The Man I Thought I Loved (Two-Faced #2) - E. L. Todd Page 0,56

you.” She was so gorgeous, so fun, so interesting. I knew Charlie’s feelings for Denise were strong if he would walk away from Kat without looking back. So, they just weren’t meant to be.

“I know, but I really loved Charlie. When I pictured myself in a wedding dress, he was the man watching me walk down the aisle.”

Now I wished Denise had never relocated here. I wished I weren’t having this conversation. I wished I didn’t have to watch my best friend get crushed the way Evan crushed me. “I know, girl…”

She grabbed her drink and finished the rest of it. After a few deep breaths, she calmed herself, cleansed her emotions, and stared out the window somberly. “I guess I really need to move on…because it’s not going to happen.”

“Yeah.”

She turned back to me. “I guess I needed to know the truth…as much as it hurts, so I can have closure and move on.”

I respected her attitude. She was strong. “So…you think I should tell them about the other’s feelings and give them your blessing?”

She looked totally caught off guard. “What?”

“You know…because they want to be together.”

“You’re serious right now?” She cocked her head and turned vicious. “They should be together while I just stand there and watch? That’s completely inappropriate. She’s my friend, he’s the guy I’m still in love with, you’re my best friend… That just sounds like a fucking nightmare.”

I’d hoped this wouldn’t be her reaction, but she was emotional and upset, and she wasn’t ready. “So, I should just keep it to myself?”

“Yes. We were together for two years. How could anyone expect me to just shrug it off and be okay with it?”

If she knew Charlie’s feelings were much deeper, she might have a change of heart, but I could never tell her that…because that would be too much.

“Absolutely not. You take that shit to the grave.”

I didn’t react to her words, didn’t show my disappointment. “Alright.”

She grabbed my drink and took a sip.

“I just think…if you really care about Charlie…you would want him to be happy.” He’d been feeling this way for Denise for a long time, but he didn’t do anything about it out of respect for Kat’s feelings. He even ended their relationship because he didn’t want to lie to her, pretend those feelings didn’t exist when he was strongly attracted to someone else. He did every honorable thing possible.

“Of course. He meets someone and falls in love and proposes…I would understand. I would be happy for him, even if it hurt. But to have to watch him be with my friend and have to look at it all the time…that’s rough. Because we’re always hanging out, so they’ll always be together. It’ll literally be in my face all the time. No, I can’t do that.” She shook her head. “Could you?”

If I had to see Dax with Denise, it would kill me. When she’d made a comment about having him, it had made me possessive when he wasn’t even mine. It would be difficult to be in those shoes and deal with that pain every day. It would be difficult for anyone, almost too much to ask. But I knew I would, because it was the right thing to do. “Hard to say…”

Instead of heading back to the apartment to talk to Charlie, I texted Dax. I need you. Charlie wouldn’t text or call out of fear that Kat would see his message, so I wouldn’t have to deal with him until I walked in the door. So, I wanted to avoid that as long as possible. I wasn’t the one with a broken heart, but I was devastated, and I reached out to Dax like a lifeline…which was a first.

He texted me back instantly. Sweetheart, I’m here. What do you need?

Can I come over?

Always.

I walked a few blocks to his penthouse, checked in with security, and rode the elevator to his floor. His whole world was vastly different from mine, but instead of seeing him as some rich suit, I saw him as Dax…the man. The doors opened and revealed him standing there, in just his sweatpants. His expression was focused on mine, his eyebrows rigid, his jaw clenched tightly, like my well-being was the single most important thing in the world to him. He cared about every emotion I felt, volunteered to carry my baggage like he wanted to be miserable with me rather than happy alone.

I moved into his chest and rested my face against his hardness,