Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
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Willow and Brinley are at the house with me while Marisa tutors across town.
I glance at Willow as she moves around my kitchen, a space that feels somehow violated by her presence, even though Tally gave her blessing.
"It's fine," Tally had said this morning, not meeting my eyes, "but I'll be back for dinner.
" Then she'd slipped out the door without telling me where she was going.
Now Willow stands at the cutting board, knife flashing through garlic and onions with practiced efficiency.
The sharp scent fills the kitchen as she preps ingredients for Arrabiata sauce—the spicy base for Tally's favorite penne with vodka cream.
I watch Willow's hands, competent and sure, just like Tally's have become since I taught her to cook.
The grocery trips, the recipe planning, the careful filleting of meat—these are our rituals, mine and Tally's.
Seeing Willow in her place makes my stomach twist, though I force a smile when she looks up.
She's good, maybe even as good as Tally in the kitchen. But it's not the same.
Damn. I'm doing to Willow exactly what Tally does to me.
Keeping her at a safe distance, never letting her past the outer walls.
Sure, we laugh together, talk for hours, and I genuinely enjoy her company—even look forward to seeing her.
But that's where it ends. My heart remains stubbornly elsewhere, locked in Tally's possession despite her refusal to claim it fully.
I should be asking myself when I'll finally reclaim it, not when she'll release it.
If I can't reclaim it, I'll eventually have to tell Willow the painful truth: there's only one woman I want, and it isn't her.
For now, though, I'll keep seeing Willow, waiting for that same electric shock that jolted through me the moment I first saw Tally at Max and Celeste's wedding.
But I’ll give it some time. Willow is so perfect on paper, she has to eventually become right for me.
Right?