Page 118 of Can't Get Over You
Boone: She hates it?
Wyatt: Sweetwater Resort and Spa. It’s new and fancy.
Ava: Hold on. What did she say?
Jude: She hasn’t been inside. We’re just pulling up. But she’s expecting an elegant restaurant, not a smelly gym.
Ava: Stop worrying. She’ll love it.
Wyatt: Remember why you’re doing this. It’s not about feeding her steak and chocolate mousse.
His brother was right about that. Damn, that helped calm him down.
Ava: Yes! It’s an apology. It’s healing a wound.
Dad: And if she hates it, pack the shit up and take her out to dinner.
Jude: Good point. Thanks.
Feeling better, he pocketed his phone. “Ready to go?”
She leaned over to look out the window. “We’re at school?”
“Yep.” After sliding out, he reached back inside for her hand. Like some dude in a movie, he linked their arms and walked her to the entrance.
The door was propped open, so all he had to do was push, and they stepped through a curtain of streamers. She came to a stop when she saw what his family had done.
It was a big gym, so they’d only decorated one section with balloons and crepe paper. A folding table with a ruffled paper tablecloth held a punch bowl and various snacks. Music played softly from a tablet.
Finlay picked up a bag. “Ghost pepper chips?”
Jude laughed. “That’s Boone. It’s a joke in our family to see who can eat the spiciest food. So far, he’s the winner.”
“Are you saying yourbrothersdid this?”
“The whole family. Ava got us into the gym, and my brothers and dad did the rest.”
“I can’t believe this.” She gestured around the area. “You did all this for me.”
“One decision cost me a lifetime with you.” He gazed into eyes brimming with gratitude and affection. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if I’d said no to Marco that night, but knowing what it’s like with you now, I have no doubt I’d have done anything to keep you.” Which meant he wouldn’t have had to go through twelve years of exile and loneliness.
“I’d have done anything to stay with you, too.”
He believed that. He believed in them. “When I was lying on my cot in an FOB in Afghanistan and had enough distance to get a clear picture of my past, I understood my loyalty to my friends was not more important than my integrity.”
“That’s pretty insightful for a jarhead.”
He laughed, but he wasn’t finished. “So when you asked if I’d make the same choice today, the answer is no. Because now, I get it. A real friend wouldn’t ask me to betray my values, my morals,or my own happiness.” He reached for her. “I’ll never do that again.”
As they swayed to All-4-One’s “I Swear,” she set a shaky hand on his chest. “This is all so sweet, so romantic, but Jude…what’re we doing?”
“What do you mean?”
She gazed up at him, those hazel eyes clouded with worry. “I’m trying not to blur the lines. I know we can’t make promises beyond this six-week fake engagement, but when you do something like this for me…when you say those things… It’s confusing.”
A sense of urgency took hold. “I know it’s too soon. You just walked away from your wedding, but I’ll wait as long as you need. I’ve never felt this way for anybody but you, and I never will. It was you twelve years ago, and it’s still you today.”
“But what happens when Carlo comes home, and he’s healthy, and he wants Cody back… What happens to us?”
