Page 52 of Jilted
Amy remained silent, knowing if she tried to speak, she would just end up crying.
“Remember prom?” Brett reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He pushed a button on it and a picture of them at prom popped up against the window shades.
That’s when Amy realized he’d set up a laptop that was projecting onto the closed shades covering the windows. “Yeah, I remember prom.”
How could she forget? She’d turned down two invitations, one from the most popular boy in school, because she’d been waiting for Brett to ask her. When he finally did, it wasn’t anything like she’d thought it would be.
“I gave you some lame excuse about not wanting to go, but my mom was making me. I asked you to go with me so that I didn’t have to take a real date.”
Yup. That’s exactly how he’d asked her, too, and it had hurt more than she thought possible.
“Then there was Jenna Lewis’ graduation party.” He pushed the button again, and another picture of them popped up. “Blamed this one on my mom, too.” Brett smiled and quickly clicked through several more pictures. “Hundreds of frat parties in college. Craig’s college graduation. Aunt Linda’s retirement party. My parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Dozens of family reunions. That ridiculous Christmas party at my dad’s company that he made me go to.”
Every time a new picture was displayed, Amy was bombarded with memories of each specific event. She’d begun crying after the prom picture and hadn’t stopped. She made no attempt to hide her tears, either. There was no point.
“And then, of course, there was my recent honeymoon.”
An aerial photo of the island filled her vision, and she lost it. She put her hand over her mouth and sobbed so hard her shoulders shook. Thankfully, Brett didn’t try to touch her, because that would’ve only made things worse.
He tucked the plastic button device back in his pocket and continued to speak. “I have a bad habit of giving you lame excuses to get you to go places with me. And I finally know why.”
“Why?” She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know, but the question had been asked.
“Because I was too damn scared to just ask you out. I’ve had so many opportunities, and I’ve missed every single one of them because I’m scared shitless, Amy. I’m scared of how I feel about you. I’m scared of ruining our friendship. I’m scared that you might not feel the same way about me.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. It’s not like they could go back in time and have a do-over. Nothing he said could change what had already happened between them. But the urge to grab him and tell him that he had nothing to be scared of was overwhelming.
“But this,” he pointed to the window shades as another picture popped up, “this is the moment I regret the most.”
It was a beautiful picture of that secluded beach where they’d watched the sunrise. Amy closed her eyes, not wanting to relive that moment. It hurt too much to know she’d been so close to having the life with Brett she’d always dreamed of and knowing she’d lost it.
Brett took her hand and laced their fingers together. “Go back there with me, Amy.” He pointed to the picture again. “Let me have that moment back so that I can say what I should’ve said back then.”
She never could say no to him. With a nod, she let Brett lead her to the pile of sand. Just like that morning, she sat between his legs and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and when she closed her eyes, she was back on that beach with him. She could feel the light breeze on her face. She could smell the remnants of the rainstorm from a few nights before. She could hear the ocean as it rolled onto the shore. She could feel his hot breath on her neck. And she could feel his heart beating in his chest.
Brett nuzzled her neck and then kissed it. A fresh wave of tears streamed down her face. “You have spent your life loving me, and I’ve spent my life choosing you. Every event that I could’ve taken a girlfriend to, I chose to take you. Every girlfriend that ever said, ‘Brett, it’s me or Amy,’ I’ve always chosen you.”
“Except for Vanessa,” she choked out the words in between sobs.
Brett clutched her chin in his thumb and forefinger and turned her face toward him. “Especially Vanessa,” he said.
Amy’s lips trembled. The look in his eyes was so intense, so full of truth it stunned her.
“Did you know that when the music started and everyone turned to watch Vanessa walk down the aisle, I was looking at you?”
“No.” Amy shook her head. If it was his goal to make her blubber like a baby, he was doing a damn good job. Every time he spoke, she would cry harder.
“I was. And I knew that I couldn’t marry her because it would mean giving you up. I’d made up my mind that if she had actually come walking down that aisle, I wasn’t going to go through with it. I couldn’t. I couldn’t give you up. I knew that I was going to choose you again.”
She desperately wanted to believe him. Was it possible he was telling her the truth? He looked like he was. But...what about last night? Why hadn’t he told Vanessa about them like he said he would? She opened her mouth to ask, but he spoke before she had a chance.
“I’ve always chosen you, Amy. Always. And now I’m asking you to choose me.” He kissed her softly on the lips, and she whimpered a little when he pulled away. Brett held a diamond ring in his hand. Amy stared at it for a moment, then looked at him. “Choose me to be the man you spend the rest of your life loving. Choose me to be the father of your children and your husband.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered, turning around so that her back was to his chest again. Was this really happening? Was Brett seriously proposing to her? She needed a moment to collect herself.
“Amy, look at me, baby, please.” He turned her so that she had to look at him. Using his free hand, he wiped away her tears with his thumb. “I love you so much, and I don’t want to live a life that you’re not a part of. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she said before he even finished the question. “Yes, a million times yes.”
