Page 15 of Until I Found You
Flashing her a wink, I turn my attention to Kinsley and the tray of shot glasses on the table.
“We are all here tonight to celebrate our good friends, Callum and Ellie, on their engagement. Ellie, we are all so happy you found your way to Arbor Creek, but there is no one here more thankful than Callum. We are so happy for you both and to be a part of the big day. When we decided to get together to plan your bachelor and bachelorette parties, we knew there was no way Callum would let you go far without him being close behind.” Kinsley laughs, looking over to where Callum stands, his arm wrapped around his fiancée’s waist as his nods his head in agreement.
He leans down, whispering something in her ear. Whatever he said must’ve been only for them to hear, earning him a playful smack on his chest.
“We figured why not plan a joint party, right where it all happened. Get ready to pack your bags, people. Wes is renting us an RV and we’ll be hitting the road to Chicago.”
“Really?” Ellie smiles as tears fill her eyes, as she stares up at Callum. Everyone knows what Ellie went through before she ended up boarding a bus to move here to Arbor Creek. Something tells me with the emotion on Callum’s face, he’s thinking about their road trip here that changed everything for him.
Kinsley rushes over to her, passing between where my eyes remain locked on Halle. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her wrap her arms around Ellie’s shoulders. For the first time since I’ve returned home, I see the hurt in Halle’s eyes.
It takes me a second before I connect the dots, but not only are we going back to where Callum and Ellie first met, but we’re going to the place I took off to when I left Halle five years ago.
With her eyes on mine, she leans forward and snatches a shot of whiskey off the tray, as she raises it to me in cheers. Her eyebrow raises as the edge of her mouth covers up a sarcastic smile.
I hate the twist in my stomach, thinking about how much pain I caused her after I left. She tosses the shot back, slamming the glass down on the table. The burn stings her eyes, as the liquid lingers on her lips. Her tongue darts out, running along her lower lip, before she presses the back of her hand against her mouth.
The music surges through the speakers, drowning out everyone around us. The urge to close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her is strong. She must read my body language and the restraint I’m barely containing because she shakes her head no and it’s like a splash of ice water over my head.
Halle has never pushed me away, not when she’s hurting. Not even when there were times we were so heated from an argument, she’d never deny letting me hold her or touch her.
I can’t blame her. I don’t deserve her. I’ve pushed her away, left her here without any care to how ending us and taking off would hurt her. Watching her, she turns on her heel and takes off toward the bar. She makes it two steps before she disappears into the crowd.
“You okay?” Mason asks, I hadn’t even realized he had gotten here. Brea’s next to him with her arm wrapped around his.
“I’ll go talk to her,” Brea says, reassuringly.
“It’ll be okay, man,” Mason says, loud enough for only me to hear as he claps me on the back.
I wanted to believe him, I really did. The only thing I could think about though was the look on her face as she told me no.
As much as I’ve told myself to stay away from her, the thought of her feeling the same hits me harder than I ever expected. I’m starting to think things will never be okay with Halle and me again.
