Page 31 of The One I Love
“Pass,” he says. “She asked me to come, and I’ll be there. Plus, it’s been a minute since I’ve seen the asshat.”
He cracks his knuckles as he says that, and I don’t know if it’s by coincidence or just a reaction to Paul coming up in conversation.
“Just promise me you won’t get us kicked off the premises.”
“I make no promises.”
“Promise.”
He lets out a groan. “Fine. I won’t.”
“Thank you. And, the meet starts at five-thirty this week, which I know is a half-hour later than normal?—”
Shane cuts my rambling off. “Amelia.”
“Yes?”
“Did you ask me to breakfast to talk about your ex-husband and middle school track?”
I let out a breath and shake my head. “You told me to contact you when I was ready with an answer.”
A hush falls over the table. I know he’s waiting for me to say something, and the longer I’m quiet the more time seems to stand still.
“Amelia, you have to say something. I’m going crazy over here.”
“I know.” I swallow the lump in my throat as he leans forward, resting his elbows back on the table. His eyes are burning into me. I swear I can feel it all the way down to my toes. I tilt my head down and stare at the dark abyss in my coffee cup and nod.
“Hey,” he says, reaching across the table and tiltingmy chin up so we’re now looking at each other. “Talk to me. No matter what your decision is, we can talk about it.”
His words send me back to the night of the wedding after Shane first kissed me, only this time the roles are reversed. And now we don’t have adrenaline and liquid courage fueling us. All we have now is a cup of coffee and a cloud of reasons why we shouldn’t do this lingering.
“I want this,” I begin. “I want to try this. I really do. But I’m scared as hell, Shane. I’m scared about what will happen if this doesn’t work out.”
He nods and gives my hands a squeeze, but quickly lets go when he realizes what he’s done. If people saw us holding hands, it would send the town into a frenzy. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be. I liked it. I want it. But this is one of the reasons I’m scared. If people saw you holding my hand, you know how the town would react.”
“Chaos.”
“Exactly. This relationship wouldn’t just be us. It would be everyone.”
“It’s only that if we let it.”
I shake my head. “You know that’s a lie.”
“A man can hope.”
“And what if this doesn’t work? Then the town would pick sides. And you’re a cop and they want to get out of speeding tickets so they’d pick you.”
“No they wouldn’t.”
“They would.”
“I’m not worried about that.”
“Why?” I ask. “It’s a legitimate concern.”
Shane leans in closer. “You’re worried if this ends badly. I get it. That’s the Amelia way. But, what if it’snotlike that?”
