The Man I Thought I Loved (Two-Faced #2) - E. L. Todd Page 0,66
sorry.”
“Yeah, me too. The sex with Nathan is great, but not great enough.”
“In my experience, sex isn’t going to fix your problems. Trust me…I know.”
“Yeah.” She gave me a sympathetic look. “Have you slept with him yet?”
“I don’t want to talk about him. I want to talk about you.” I hadn’t thought I could be happy again, but Dax was really making me happy. Or maybe he wasn’t doing anything—I was just allowing myself to feel good. My heart was open, and I let everything spill out every day. I also absorbed everything he gave, right into my bloodstream. Talking about how I’d overcome my problems and possibly found the guy I wanted to spend my life seemed cruel, considering her pain. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
She shook her head. “No. I just need to move on…” She set her muffin down, half eaten. “Over the course of this week, I’ve come to realize how pathetic I am. When Charlie dumped me, I should have toughened up and moved on. I shouldn’t have waited around and pined for a man who doesn’t even want me. Embarrassing…”
“Kat, it’s not embarrassing,” I said gently. “We all handle heartbreak differently. Nothing to be ashamed of. Look at me.”
“But you were married. It’s totally different.”
“You and Charlie were together as long as I was married. Not much different to me.”
She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Does this affect your friendship with Charlie and Denise?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. I mean, nothing has happened, so it’s not like I can get mad at them. Technically, Charlie doesn’t owe me anything.”
“He values his friendship with you a lot, Kat.”
“He said that?” she whispered.
“Of course. He values the entire group. We’re all a family, you know? And Denise said she couldn’t betray you either. Their loyalty is in the right place. If you never wanted anything to happen, it wouldn’t. But…I think that would be wrong.”
She stared at me, her eyes losing their light. “You think I should step aside?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you’re implying it.”
Now I was backed into a corner. “I know this is hard for you, it would be hard for anybody, but if these two people want to be together…I think you should let it happen. Maybe not right this second, but at some point.”
She sighed. “Denise is gorgeous and can have anyone she wants, and Charlie can get any piece of ass he wants. Why do they necessarily have to be together, so I have to look at it all the time? They can just find someone else.”
“What’s the difference between Charlie being with Denise or being with someone else? Either way, you’re going to see him with another woman. He’s going to bring her over for games or when we go out.”
“Yes, but she’s my friend. I’ll have to hear all about how she feels about him.”
“She would never do that, Kat.”
“It’s still weird. She knows I’m still in love with him. I feel like the loser Charlie didn’t want…”
That was a little too close for comfort. “You aren’t a loser, Kat. Life just happens, and sometimes it’s not fair and it doesn’t make sense—but it happens whether you want it to or not. As hard as it is, I think the best thing for you to do is handle this with dignity. Hold your head high and be the bigger person.”
She rolled her eyes. “Would you be able to hold your head high? If the woman Evan left you for was your friend?”
“Not the same thing at all.”
“I just know if you were in this situation, you wouldn’t be so inclined to accept it.”
“No. It would suck. But…I would do it.”
She looked away.
“Kat.”
She wouldn’t look at me.
“It will get easier. I promise.”
She shook her head, her arms across her chest. “Why are you pushing for this so hard? Are they in love with each other or something? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
I felt terrible lying, but I had to lie so she wouldn’t be crushed. “I just feel torn because Charlie is my best friend and Denise is my sister. It feels like a disservice to them both to just look the other way.”
“But there are rules for this, you know? Don’t date your friend’s ex. Don’t date the ex your friend is still in love with. Don’t date your best friend’s sister, who’s a friend of your ex. I mean, this is just so obvious.”