Page 144 of Holding You
“And that’s why I won’t do it. It will only increase how much it hurts when we finally realize that one of us has to give up how far we’ve come. I won’t do that to myself or you, and I absolutely will not do that to Max or Susie.”
Shit.
“Ruby.” I reach for her, but she steps back. “I lo?—”
“Don’t.” She sniffles. “Please don’t say it right now.”
I let my hand fall between us.
She’s right.
“When do you leave?” she asks.
“In two days.”
She wipes her tears away and nods.
“I think you should sleep in your own room tonight.”
“Ruby.”
“I’m sorry” is the last thing she says before she walks out of the room.
I knew this conversation wasn’t going to go well, but I didn't think it would crush me or be the end of us.
I blow out a breath.
How are we going to tell the kids?
Fuck.
There is no we.
Not anymore.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
RUBY
As soon as I woke up, I told Max we were spending the day at the beach.
So that’s where we are.
I’d also sent Shay a text to meet me here, giving her only a summed-up version of what happened.
I thought about texting Grace or Brooke, but I needed someone who has known me longer and better.
I need someone who knew me back when I was living with Colt.
My relationship with Shay is different from my brothers’ spouses. Shay went to the same college I did before she moved back to Lovers. We’d find time to meet between classes and become good friends.
But by the time I’d moved back last summer, she and Luca had their own thing going, and he sucked up all her time.
I don’t blame her for picking him over me, but right now, I could really use one of my closest friends.
Max is running across the beach with a soccer ball by the time Shay lowers herself to sit next to me in the sand.
She lets out a breath.
