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The last person I expected to show up at my door was Andy.
But there he was, neatly combed and finely dressed, taking up my doorway.
“You look nice,” was his greeting.
“I’m going to a wedding,” I intoned.
I had a half hour before I needed to leave, but I wouldn’t be telling him that. If I did, he’d take it all for whatever this ill-timed visit was about.
“Can I come in for a minute? There’s something I need to talk to you about.” He shuffled forward, like he was so sure I was going to let him in.
With a huff, I stepped to the side and allowed him. I guessed he did know me well.
I shut the door but didn’t lock it. He wouldn’t be staying long, and I wanted it to be as easy as possible for him to leave.
He was in my living room, scanning the place. When my heels clicked on the floor behind him, he spun, giving me a half smile.
“You’ve made it nice in here,” he remarked. “Your style.”
“That’s the best part of living alone. No one to veto my decorating decisions.”
My jaw was so tight, I felt a headache coming. Why in the hell was he here?
He sat down on my couch, resting his ankle on the opposite knee, and nodded to the cushion beside him. I took the armchair, gingerly sitting on the edge so I could spring up if I wanted or needed to.
“What are you doing here, Andy?”
He cupped his hands on his knee, fingers locked. “You’re doing well? Still dating?”
“Yes, and yes. You?”
“I’m well, and I’m still with Samantha. You’re seeing…Miles Aldrich?”
“I am.”
He expelled a long breath. “You left me, you know. I don’t know why it seems like you’re angry at me. You made the decision to go.”
My chin dropped, and I pinned him with a hard glare. “Do we need to go over everything? Is that why you’re here? Because I will.”
He nodded, as if to tell me to rant at him. I didn’t need his permission in my own home.
“Andy, you led me on and lied to me. You lied to my parents. You looked them and me right in the eye and told me an engagement was coming. At some point, you changed your mind about me, about marriage, and never said. Since we’re here, since we’re being honest, when was it? What changed your mind?”
He looked at me for a prolonged moment, his jaw rippling, then shook his head sadly.
“You were right. We don’t need to do this.”
“Why? Is telling the truth uncomfortable to you? Just tell me when you changed your mind so I can grasp how long you deceived me. I don’t know why—”
“After Quinny died,” he uttered, and the world stood still.
I blinked at him many times, but he stayed. This wasn’t some sort of strange nightmare. “You decided not to marry me when my little sister died?”
He scrubbed at his face, groaning behind his hands. “I think I always knew, Daisy, but the way your sister died…the reasons…it clarified things for me. I still loved you and wanted to be with you, but I didn’t see us having kids and a life with this…this cloud over our heads.”
Oh, that smarted. The cloud was my family name and our reputation in this city. The way he’d always winced when introducing me to people. My parents had treated him like their own son, despite his shortcomings. He’d watched ball games with my dad and had traded books with Tom. My mama had always baked him a birthday cake, and they’d invited him on family vacations with us. To call that a cloud was beyond the pale. The only cloud in this town was the small minds who had driven my sister to…and he’d been there. He’d held me through losing her all while making an exit plan.
“I can’t believe you.” I stared at this stranger who’d once been my world. “You should have left me.”
