Page 46 of Just Another Chance

“She mentioned that.”

“And did it ever occur to you that she wanted to rebuild your relationship first?”

“What do you mean?” I squint, trying to understand exactly what she’s saying.

“Telling you about the baby right away would’ve thrown you into a position to step up and take responsibility. And, without a doubt, we all know you would’ve done that.”

“I would have been there as soon as I knew.”

“Right. But what if she wants more than that?”

My eyes narrow further, trying to decipher exactly what my sister is saying. “You mean…”

“What if she wanted to see if the two of you could work again? No pressure, no commitments, no kid. Just see where you stand and if the love is still there with you guys.”

What she’s saying makes complete sense. If Addie thought I was only with her because I was trying to make it work for Owen’s sake then that’s not good. She would need to know that I truly loved her first.

This is why I’m glad I ended up meeting my sister tonight. Otherwise, I probably would be in a drunken, angry stupor right about now.

“Thanks, Sierra. You should be a relationship therapist.” She chuckles and I wave the waitress over. “Can we get a dozen of the cupcakes to go?”

“Sure thing,” she says.

“A dozen?” Sierra bellows. “Are you nuts? Do you want me to gain 15 pounds?”

“I’m giving you half and you know you’re going to enjoy all six of them so don’t even pretend otherwise.” I smile at her. “It’s my way of saying thank you for some pretty great advice.”

“I’m glad I could help,” she says. “I don’t necessarily need to be paid in excess calories, though.”

“If it’s that upsetting to you, I’ll take your half.”

When the waitress returns with the two boxes of Bailey’s frosted cupcakes, Sierra grabs hers with a grin. “Not on your life, big brother,” she says and slaps my hand away.

I chuckle, feeling so much better than when I first got here.

17

ADDIE

After Tanner storms out, I sink down to the floor and cry. This isn’t how I wanted any of this to go. I had been putting off telling Tanner about Owen for this very reason. I had a feeling that no matter how I tried to explain it, he wouldn’t understand, and our perfect bubble would pop.

And I was right.

God, I feel so awful. Like a terrible person and now I’m scared that Tanner will never look at me the same; that he’ll never forgive me. That cuts me deeply, especially since things were going so well between us. I hope he can take a step back and try to understand why I did what I did.

So much of this situation has been out of my control and I’ve been doing my best to navigate through it for two years. It hasn’t been easy, and I’ve had to muddle through a lot, but it’s all been new and scary.

At least I thought I was doing my best,I think. Now through a veil of tears, I’m questioning everything. If I hadn’t run off so quickly after seeing him kiss that woman, if I had tried to talk to Tanner, I suppose we could’ve avoided a lot of pain and heartache.

If, if, if.

But when have things ever been easy or clearcut? For me?Never.

Brushing the backs of my hands across my cheeks, I stuck in a deep, steadying breath and tell myself it’s over. Tanner is going to hate me now, but I have to learn to live with my decision of keeping Owen a secret for as long as I did.

I screwed up.

Looking back, I just don’t think there was any way in the world I would’ve run to Tanner after everything that happened on that fateful day two years ago. I was devastated and confused. The man I loved was kissing another woman, my sister told me he didn’t want me any longer and his asshole father tried to cut me out of Tanner’s life and tried to convince me he wanted to be with some socialite. And all after breaking down my self-confidence and trying to convince me that I wasn’t good enough for his son.

---