Chapter 25. The Measure of Love Is to Be There Without Measure #2
I followed his gaze, and my eyes widened. “Dr. Nguyen is your ex?”
“You didn’t know?”
“How should I know? We’ve always only called her Dr. Nguyen.
She’s new, and I have no idea what her first name is.
” Something else dawned on me. “Wait. If she’s your ex, then who was the woman you were talking to at Annabelle and Riley’s wedding?
When I was talking to Neil, you chatted with a brunette, and I thought she was your ex. ”
Confusion stretched across his face, before clearing up the next second. “That’s Annabelle’s older sister. We got to know each other when Annabelle and I were in college. Did you think she was Lucy?”
“Uh, yeah. You said you didn’t want to go alone to the weddings because of your ex, and then you talked to her and looked really friendly with her, so I assumed…
” I trailed off. I never asked him who she was because I didn’t want to know the answer.
Because I didn’t want to know who the woman that he had been so deeply in love with was.
Turned out I’d known who she was all along.
“She’s not.” His gaze softened as he stared at Lucy. “I haven’t seen her for a while.”
A kaleidoscope of emotion washed over me as I watched him go puppy-dog eyes over her. No, I wasn’t jealous, because I didn’t have any right to be jealous over this man, no matter what I might or might not feel about him.
“You never told me. What happened between you two?”
“Her family didn’t like me.” He finally tore his gaze away from her.
“Everyone in her family is a medical professional. Her dad is an endocrinologist, her mom an OB-GYN, and her younger brother was studying to be a surgeon. Everyone wanted her to be with someone as accomplished as her. Someone earning as much as or more than her. Who’s also in the medical field.
Not”—he gestured toward himself—“a builder who doesn’t even have a college degree. ”
What the hell was wrong with her family? They sounded just like his dad. Rob ran his own business, made a good living for himself, and was one of the most patient, kindest people I’d ever met. Why did it even matter that he didn’t have a degree or a job at some fancy hospital?
“She said she didn’t want to end our relationship. But her family was adamant, and her parents threatened to disown her if she kept seeing me. They didn’t give her much of a choice.”
She didn’t give herself much of a choice, I wanted to say. Not that I would do it, but wouldn’t you go through hell on Earth, throw yourself in front of a speeding train, hang on to the sides of a sinking door in the middle of the ocean, do whatever it takes for someone if you really loved them?
“We’d been together for a while, and I really thought she was The One.
” His attention was back on Lucy. “I knew how her family felt about me, but I thought as long as the two of us were united against them, we’d be fine.
I was willing to do whatever it took to change their minds.
But she wasn’t even willing to put in the work, to fight for me, for our relationship. She chose her family over us.”
“Are you still in love with her?” Deep down, I didn’t want to hear the answer, but maybe hearing it would do me good, because it would curb all these feelings I was developing for him.
“No.” But his eyes were still on her. “I should go over and say hi.”
I watched as he approached the group, gave Opa a hug and the gift, then turned his attention to his ex, who seemed to be equally surprised to see him.
Opa was listening to their conversation, his head going back and forth between the two, and at one point, he glanced at me with questions in his eyes.
It didn’t matter that his ex was here, I told myself. Even if he seemed to be stunned—and maybe still a little bit smitten—to see her. Because Aiden was supposed to be here, and I wasn’t supposed to feel anything for Rob, right?
“They’re getting along really well.” A familiar face appeared by my side. Ellie was watching the group around Opa with interest. “Your grandfather seems to really like Rob.”
“You should have heard him talk about Rob after the woodworking expo. It was Rob this, Rob that, can we have him back for dinner, for lunch, for Christmas and New Year’s and all the public holidays. I think if he could have Rob as a grandson instead, he would’ve jumped at the chance.”
“Rob does have that way about him.” Jenna’s voice materialized from my other side. “He’s fun and infectious and he grows on you. Wouldn’t you say he’s grown on you, Kim?”
I gave Jenna a side-eye. “I know what you’re getting at.”
“You’ve been spending a ton of time with him,” Ellie pointed out. “And sometimes spending a lot of time together with another person can lead to certain feelings.”
“No feelings are involved in any way, shape, or form.” I wasn’t going to tell them about that skydiving kiss, because that would only confirm to them that I was having feelings.
Or maybe I didn’t want to confirm that to myself.
“Did he get that memo, though?” Jenna asked. “Because I’ve seen him looking at you when he thinks nobody notices.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
Ellie sighed, while Jenna only chuckled.
“Honestly, Kim, for someone so smart, you can be a bit clueless,” Jenna said.
“He. Looks. At. You. Often. And if he can’t find you, he looks a bit panicked, like he’s afraid he might lose you in this crowd.
Then, when he finds you again, he looks relieved, like he’s glad you’re still within reach, and he’ll have this little smile lifting his mouth, like he can’t believe that he gets to share the same space with you. ”
“Stop it. You’re exaggerating.”
“See for yourself.”
I followed Jenna’s gaze, and sure enough, Rob was glancing in our direction. He sent us a brief smile, before returning his attention to Opa and Dr. Nguyen.
“See what we mean?” Jenna sounded satisfied.
“As you can tell, we’ve been spending an unhealthy amount of time watching you two,” Ellie said. “Alec is thrilled, because he’s been rooting for you guys to happen.”
“Nothing is going to happen. We’re just friends. And his ex is here.”
Jenna frowned. “Who’s his ex?”
“My grandfather’s new doctor. I mean, look at her.
” Both my friends turned to watch Rob, who was grinning from ear to ear when Dr. Nguyen—Lucy—threw her head back with laughter at something he said.
“She’s stunning, successful, and smart. The perfect trifecta.
And look at how he looks at her. Does that look like someone who might be interested in me?
No. He’s obviously smitten with her. He wants me to come to the weddings because of her, which means he’s still in love with her. ”
I looked away from the nauseatingly perfect view, as I realized that the sinking feeling in my heart was … jealousy?
No. I shouldn’t be jealous, because that meant I was entertaining the idea of a relationship with him, and that was out of the question.
But everything happened for a reason, right?
Maybe I was meant to invite Lucy so she could be reunited with Rob, because she was the one he was supposed to end up with. The one he was meant to grow old with.
“I saw Alec chatting with her, but I didn’t know who she was,” Ellie said. “She’s gorgeous. Seems like a nice person, too.”
“Right?” I said. “Would you blame Rob for being infatuated with her?”
Our chat was interrupted by high-pitched microphone feedback. Nicole was tapping the microphone, while Alec was fiddling with the portable karaoke machine I’d rented yesterday. Opa loved singing, and his face lit up with excitement when he saw what was happening.
For the next hour everyone sang and cheered as the guests took turns singing their favorite songs, while I kept an eye on things and made sure we didn’t run out of food and drinks.
At some point during the night, Rob roped me into doing a song, and everyone was probably a little drunk, because I was met with whistles and raucous applause when I finished.
“Great job.” He grinned at me as the person after me began belting out an ’80s pop song. “Maybe a bit pitchy, but excellent job overall.”
“I don’t know who you’re calling pitchy, but it wasn’t me.”
“Really?” He chuckled. “Funny, she sure does look a lot like you.” He glanced around the room. “Where’s Aiden? Has he been here and left and I didn’t realize it?”
“Um. Good question.”
I checked my phone, but there was no reply from him, even though my message had been delivered and read. It was total and utter silence. He never showed up, and I didn’t even realize because I’d been too busy laughing and singing karaoke with Rob.
He’d made me forget about Dad and Aiden and saved the night from going downhill.
Pushing my father and Aiden out of my thoughts, I went to find Opa, who was sitting by the drinks, looking tired but like he was having the best time of his life. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“I am, sweetheart. Thanks to you.”
“Should we make a move?” It was almost ten, and Opa was usually in bed by nine.
“Maybe a few more minutes. I’m having so much fun.” He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about me. I just need to sit and rest for a while. Go enjoy yourself.”
I eyed him, but he waved me off again, repeating that he was fine.
The guests started to trickle out soon, and half an hour later, everyone was gone, and the only people left were Rob, Ellie, Alec, Jenna, and Nicole.
“You should take your grandfather home,” Ellie said. “He looks exhausted, and you’ve been on your feet all day prepping for this party.”
“Ellie’s right,” Alec said. “We can do the cleanup.”
I shook my head. “You should all go. You’ve done more than enough. I’ll drop him off at home and come back to clean after.”
But before anyone could reply, a loud thud interrupted us, and when I turned around, my heart practically dropped to the ground.
Because my grandfather was lying motionless on the floor.