths.

Amber had needed the time away to find herself and figure out who she was outside of her family’s tragedy, but she had never truly wanted to abandon her old life.

“Whatever you pay your therapist, you should pay me instead.”

Amber’s chuckle was soft, and her eyes burned with unshed tears. She wiped a hand over them and gave Tasha a watery smile. “Isn’t payment in wine enough?”

“Not when it’s the wine I bought. You’ll have to pony up one more bottle to call it even.”

Amber shook her head but leaned down to pick a bottle out of the wine fridge. There was more to think about regarding the future, but Amber was sure of one thing at least.

It was time to go home.

TWENTY-THREE

The lights illuminated the front porch when Benjamin pulled into the driveway. He was unsurprised to see Randy and Sam's car. He put his car in park and cut the engine but made no move to get out. This was the moment he had been dreading. He had hoped he still had years to deal with his feelings about it but for now all he felt was anger.

He didn't know who his anger was directed at more: himself or Evangeline. Of course, he was livid that he even found himself in the situation of having to talk to Olivia about her mother's actions but after the argument with Evangeline and a few hours of frantic Google searching between making drinks and shutting things down, he wondered if keeping quiet about the truth of their divorce had been the best way to go after all.

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