Page 46 of Only Be Mine

I linked my arm through Amy’s and led her down the path, my heart still racing.

Chapter 15

Cate

July - Twelve Years Ago

The lake was quieter than the cabin.

No music. No laughter. Just water lapping softly against the shore and the sound of birds somewhere above us. I didn’t stop walking until we were far enough away that I knew no one could overhear us.

Only then did I sit.

Amy followed, settling beside me on the fallen log, her knee brushing mine. She didn’t say anything at first, giving me time to process.

“I need you to promise me something,” I said.

She turned toward me immediately. “Okay.”

“Don’t tell anyone what I’m about to say.”

Her brow furrowed. “Cate…”

“Please.”

She nodded. “Okay, okay. I promise.”

I picked at a splinter in the wood, buying myself a few seconds I didn’t really have.

“Cate, what’s going on?” Amy asked impatiently. “Did John hurt you?”

I wrinkled my nose and shook my head, “No, it’s nothing like that.”

Then her hand shot up to her mouth. “Oh my God. Are you pregnant?”

“Amy!” I groaned, “I’m being serious here.”

“Being pregnant is serious, Cate.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I am not pregnant.”

“Then what is it?”

“John…” I sighed, needing to just spit it out. “He told me he loves me.”

The words felt unreal outside my head.

Amy blinked. Then she smiled. And then, infuriatingly, she laughed.

“Oh,” she said, like I’d just told her it was going to rain. “That’s it?”

“That’s not ‘it,’” I snapped, heat rushing to my face. “That’s… everything.”

She sobered immediately. “Okay. Talk to me.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, staring out at the water. “He said it like it wasn’t a big deal. Like it didn’t come with conditions. Like he wasn’t asking for anything.”

“That’s because he wasn’t.”