The Story Of Us - Teri Wilson Page 0,66
know, I can’t help but wonder.” She spun around to face him, and he noticed some of the fire in her eyes had already dimmed. In its place was something worse—pain. He’d hurt her, whether he’d meant to or not. “Have you just been humoring me this whole time? Or did you ever actually give Waterford a chance?”
“My being here is all about giving Waterford a chance.” That had been true from the very beginning, before he’d even known she owned True Love Books. Before he’d seen her standing atop that ladder like Juliet herself. “To help it thrive again the way I remember it used to.”
The numbers didn’t lie. If the town council didn’t take action, the business district would crumble, one boarded-up shopfront at a time. Sawyer wouldn’t be able to stand seeing that happen any more than Jamie would.
He blew out a breath. What could he possibly say to make her see what this place meant to him…what she meant to him? “I know you think I’m exaggerating my memories of this place to score points, but that’s not true. Waterford is where the best parts of my growing up took place, where my best friends are. Where I fell in love.”
Where he was falling in love again…here…now…
“In the past,” she said softly. Painfully.
“‘Past is prologue,’ Jamie.” If she wouldn’t listen to him, maybe she’d listen to the bard. “I know I left when we were kids, but I’m back now and I can’t stop thinking about you.”
He swallowed around the sudden thickness in his throat. He’d said it—he’d told her how he felt, had been achingly honest. He just hoped he hadn’t waited until it was too late.
“See, I don’t know what’s real and what’s just you doing what you need to do to get the job so you can walk away.” Her voice trembled, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Again.”
Sawyer shook his head. They’d already been through this, hadn’t they? “I didn’t walk away. We agreed.”
He couldn’t help but think she was searching for reasons to push him away so they wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout from the town council vote tomorrow. She was giving up, throwing in the towel, before they’d even had a chance.
“No.” She pointed at him, and her hand trembled. “You made that decision for both of us.”
He felt sick. “I never saw it like that.”
“You know what? Past isn’t prologue. It’s past. Just like True Love will be soon.” She gestured toward their surroundings—her beloved books, the pink tree, the handwritten Valentines tied to its branches with smooth satin ribbons. The thought of Waterford without True Love was almost inconceivable. But he’d been the one to make that call, and now he’d have to pay for that decision. “And maybe that’s where we should stay, too.”
No.
The price was too high. “Jamie…”
She shook her head and smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “No, it’s okay. I’m not even mad. You’re doing what you need to do, and I respect that.”
He just stood there, at a complete loss. He wanted Jamie’s respect, yes. But he also wanted more. So much more.
He wanted to hold her hand and walk around the duck pond again. He wanted to take her on a picnic and let her lie down on the cool grass while he read aloud from one of her favorite novels. He wanted to kiss her in the moonlight in that beautiful courtyard beneath the branches of the old oak tree.
“I’m going to pass on dinner tonight.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze, but it felt like she was looking right through him. “It was good to see you again.”
Was.
They were over.
So this is it, Sawyer thought, glancing down at the envelope in her hand. He’d done what he came to Waterford to do. The town council vote would go forward, and the Ridley project would be approved. He’d won, and in the process, he’d lost the only thing that mattered.
True love.
Chapter Eighteen
Sawyer left the bookshop in a daze, unsure where he should go or what he should do. The Valentine’s dinner was off, and Rick’s house wasn’t exactly an option either. Rick was still walking on air, thrilled to be with Lucy after two years of unrequited love. Sawyer didn’t want to rain on his parade.
So for now…
Well, for now he felt more like brooding and walking in the rain like one of the tormented heroes in the books Jamie loved