Page 30
Her brother was definitely going to hear an earful from her the next time she had a chance.
“Lydia.” Chet’s hand wrapped around her upper arm, and she shrugged out of his hold.
“I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“Well, that’s too bad, because I want to talk to you.”
She whirled on him. “Yeah? Well, where was the consideration for my feelings when you had a discussion about me without me present?”
“What?” he asked. The confusion in his eyes only added to her ire. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
She glowered at him. “Because you’re not thinking about anyone but yourself. You went and asked my brother about starting a relationship with me. Do you hear how messed up that is?”
His brows furrowed. “Lydia, it’s not unheard of. Gentlemen ask the father of the girl they’re dating if they can have their blessing when they want to get married.”
“And we’re not getting married!” It flew out of her without provocation. “When you asked my brother for permission before you even asked me out, you took me out of it completely.”
Chet’s face flattened. “No one took anything away from you, Lydia. You still had the option to choose—”
“You don’t get it!” She pinched the bridge of her nose and heaved out a cleansing breath. Then she set her eyes on him and focused on remaining calm. “Okay, let me put this a different way. You asking Jason isn’t actually the biggest issue. But we were friends, Chet. This wasn’t just a matter of you barely meeting me and then asking his permission. Our friendship should’ve taken precedence. We should’ve been able to have a conversation about what happens next. That’s the kind of respect I deserved in all of this.”
Understanding crossed his face, and he looked away. A muscle twitched in his jaw, and she wanted so much to reach out and soothe his frustration. The only thing holding her back was the storm going on inside her.
“I wasn’t asking for permission, not really,” he muttered, his eyes sliding to meet hers. “It wasn’t like that.”
Disappointment set in. He was making excuses. He didn’t get why this was so important to her. And if he couldn’t follow how she’d laid it out, then this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere. “It doesn’t matter if you think it was or not. That’s not what this is all about.”
“Then what’s it about? Help me out here, Lydia.”
The disappointment continued to rise inside her. She shrugged and looked away. She couldn’t find how to say it.
“I had a ton to lose by not talking to your brother first. Friendships and business relationships have been destroyed over this kind of secret.” He pointed between the two of them. “This? What we have? It only works because of what I did. For us. Can’t you see that?”
Lydia shook her head. Perhaps it wasn’t fair to ask him to take a step back and admit he’d disregarded not only her importance but also dismissed the connection they had.
He’d prioritized his friendship with Jason over the one he had with her. Her disappointment was too deep to say more. “I’m going to head home.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“No, someone else can take me.”
“Lydia—”
She faced him again. “This isn’t a breakup, Chet. I don’t know where we’re going to go from here, but I do know I care about you too much to throw it all away because of one argument. That being said, I need to be alone. I want some space to think about this.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Her heart ached. “And that’s the reason I’m leaving without talking about this anymore right now. I need space to think about all this.”
Chet stared at her, the broken look on his face almost enough to make her want to change her mind. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to withdraw from him. But if she didn’t, there was a chance she’d give in.
Memories of the heartbreak over the last guy she’d let call the shots filled her thoughts. She’d believed him but she shouldn’t have.
She couldn’t trust her heart. Not anymore. And not until she put some much-needed distance between them.
Lydia couldn’t leave him like this, though. He was so forlorn, it tugged at her heart. So she closed the distance, hugged him, then kissed the edge of his jaw before she headed toward the front of the house. She’d text someone to come get her or she’d borrow one of her brothers’ trucks.
She went down the list in her phone, but she couldn’t find a single person she was willing to confess to. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that any of her friends would want all the juicy details. Not only that, but once they learned what Chet had done, they wouldn’t be on her side.
