There Goes My Heart (The Sullivans #20) - Bella Andre Page 0,82

and he’d been working against the clock to finish the hope chest. He planned to give it to her later tonight, when they were alone.

Kevin had just finished showing them a new trick, saying, “Abracadabra!” with a flourish, when lightning flashed. The sky had been blue all day, but it wasn’t odd for Maine weather to turn on a dime.

Rain was starting to fall as they helped Kevin gather up his bag of tricks. But as he turned to head into the house, Rory was surprised to see his mother standing alone on the outdoor brick patio with an alarmed look on her face.

He was at her side a moment later. “What happened? Where’s Zara?”

“We were talking when she suddenly looked upset.” His mother couldn’t hide her concern. “Then she apologized and said she couldn’t stay.”

Rory’s chest tightened as the fear of losing Zara gripped him hard and wouldn’t let go. They’d declared their love for each other, though that didn’t automatically mean everything was perfect. He’d tried to convince himself that any hesitation on Zara’s part—like when he’d asked her to move in with him—was perfectly natural. After all, who wouldn’t be a little wary about things moving so fast?

But deep in his heart, he’d known that what was eating away at her was far bigger than just the speed, or unexpectedness, of their relationship.

“I’ve got to find her. I’ve got to get her to talk to me.”

His mother put a hand on his arm. “Please tell her that I didn’t mean to upset her in any way. And promise me you’ll remember that just because love isn’t always easy, that doesn’t mean it isn’t right.”

“I’m not going to give up on her,” he reassured his Mom. “Not when I know that Zara is the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life—and that I’m the one she’s been waiting for too.”

* * *

Though he could cover the distance to Zara’s cottage on foot in fifteen minutes, he drove to get there faster. Pure instinct had him taking the hope chest out of the backseat and jogging up her front walk. His heart was in his throat as he knocked on her door.

The good news was that she opened it immediately. The bad news was that there was not only no smile or snarky comment or kiss hello…there was no light in her eyes either.

Rory, frankly, had never imagined a world in which Zara’s spark blew out.

“You’re probably wondering why I left,” she said as she stepped aside to let him in out of the storm.

Even her voice was flat, and fear squeezed his chest as she walked over to the couch and sat. He sat too, putting the hope chest on the floor beside the coffee table, but she didn’t seem to notice it as she looked down at her clasped hands.

“I was so sure…” When she paused, he thought emotion might finally break through. But she quickly bottled it up. “I thought we could date each other without drama, then break up without problems or hurt feelings. But I was wrong.” She looked like she was reciting a page from the encyclopedia. “Our relationship did go all pear-shaped. Just like you were worried it might.”

He put out his hand for hers, but she shifted just out of reach. His voice wasn’t entirely steady as he said, “Nothing has gone pear-shaped. I still love you, and you love me.” He would never believe otherwise. “Talk to me, Zara. Tell me what’s wrong. Even if you think I don’t want to hear it, you know you can always tell me the truth.”

She was silent for a long moment. Finally, she said, “I was supposed to help you get over what happened with your ex. But how can I do that when I’m just like her?”

Of all the things he’d thought she might say, this was nowhere on the list. For all that she was perfectly calm and detached, he was getting more riled by the second. “You’re nothing like Chelsea! Until the night we broke up, she did whatever I wanted. She thought the sun rose and set on me. She never argued with me about anything. She always played by the rules. You’re her exact opposite.”

“Actually,” Zara replied in that same too-calm voice, “we’re the same in the only way that counts. You didn’t break things off with her for two years because you knew how badly she needed your family. Well, that’s exactly how I feel.” She