Don't Hesitate Don't Hesitate (The Reluctant Heart Book 3) - Jeannette Winters Page 0,41

either.

Quietly I sobbed, but I swear the sound of my heart breaking was louder than the crashing mirror.

When I finally got back up and left my room, the cabin was quiet. Andrew was gone. I had gotten what I wanted, yet somehow it hurt more.

How can someone make me feel so good, so alive, so happy, and then ruin it all in the blink of an eye?

I knew how. Because I had fallen in love with him. And as they say, “Love hurts.” But I don’t believe them for a second about a broken heart healing. Whoever ‘they’ are.

Normally I’d call Aunt Trixi and cry on her shoulder, but she was going through enough right now. She doesn’t need to know anything about this. Ever.

As I walked through the living room, I spied the pink thong still sitting on the couch. I picked it up and threw it in the trash. They might have been my favorite pair once upon a time, but now, I never wanted to see the color pink again.

Chapter Seventeen

Anne

“I know you’re upset, but have you given any thought to what Andrew said? Was he right?” Trixi asked.

“Does it matter? He…lied to me,” I said firmly, still filled with anger.

“I believe the correct word would be secret.”

“What are you talking about?’ I asked.

“He didn’t lie. Because you never asked the question. He kept a secret, which is totally different,” Trixi explained.

“Not in my book,” I snapped.

“You’re being too hard on him. I’d like to believe that he would’ve told you what he was doing if you had given him the chance. And by that, I mean if I hadn’t called you about the damn rumors. So really, this is all my fault,” Trixi said.

“Now you’re being ridiculous. If you didn’t tell me, someone else would’ve. But that doesn’t change what he did.”

“But you haven’t answered my question. Was he right? Are you able to move The Treasured Chest? I mean, without risking everything?”

“It’s so much more than that. It states that I only have to run The Treasured Chest in the black for one year. It never said where or what that would be. So yes, Andrew uncovered something very important.”

“And you still can’t forgive him?”

I want to. But how can I trust him again? “It’s better this way, Aunt Trixi. No matter what, this was going to end anyway.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute. I heard it in your voice when I called. You sounded…happy. I mean, the type of joy that I heard when you told us you had gotten accepted to Boston University.”

“You can’t even compare the two,” I said.

“Of course I can. Let’s see. Oh, both Andrew and the university are in Boston,” she said.

“And I’m here.”

“Exactly. But think about what Andrew told you. The Treasured Chest can relocate anywhere, even Boston.”

“I’m not moving to Boston to run a strip club. I want to be a paralegal there. Who would hire me in that city after running that club?” I asked.

“You’re forgetting the part that it’s the name of the business only that needs to stay intact. Imagine what you could open The Treasured Chest as? Oh, how about an antique shop. I love going to those.”

“I don’t,” I stated firmly. “And I’m not moving to Boston. I don’t want to be there.” Anymore.

“If you ask me, you’re the one lying about what you want and your feelings. That’s worse than anything Andrew did. And trust me, Anne, it’s not healthy either. All you end up doing is living with regret,” she said.

Right now, I regretted telling any of this to Aunt Trixi. “Okay. I like him. And, yes, I’d like to be in Boston, instead of here in Bermoose. But we don’t always get what we want. You of all people should know that,” I sighed.

“You’re right. And that’s what gives me the right to tell you not to make the same mistakes I did. Carl and I wasted so many years never getting past something stupid. If we had, then maybe we would’ve gotten remarried.”

“Aunt Trixi, you and Uncle Carl loved each other very much. I hardly know Andrew.” That became evident when he finally told me the truth.

“You never know a person totally. Hell, you don’t ever really know yourself, either. All you can do is be open to what the other person brings to your life. If it’s negative, then walk away, but if find you’re more with that person, your hopes your dreams become theirs, then