Love Triangle Six Books of Torn Desire - Willow Winters Page 0,467

exhibited my friend less and less. This woman who used to believe in the concept of love so fiercely, she made me believe in it, too.” She pauses, her tone softening. “Do you remember what you said when I tried to deny I was falling for Noah?”

I blink, remaining mute.

“You said it was in our DNA to want to share our lives with someone, to fall in love, but not the kind of love I used to write about in my books. What did you call it?”

“The gritty kind of love,” I answer, my voice barely audible, worried she would hear my truth in them.

“That’s right, Brook. The kind of love you have to work for, that doesn’t come easily, that has absolutely zero resemblance to a fucking fairy tale. The love that hurts, rips out your soul, stomping on it and bringing you to the lowest of your lows. The old Brooklyn would have crossed oceans and climbed mountains to find that kind of love. Where did that girl go?”

“She was forced to realize it wasn’t in the cards for her to have what you have. Look at me, Molly.” I gesture at my tall body. “I’m not the type of girl a guy like Drew will ever love. You’ve seen the girls he’s dated, slept with. I’m not it. I’ll always just be his sister’s best friend. Nothing more.”

I wipe at the tears streaming down my face, surprised at my sudden candor with her. For the longest time, I put her needs ahead of my own, never wanting her to pry too much into my personal life. Now everything I’ve kept from her for years is spewing forth like molten lava, burning and destroying everything in its path…burning and destroying me.

“Yes, you are, Brooklyn,” she assures me with more compassion than I deserve, especially once she learns the truth. “You’re so much more than that. Drew loves you. I know it. I see it in his eyes. I can feel his heart breaking at the idea of you marrying someone else. If you’ll just give him a chance to prove this to you—”

“I did.”

Molly steps back, a blank look on her face. “When?”

I blow out a laugh at how stupid and na?ve I’ve been. “So many times.”

“Give me an example.”

I zero in on her, studying her hardened stare. I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this. But I came here tonight to explain why marrying Wes is so important. This is a big part of that.

“One stands out, although I can bore you for hours with instances where Drew broke his promises me. But this one…” My voice wavers as I’m transported back to that night. “After finishing grad school, I was living with my dad so I could save money for my own place. I’d just dropped you off at your apartment from a night at the bars. When I was about to turn down the street, I saw Drew stumbling around the park. He could barely walk, and I was worried something would happen if I left him. I pretty much had to carry him to my car, which you can imagine was quite the feat with how tall and strong he is.

“I asked what he was doing back in the old neighborhood and that’s when he told me Carla had filed for a divorce. He didn’t know where else to go, so he went to the only place that felt like home. When I started to drive him to your dad’s place, he told me I was the only place that felt like home, that he was there to see me.”

I pause, leaving out the other things he said, namely how he wanted to make amends for standing me up the morning he left for college. I never told Molly about Drew being my first kiss. After the pain he caused, I didn’t want anyone to know, wanted to forget about it.

“I knew he was drunk and hurting so I shouldn’t believe a single word that came out of his mouth, but I wanted to.” I look to the sky, tears streaming down my cheeks, before returning my eyes to hers. “God, Molly. I’d been waiting years to hear him say something like that. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to watch him date woman after woman after woman, then learn he got married?”

Molly remains stunned mute by my story, the words I’ve been too scared to speak for