Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
ALEXANDER
“Hey, Dad,” Matt greets, taking a seat at the dining table opposite me.
I lower the newspaper. “Son.”
“Molly’s back.”
My gut tightens painfully at hearing her name on his lips. She reached out to him already? Why did I think she wouldn’t?
After dropping off Molly two days ago, I went for a long drive. When I returned and didn’t find Matt in his room, I assumed he was out late with his friends.
“She’ll be coming to the barbecue today,” Matt shares. “So, order extra hot dogs. You know how much she loves it.”
With potato salad and baked beans on the side.
“What’s with the bags underneath your eyes?” He frowns in concern, reaching for an apple. “Rough night?”
Guilt gnaws at my insides. I’ve betrayed my son in the worst way a father ever could. It’s far more treacherous and selfish because I don’t regret it one bit.
“Yeah.”
“For a guy who took time off work, I didn’t see you at all the past week,” he comments. “Where were you?”
Sleeping with your girlfriend.
Loving her.
Trying to steal her from you.
“Went to a cabin up the hill.”
“You and Molly are twins,” he jokes. “Nature lovers. Obsessed with alone time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you two went together.”
I tense while he laughs, clueless about how close to the truth he is. “That’ll defeat the purpose of alone time.”
“True.”
“Did you want to talk about something else?” I divert the topic.
He instantly grows somber and a little nervous. Clearing his throat, he replies, “I did.”
“Go on.” My tone is calm. I feel anything but.
Leaning sideways, he reaches inside his jeans pocket and pulls out a small red velvet box. I stare at it like it’s a bomb, ready to blow my life up in flames. I already know what lies inside it before Matt even lifts the lid.
“I’m going to ask her to marry me today.” Tilting the diamond ring toward me, he asks with a broad grin, “What do you think?”
My throat goes dry, unable to form syllables. He mistakes my speechlessness for happiness and excitement.
“Pretty, huh? I hope she loves it. I even invited her mom. She should be here soon. I want to do it with all our friends and family around.”
“I thought you wanted to wait until New Year’s.”
“I changed my mind.” He puts away the ring. “We were talking one night before she left for the retreat. She was feeling a distance between us. Long-distance relationships are hard. But I need her to know I’m all in and that she’s my priority.”
I’m once again at a loss for words.
Each word is akin to a bullet in my chest. Unbeknownst to my pain, Matt stands.
“I’ll get ready. She’ll be here soon.”
Molly arrives last.
The backyard is filled with people. Some friends. Some family. A few neighbors.
Yet, like every single time, her green eyes find mine in the crowd. The world blurs as our gazes lock. My heartbeat thunders behind my ribs, then gallops to my stomach as she skirts her eyes away.
My feet move toward her before my mind can comprehend what I’m doing.
I’m two steps away when Matt cuts in.
I stop dead in my tracks.
He leans down and kisses her.
I feel sucker punched. I’m breaking apart and nobody notices. My hands ball into fists, itching to pull him off my girl.
Is she yours, though?
They pull apart, but the image of them is burned into my brain. It’s like I’m on my way to my worst nightmare becoming a reality. In a few minutes, my son will propose to her and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
Matt takes her hand, tugging her toward her mother standing on the opposite side. Genuine delight mixed with shock brightens Molly’s face. After Alexis married her boyfriend, she moved away to live with him. I think it was the first time Molly didn’t follow her and chose to stay behind.
I selfishly hoped it was because of me.
A hand lands on my bicep, followed by a sugary sweet voice that grates on my nerves. “Hey, Sheriff.”
I look down at Kathy, gazing flirtatiously at me. Ever since she got divorced, her attempts to ask me out have doubled down and become bolder. At least, when she was married, I could keep her paws off me with the excuse that she was taken.
Today, I don’t have the patience to be polite. So, my voice comes out tight and unfriendly. “Kathy.”
Does my rudeness have any effect on her? None whatsoever.
She bats her eyelashes at me harder, resembling a flapping bird. The Botox she’s injected into her face makes her sultry smile the opposite of attractive. “Do you know every woman in town calls you Sheriff Steamy?”
Every man calls her Grabby Kathy.
Gluing herself to my side, she whispers, “Are you ever going to go out with me, Sheriff Steamy? Show me some of your moves.”
Great. She’s drunk in the middle of the day.
She digs her pointy nails into my forearm when I try to create space. “You should drink some water.”
“Ooo… caring about me…”
Molly is throwing daggers at Kathy when I glance up. Her lips are pursed as she scowls where the other woman is touching me.
Should I take her jealousy as a sign I stand a chance today?
As much as I adore her possessiveness, I don’t want her to get any wrong ideas. I not-so-gently remove Kathy’s hand from my arm and step away. “Excuse me.”
Molly swallows at getting caught. She tries to cover her emotions, but it’s too late. I stalk in her direction. Panicking at my determined expression, she twirls and walks toward Matt, who is chatting with a group of friends.
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, little bird.
You’re not getting away.
I circle and block her path.
“Alex—”
Snatching her arm before anyone can see, I shove us into the storage room. Locking the door, we’re bathed in darkness.
“We shouldn’t be alone, Mr. Smith,” she hisses.
“I swear I’m going to spank your ass and let everyone hear your cries if you call me that one more time.”
She half gasps, half mewls. Pulling her arm free, she tries to sidestep me. “I need to go. We both have people waiting for us.”
“I don’t.” I switch on the light, finally earning a closer look at her.
She looks as devastated as me. Sleep-deprived and sad. Yet she continues to put herself through this hell. What I don’t understand is why.
“Yeah, you do.”
“Who?”
“Kathy,” she spits out.
“I don’t want her.”
“Maybe you should.”
“You don’t mean that,” I murmur, tilting her face. She shuts her eyes. “Look at me, little bird.”
“Let me go, Alex.”
I pull her flush against me. “Do you know how painful it is to have you so close and not be able to touch you? Kiss you? Hug you?”
“A-Alex.”
“I’ve missed you. The last two days have felt like an eternity without you.”
She leans into me, curling her arms around my forearms. In the same breath, she backs away. “I’m sorry. I have to g-go.”
Drowning me in her scent, she exits the room. Once more, running away and leaving me behind. I stay where I am.
It isn’t until catcalls and clapping noises echo in my ears that I throw open the door, walking straight into my hellish nightmare.
Matt is down on one knee, holding Molly’s hand. She stares at him wide-eyed as he asks her to marry him.
One second.
Two.
Three.
I stare in slow-motion as she mouths the word ‘yes’ with a loving smile.
Our eyes collide.
She stares at my ashen face, pain flashing in hers, and yet she doesn’t stop Matt from sliding the ring onto her finger.
My broken heart crashes to the ground as I watch my world become someone else’s.