Page 44 of Damaged Hearts (Damaged Hearts 3)

A sweet and sexy guy too.

“I will,” I finally say, though I feel like I’m lying. I can’t imagine telling him the truth. “When I’m ready, I will.”

“Jen.” We both turn so we’re facing each other and she grabs hold of my shoulders, giving me a shake. “You will never feel ready. There will never be a right time. You just have to…gain some courage and tell him. It’s the only way. Like ripping off a Band-Aid. The anticipation is killer, but once it’s done, it’s so worth it.”

The tears spring to my eyes and I tilt my head back to prevent them from spilling. “I’m so scared he’ll hate me,” I admit.

“He won’t hate you.” Savannah shakes my shoulders again, and I glare at her. “I promise. He had a secret, and yeah, it was a shitty thing he did, keeping that from you. But your secret is pretty big too.”

“Thanks for making me feel so good,” I say sarcastically, and she shushes me.

“Let me finish.” I press my lips together, remaining quiet before she continues. “I’m just saying I think he’ll be understanding. You both have secrets. You found out his, and it’s a biggie, I can’t deny that, but I have faith you two can work it out. So now it’s your turn to tell him yours.”

“His secret was awful,” I whisper.

“I know.” She wraps me up in a quick hug before she pulls away from me again, her hands still on my shoulders. “And I’m sorry everything happened the way it did. But you should probably come clean with him. I know you care about Rhett a lot.”

“I do,” I admit, biting my lower lip.

“I believe he cares about you too. Whatever you tell him, he’s going to be understanding. You just need to be open with him, okay? Stop holding on to all this hate and tell him the truth,” Savannah says.

I’m kind of irritated with her, but maybe I need this dose of reality. “Can’t you just let me wallow in my misery for a minute?”

“I did that last night. Now you need to woman up and talk to your man. Make this work.” Savannah squeezes my shoulders before letting them go. “Maybe you should go see him right now.”

“No way.” I shake my head. “I’m staying here tonight.”

Savannah sighs and stands, resting her hands on her hips. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m gonna go clock in.”

“Have fun.” I grab a magazine I snagged from Savannah’s coffee table before we left the apartment, and open it. “I’ll be sitting here waiting for you.”

The moment she’s gone, I close the magazine with a sigh, tilting my head back so I can stare up at the ceiling. I don’t want to sit here all night, but I feel like I have no choice. Where else could I go? Sitting around the apartment, waiting for Rhett to possibly show up, sounds like pure misery.

Though I miss him. I miss him like crazy. I’m just scared to face him, scared to see his reaction to my truth, scared to hear his reasoning for protecting his uncle.

This entire plan was a huge mistake. I should’ve never gone after him. I deserve all of this and more for trying to get revenge on my real mother. It may look like Diane is living the perfect life, but she’s absolutely miserable. Having an affair with her stepson, always fighting with her husband, unable to get along with her stepchildren, constantly trying to make herself look prettier and younger by spending all sorts of money on cosmetic procedures…it’s awful.

I didn’t need to ruin her life. She’s already done that to herself.

“Hey.” I glance over my shoulder to see Chuck the bartender sta

nding in the doorway, a faint smile on his face. “You gals decent?”

“I’m the only one in here, Chuck.” God knows where the strippers are tonight. Mondays are notoriously slow and they don’t start the shows until closer to ten. “And of course I’m decent. I don’t work here anymore.”

Chuck laughs, shuffling his feet. “You got a visitor.”

“Who’d want to see me? Oh…” My voice fades when I see who appears next to Chuck.

It’s Rhett.

My stomach churns. My heart races.

“I’ll leave you two be,” Chuck murmurs before he ducks out of the room.

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