AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She waved dismissively, stopping him. “It’s fine. You’re right in some ways. It’s hard to see Finn with Ava, it’s hard to be involved with their wedding, and it’s difficult to pretend I’m with you.”
Dean raised his eyebrows. She made it seem like being with him was a task. “Difficult, huh?”
Annoyance crept into her expression. “You know what I mean.”
Dean shook his head. He wasn’t sure if the disappointment won over the anger, but he couldn’t be still any longer. It was then or never. “No, I don’t. I’ve been wanting to tell you something for a long time, but you’ve been dealing with stuff since you moved back. I didn’t want to bother you with this, but I need to get it out.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time.”
There, it was out, finally. He paused and let the silence envelope them. Her eyes grew wide as his words soaked in. A wave of relief washed over him, and the air electrified around him. Every sense sharpened while he waited for her to speak.
After a long minute, Emilie exhaled and glanced around them. She leaned closer and whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Dean sat back. “You knew? And you haven’t said anything?”
“Gail told me the other night. But this isn’t really a good time—”
He shook his head. “This is exactly the right time to bring this up. Do you know how hard this next week is going to be for me? For us? To be around you, pretend we’re engaged, and then not have you return those feelings? Instead, you’re pining after the man who hurt you in the first place?”
Emilie scooted off the bench and stood. “If you mention Finn one more time, I’m leaving. If you don’t want to come next week then don’t.”
The entire restaurant stopped all movement, all talk. Dean’s appetite disappeared, along with his will to refuse her offer. It was the perfect out, and yet, he wasn’t looking for an escape. Finally, he reached for her hand and pulled her back to the seat.
“No, I don’t want that. You think you can handle this wedding alone, but it would be difficult to face everything by yourself.” He ran his thumb over her soft skin. “I care about you too much to let that happen.”
“Here’s your pizza.” The waitress set their pizza on a stand and hurried off.
He dished up a piece for Emilie and himself, but he was no longer hungry and his piece sat on the plate, limp and cold. A pathetic reminder of the night. Broken sentences and rushed emotions wasn’t how he’d planned this talk in his head.
Emilie was unaffected and ate three pieces before slowing down. Finally, she put down her napkin and cleared her throat. He felt her eyes waiting for him to focus on her, and after a minute of resisting, he looked at her.
“Why did you tell me, Dean? What does knowing it do for us? If you can’t trust me, why even bother?”
He shrugged. “I needed you to know and to see how you felt about me.”
“We. Are. Friends. If things get awkward after a breakup—”
“What breakup? You think I’m ever going to let you go?”
Emilie’s frown wavered for half a second before turning down again. “But I plan to move back to Boston. Leaving’s bound to happen anyway, so let’s not even start.”
Dean lifted a hand to his head and rubbed his temples. “First of all, nothing is set in stone. And second, if you move, we can deal with that when the time comes. Who said we can’t make something long distance work?”
Emilie opened her mouth and closed it again.
He had shut her up good that time. Maybe he could finally get through to her. “Listen, you think after all this time of liking you we would ever break up? I would never let this end in shambles. I mean, unless you don’t like me one bit.”
As he waited for her to answer, Dean imagined drips of water coming from a faucet, painfully slow and irregular. Her eyes grew wide and glassy. “I do care about you, Dean. It’s like we’re best—”
“Don’t.” Dean stood abruptly. “We are adding the ‘b’ word to the list of things we don’t say. Who cares if we’re friends? Does it make sense to jump into a relationship where you aren’t friends?”
She stared at him but didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much left to say if she didn’t want to move forward in their relationship. He could drop a hook in the water, but if the fish wasn’t biting…
He looked around for the waitress, wanting to speed up the night. Why did he open his mouth? “I think we’ve hounded this topic enough. I’ve said my piece, and it’s clear how you feel. Let’s talk about something else.”
19
Emilie
All day Sunday, Emilie moped around the house. She attempted to call Dean to cancel the trip four times, but at the last minute, she changed her mind.
