Page 77 of Third Time is the Charm
Beth stopped, twisting her napkin in her lap, willing herself to stay quiet for long enough for him to say something. Finally, after a minute, he looked up and met her gaze.
“I see.”
She felt more tears stream down her face; she’d never seen him so dejected before.
“Please, Col. I care about you. I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. Please,” she begged softly.
He let out a loud sigh, running his hand through his hair. “I think you’re making a big mistake.”
“Col, believe me, I tried to find those kinds of feelings for you, I really—”
“No,” he cut her off. “I don’t mean about me. I don’t care about me. I mean trying to make things work with him. Even if you were wrong about what happened, I know how he treated you and I know that you deserve so much more.”
“I do, Col, and I wouldn’t be here right now telling you this, hurting you in this way, if I wasn’t convinced that he is not the same man that he was,” she said sincerely; it was the first statement that confidently left her mouth.
“Are you sure?”
“You know me; you know how I felt. It would be a lie to tell you that I’m completely sure that he has changed because I’m not – I don’t know how I could be. But, I will tell you what I am sure about is that if I don’t take this chance with him, if I don’t give him this chance, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
Col’s eyes widened slightly at her words, his lips thinning momentarily before he nodded in resignation. “Then what else can I do but hope, for your sake, that you are right.”
She bit her lip feeling like she deserved so much more of his anger for leading him on. “Are you ok?”
His eyebrows raised at her as though saying ‘are you really asking me that?’
It was a pretty dumb question.
“No,” he admitted anyway. “But I will be.” His gaze tunneled into her as she chewed on her lip. “What did you think I was going to do? Freak out? Fire you?”
“No! Yes. Maybe,” she mumbled. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I’m not,” he reassured her. “Honestly, it was wishful thinking on my part. I should have known, seeing you two at the wedding. Even before that, really; there is something in the way you look at him that I so desperately wanted to see when you looked at me. I guess I thought it would come with time, but I don’t think I was being realistic.”
“I’m sorry, Col,” Beth offered, unsure of what else to say; there was nothing that could make this easier for him.
“Stop apologizing,” he said with a sad smile. “Don’t apologize for admitting to what you want and pursuing it; I’ll be fine.”
Whether he said the words to convince her or himself, she wasn’t sure so she just nodded in response.
“So, what does this mean for me?” he asked, then clarified with, “In terms of Caroline Bingley.”
“I… ahh… I’m honestly not sure. I would do whatever you have to do – talk to whomever you know, but I doubt her reach extends further than the bribe that she paid that girl. If I had to guess, it was only done as a message, that even here she can still get to me.”
“Should you go to the police?” Even though it was a question, it sounded more like a highly-encouraged suggestion.
“I will,” she nodded. “Darcy said that I should go last weekend; I guess he got a restraining order against her already and wants me to get one. Well, not just him, I want to get one, too. I just didn’t think I would need to do it so urgently. I figured she was moving on with her life in New York, but she must have learned that Darcy came up here on Monday—” She stopped abruptly, blushing when she realized that she’d revealed that Darcy had stayed with her. “And… ahh… that is what probably set this all in motion,” she finished quickly, trying to ignore that awkwardness between them.
But, ignoring an elephant isn’t exactly the easiest thing.
“Whatever she does next, I think will be aimed directly at me. I’ll go to the police on Monday and handle it,” she assured him.
“Ok.” His reply was fraught with worry.
“I would just try to make sure all of the guest lists for the private parties and events are monitored tightly. Even though I’m her target, I don’t think she cares about any collateral damage when it comes to getting what she wants,” she warned him even though he probably had a good idea what lengths this woman would go to.
Col let out a long sigh, closing his eyes for a split second before turning back to her. “Alright, let’s get going and get you home.” He stood from his chair and she followed his lead, trailing quietly behind him as they left the hotel.
There were things that she could say, but nothing that would ease the pain that she had caused him.
