Page 71 of Choosing Forever
Silence is her only reply. For long enough that we both finish our milkshakes and avoid reaching into the diner bag for food that we can’t stomach now. The clock runs toward the end of my hour, a cruel reminder that I might not ever get another one.
“Did you . . . date her? Before that night?”
I whip my head toward her. Finally, she’s looking at me. Our eyes clash, and I breathe deeply, filling my lungs in a way I haven’t been able to since we started speaking about this. She presses her lips together and blinks, the slightest crinkle between her brows. A tell that I recognize immediately.
“No,” I blurt out. “I hadn’t dated anyone after you. It was always you.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that you married her, Darren. She was pregnant.”
“I owed Abbie two parents.”
“You weren’t happy, though, were you? I saw you during those few years you had a ring on your finger. What did marrying her cost you?”
I almost laugh. It’s not the time for me to answer that question. Not when tonight has already been hard enough. If she ever gives me another chance to sit and talk like this, maybe I’ll tell her then.
“I survived,” I say instead.
Almost reluctantly, her chin dips before she darts her stare to the bag of food. “What fundraiser ideas do you have?”
“What?”
“We need to talk about the fundraiser you wanted to do,” she explains, as if I simply missed what she said.
I try to keep my expression neutral despite my confusion. “Right now?”
“You have fifteen more minutes tonight. We can save the rest of the conversation for next time.”
“Next time,” I echo, heart racing.
She reaches into the paper bag and pulls out her burger while cocking a brow at me. “Eat, Darren. Yes, we can have a next time. One more night.”
I don’t make her say it again. Not when I could risk waking up from this dream to find myself alone again.
23
DELANEY
“Stop staringat me like that, Poppy,” I mutter around the rim of my coffee cup.
“I’m not looking at you like anything.”
“Yes you are.”
“How am I looking at you, then?”
With a roll of my eyes, I set my coffee on the table and relax into my chair. For a coffee shop, the ambience is top-notch. The recent renovation brought with it low lighting, plush chairs, and the disposal of the bar-height tables that always killed my back. There’s even a small stage at the front of the place that has yet to be used. If it ever will be.
“Like you’re itching to ask me a million questions. I’m shocked you’ve lasted this long, honestly. It happened days ago.”
Poppy bundles her red hair behind her shoulders and leans forward until her arms drape over the tabletop. “Start talking.Please. I’ll die if you don’t. I’m dying already!”
“I blame Daisy for this. She’s the one who told you, right?”
“It was Darren, actually, but now I’m offended that you told Daisy and not me? Who next? Bryce?” She pouts, her glossy bottom lip wavering.
“Darren told you?”
“Duh. He loves me too much to keep something like this a secret.”
