Page 23 of Hidden Vows
As soon as I could see clearly, I drove home and never looked back. It was another few years after that before I ever tried again.
“Hey.” Ava’s voice breaks through my thoughts. “Where’d you go?”
“Sorry.” I shake my head, clearing my mind of those feelings. “I got lost in the past.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” I give her a small smile. “I think it’s time to move on.” I turn, heading for the register. “Besides, we’ve got more exciting things to think about. Like what kinds of sweets should I make for our grand re-opening.”
“Yes!” Ava shouts, running over to me and bouncing on her toes when she hits the opposite side of the counter. “You have to make the lemon bars, that’s for sure. Those things sell out so fast.”
And that’s how we spend the rest of the afternoon, imagining a future where I get the money from my dad and build the business I’ve always wanted.
—
August 10, 2015
Do you remember the night we first made love?
Looking back on it, I realize we were too young to be making adult decisions. But when you came running to my house that night, all I saw were the tears on your face and the heartbreak in your eyes.
It was the first time you lied to me. Eleven years without a lie between us, and that night changed it all—again.
I trusted that you knew what you were doing. I trusted that you knew your mind better than I possibly could.
I sometimes wonder if that was the right decision. I know you never regretted it, and I know you felt the love I had for you, but everything about that night now has a cloud over it.
I wish you’d been able to tell me what happened. I know the truth now, and I understand why you felt like you couldn’t share it with me, but I still wish things had been different.
Looking back, I can see that night for what it really was—the start of the end for us.
We should’ve realized your father would never accept me in your life. The history between our parents was too much forhim to overcome.
I’ve always hated the story of Romeo and Juliet, but I get it now: how you can love someone more than life itself and still have to let them go.
I loved you then, and I love you more every day. Even though I’m not with you, I fall in love with you all over again every time I think of you.
You’re in my soul, never far from me, even if you’re thousands of miles away.
ten
JUDE
“I thoughtI made it clear you were never to step foot in this town again.”
I turn slowly to see Edward Selbey standing at the threshold to Murphy’s, his face clear of all emotion. To any onlooker—if there were any—he’d look like any other businessman stepping into a bar.
“Not even going to play at pleasantries?” I smirk, knowing it will irritate him.
I’m not surprised he stopped by after finishing his conversation with Abbey—I expected it. That’s why I’m sitting in an empty bar and not my apartment. But I can’t say the same for the animosity; maybe that was wishful thinking. The man has proven he knows how to hold a grudge.
“You know me better than that, Mr. Murphy.” His voice is laced with disdain, his anger starting to bleed through.
There was a time when I found the man standing before me intimidating, but now I see him for what he truly is—insecure. And that is something I pity.
Closing my laptop, I turn in my seat, giving him my fullattention.
“Sometimes, I think I’m the only person who knows the real man behind the mask”—I stand, shrugging as I shove my hands in my pockets—“but I don’t really care. I’m not a kid anymore, Eddie.”
