“This isn’t the first time we’ve broken up, Lindsey. You’ve never acted this way before, so what’s going on now?” For some reason, the first thought that popped into my head was that she was dying, and this was her final goodbye.
Her brows pinched together as deep creases lined her forehead. While I understood the sun probably made it hard to see, I couldn’t shake the feeling that her expression went beyond one’s natural reaction to bright light.
“Well, Corbin, as you know, I’ve been seeing someone. I told you that not too long ago when I had to call you about the flowers.” She swallowed harshly and squinted even more. “There’s something different about him.”
“Like what? He’s a serial killer?” I needed her to get to the damn point.
She softly backhanded my bicep and rolled her eyes. “Not like that. I just mean that while we’ve both been with other people during our times apart, I feel like we’ve always kind of had this silent pact to keep things light because it just went unsaid that we’d get back together eventually.”
I suddenly understood the taut pull of her brows and drastic V marring her forehead between them. Pity. Sympathy. She believed that whatever it was she needed to tell me would hurt me. I opened my mouth to stop her, to assure her that she didn’t need to handle this with kid gloves, but what came next stunned me into silence.
“But not this time, Corbin. He asked me to marry him…and I said yes.”
All I could do was stare at her and blink, my mouth hanging open to keep me from choking on my tongue. Truth be told, my shock had nothing to do with our history together or any lingering feelings between us. I guess I was surprised by how fast she’d gone from leaving me to getting engaged to someone else—not that it bothered me or anything. It simply surprised me.
“Which is why it was so important for me to come back this one last time to see your parents and sister and the few remaining friends in town. I hope you can understand, Corbin. You rushed off the phone when I told you that I was seeing someone else, so I just want to make sure you’re okay with this. Well, I’m not expecting you to be okay, but at least respect my decision.”
That’s when the gaping mouth and blinking stare turned to belly laughs and knee slaps.
“What’s so funny?” And it seemed her pity had morphed into irritation.
“Nothing. Nothing.” I calmed down and cleared my throat to speak normally. “That’s seriously the best news you could’ve told me, Lindsey.”
Again, her eyes squinted—creases in brow, the whole nine yards—but this time, she regarded me with puzzlement in her stare.
“I’ve also started seeing someone, and while we’re not at the diamond-ring stage yet, it’s definitely something special, something I want to hold onto and never let go of. So I understand. It’s really nice to know we’re both at the same place, at the same time, ready to finally put an end to this merry-go-round we’ve called a relationship for the last nine years.”
“Good. Me too.”
Ready to head back, I adjusted the shifter to turn us around.
The return ride was a lot smoother and more comfortable than our departure. We were able to let go of the fear of hurting the other person and just enjoy one last laugh. And after getting the boat back on shore and covered, we were also able to give each other one last hug, and one final goodbye.
“I don’t plan to hang around long. I honestly only came to see the family and enjoy the atmosphere a bit. I guess I just needed a memory to take with me, you know?” She smiled as I nodded, and then she patted my arm and put one heel behind the other. “Take care, Corbin.”
“You do the same, Lindsey. And I mean it…congrats on the engagement.”
And now that I’d made peace with my past, it was time to find my future.
I took my time making my way from the far side of the lake to the back of the house. If anyone saw me, they’d simply think I was casually making my rounds through the groups of friends and neighbors, when really, I was searching for Brooke. It seemed that most, if not all, of the guests had arrived, so I knew if I rushed through my search for her, I had a higher chance of missing her in a crowd.
But once I’d made it to the back porch, satisfied that she wasn’t in the yard—and that I hadn’t simply overlooked her—I snuck inside. She had to be here somewhere. And considering the house, there were only a few places she could be. I started with the kitchen, then checked the bathrooms she frequented when here, and when I didn’t find her in any of those places, I moved toward the stairs, suspecting she might’ve been hanging out in Nellie’s old bedroom.
“Oh, honey…there you are.” Leave it to Mom to stop me before making it to the staircase. “Lindsey’s here. Have you seen her yet?”
“Yes, Mom. I actually just finished talking to her.”
“Good. I’m glad you two had a chance to catch up.” Either she hadn’t spoken to Lindsey yet, or their conversation had gone very differently than the one I’d had with her on the lake. “What are you doing inside? The party’s in the back.”
I huffed, tired of being coy. “I’m looking for Brooke. Have you seen her?”
“I actually just ran into her outside. She was sitting all alone beneath the pergola on the side of the house.” Mom had a natural ability to acquire fancy things and insist they were called by their proper names.
Lucky for me, I knew exactly what she was referring to. Except in my vocabulary, it was known as the pavilion. Granted, that technically wasn’t what it was, but considering it was made of four columns holding up rafters that were covered in vines and various-colored flowers that offered anyone beneath it shade, to me, it was a pavilion.
“Why are you looking for her?” she asked, although not at all suspiciously. At least there was one woman in my family who didn’t immediately jump to conclusions. Then again, it wasn’t like Nellie hadn’t jumped to the right conclusions, but that wasn’t the point.
“I wanted to catch her before she left. I, uh…I had a few more ideas of things she could do to her house that would improve the, um…the curb appeal.” Damn, I really needed to get better at coming up with things on the spot.
Thankfully, she didn’t question it and offered a loving smile in response.
I took off through the side door, hoping she hadn’t left that spot before I got there. And as soon as I caught the sight of her yellow dress through the foliage that had wrapped itself around the wooden columns, I felt like I could breathe again, realizing I’d pretty much held each breath since she’d walked away with Nellie. And that had been more than an hour ago.
“Thank God you’re still here. I couldn’t find you anywhere.” I took a seat next to her on the wrought-iron bench. “I was getting worried that you might’ve left already.”
She turned to face me, and I couldn’t have been any happier to see that her eyes were the color of limes, and as far as I could tell, there weren’t any signs of tear tracks through her makeup. Good lord, she was stunning.
“No, I didn’t leave. I’m not going to run away with my tail between my legs. I didn’t buy this dress or spend hours this morning getting ready to only get fifteen minutes of enjoyment out of it. I told myself I’d stay for at least two hours.” Her smile may have been guarded, but it was beautiful all the same.
“Well, for what it’s worth, you took my breath away when you first got here. Hell, you’re still taking it away.” I made a show of my chest heaving, as if I were fighting for air. “You’re by far the most gorgeous woman here.”
Casting her gaze onto the lawn, she asked, “I take it you spoke to Lindsey?” Her voice was so soft it nearly got carried away in the gentle breeze that drifted through the pavilion. Yet it was loud enough to hear the trepidation in her tone.
“Yeah, we had good talk.”
“I bet your parents are thrilled with that.”
I shrugged, even though she wasn’t looking my way. “Maybe, but I’m sure once they find out what we talked about, they won’t be.
” That earned her attention, her wide eyes swinging to me mine, and I had to fight against the smile that yearned to play on my lips. “She’s getting married, which means it’s over for the both of us. It doesn’t matter how badly my parents or Nellie want us to work things out, it’s never going to happen.”
Peace and relief blanketed her and left hope shining in her eyes.
I held her hand and turned my shoulders to face her. “Listen, Brooke—”
“I’d love to see how you guys plan to lie your way out of this one.” Nellie interrupted me when she stepped out from behind the shrubbery with her arms crossed, catching us red-handed. I must’ve been too focused on Brooke to notice any movement or hear her footfalls as she approached.
Both of us just sat still, staring up at her, unable to speak…or move.
“So that’s it? No one’s going to bother trying to tell me that I’m making a bigger deal of this than there is?” She pointed to Brooke and asked, “You’re not going to look me in the eyes and swear that there’s nothing between you? The least you guys could do is come up with something. I think I deserve a little entertainment at this point. Can’t one of you at least attempt an explanation as to why you’re holding hands?”
Brooke slipped her hand out from beneath mine and laced her fingers together in her lap. I’d never experienced such painful rejection in my life. Everything that had taken place over the last hour or so felt like one giant sucker punch. One major curveball out of left field. And I had started to doubt my ability to handle it all.
“So were you really the one who invited Lindsey?” I asked, staring point blank at Nellie.
“No. I’m not like you, Corbin. Or Brooke. I’m not a liar. Mom and Dad invited her, like they do every year. Trust me when I say, if I had known that she was coming, there would’ve been fireworks.”
“Why?” Brooke glanced up, her eyes shimmering with tears though none had taken the plunge. “Just because you hadn’t asked her to come or knew ahead of time that she’d be here doesn’t change the fact that you just admitted that if you had, you would’ve gone out of your way to hurt us. Why, Nellie? Why would you want to hurt us?”
“Because you’ve done nothing but lie to my face. How can you stab me in the back and then expect me not to react? Don’t treat me like I’m the one who betrayed you. Remember who did the betraying first. And you have no right to be upset with me for something I only wished I had done yet never did, while defending yourself for actually doing something.”
“Can we please talk about this?” she pleaded.
“No. You had your chance, and you chose to lie instead. The time to talk about it has passed.” Nellie shook her head and took a step back. “You know, until I walked over here and caught the two of you, I didn’t have proof that anything’s been going on between you. I’ve suspected it. I’ve assumed it. But until this very moment, I wasn’t entirely sure. I wanted to believe you, Brooke.”
I stood and put myself between my sister and Brooke. “Nell, that’s enough.”
“That’s rich, Corbin.” Her laughter was borderline methodical, and it matched her crooked grin. “You guys have snuck around behind my back for God knows how long, and yet you stand here and tell me when it’s enough?”
“We understand that you’re mad.”
“Well, good. I’m glad you understand, dear brother. But understand this…I wanted to believe that nothing was going on between you guys. I actually felt bad for doubting you two. Pathetic right? But something just kept eating at me, so I dug a little deeper.”
Rather than respond or entice her to keep talking, I simply stood in front of her with my arms crossed over my chest, clenching my teeth as I desperately held on to the last strand of my patience. She was upset; I got that. But there was a time and a place to handle this properly—like adults. And hiding out on the side of our parents’ house while their guests mingled less than twenty yards away was not it.
“Imagine my surprise when I discovered that you’ve been lying about the plan.” She leaned to the side to see around my form. “Both of you.”
Brooke finally pulled herself off the bench and moved to stand by my side, just one tiny step behind me. “I never lied about that. I just didn’t correct you.”
“Um, no, Brooke. You lied. To my face. Countless times. What else would you call it when you tell me the plan is still in effect, even though there’s been absolutely no progress since the beginning?”
Brooke took two more steps, moving to now stand in front of me, and turned her attention my way. Yet I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t. The heat from her stare was enough, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle looking into her eyes, knowing that I’d lied to her for two months now.
Giving up on gaining my attention, she turned back to Nellie and whispered, “I don’t understand.”
“What’s there not to get, Brooke? This whole time, the two of you have told me—as well as Mady and Julie—that he was making progress with Heather. He’s told me that they’ve gone out a couple of times. Are you trying to tell me that you didn’t know that?”
“Well, no. I mean, I knew he hadn’t actually gone out with her. But how do you know he hasn’t done anything at all about it? He’s gone down to her desk to see her, ran into her in the hallways a few times, talked to her at the office. Just because he hasn’t met up with her outside of work doesn’t mean he’s done nothing.”
I so badly wanted to put an end to this, but I couldn’t move. My mouth wouldn’t even form the shapes to make sounds, my lips refusing to part while I just stood there like an arsonist amongst the crowd watching as my building burned to the ground, the flames taking everything I cared about with it.
“Brooke, sweetheart…” That patronizing tone was almost enough to snap me out of my trance and strangle her, but the words that followed kept me locked in this steel box of panic. “I called and spoke to Heather a couple of days ago. She’s never even met him. He literally hasn’t made one move toward the goal. Not one.”
This time, when Brooke turned her attention to me, I met her stare. The sheer betrayal in her eyes was enough to make me crumble. I’d done that. I’d caused her that pain. And on top of the hurt that Nellie had just dished out, it was very clear that she’d reached her limit.
She glanced between Nellie and me a few times before quietly saying, “Excuse me,” and walking away.
I wanted to go after her, chase her down, explain it all to her, but I couldn’t.
Because my parents had chosen that moment to drag Nellie and me to the back yard for the adult egg hunt. The only thing that got me through was knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide from me. As soon as I finished dealing with my sister and figured out what I needed to say to Brooke, I’d go after her. And we’d get through this together.
I believed that with my whole heart.
Chapter 26
Brooke
I’d stood there in a state of shock, convinced I had heard her wrong. But no matter how badly I wanted to believe that, I couldn’t, because even when I offered Corbin a chance to correct her, he didn’t.
And when I could no longer stomach the thought of him lying to me this entire time, I walked away, needing a moment to compose myself. But as I stepped closer to the back door, making my way inside to use the restroom, I realized I didn’t need to stay. I had no obligations to hang around until the end.
I could leave anytime I wanted.
So that’s exactly what I did.
I’d planned to talk to him tonight about how I felt and the status of our relationship, but now, I no longer knew what I wanted. Today had been a whirlwind—hell, these last two months had been one massive vortex of lies and secrets and broken trust. My life had been turned upside down, and I had no clue which side was up at the moment.
I needed to clear my head and think.
As weird as it felt to get in my car and drive away without telling anyone bye, or even thanking their parents for inviting me, I was happy for the
easy escape. Things were awkward between all of us now, and I had no idea how long it would be before they would calm down. A swift exit worked out for the best.
Nellie’s face kept playing on repeat in my head. She’d looked so disgusted at the mere thought of Corbin and me together. Had she seriously thought I’d known all along about the lack of any sort of progress on the plan? Did Corbin honestly think that would never come out? Then again, I had no right to be upset with him for that. After all, I’d done the same to Nellie, knowing that at some point, our entire relationship would get out.
God, I had a lot to think about.
As I approached the traffic light just outside of the subdivision that Corbin and Nellie had grown up in, I began to slow, preparing to turn left down the country road that led to my house—well, Phyllis’s house. Shit, I didn’t even have a place I could call my own. While I knew that Phyllis had thought of it as our home, and had even said so many times before, it didn’t change the fact that I literally had nothing.
Aside from the car I drove and the clothes that hung in the closet, I had nothing. And that was a depressing realization to come to. I was more than thankful for all that Phyllis had ever done for me. I truly was. There was not one part of me that was ungrateful for the help I’d received along the way. However, the fact still remained that I had no parents, no family, no valuable possession that I could call my own.
For fuck’s sake, I didn’t even have a paying job.
Instead of turning left at the light, I decided to keep driving. I had no idea where I’d end up or how far I’d go, but I just needed to drive. I needed to roll down the windows, silence the world, and get my head straight.
And by the time dusk had begun to set, I came to the realization that I’d had enough soul searching for the evening. I pulled into an empty parking lot two towns away and grabbed my phone from the passenger seat, where I’d tossed it after turning off the ringer.
The unEXpected Plan Page 27
