Except that’s not what his heart or instincts told him. Those told him to grab her, apologize, take it all back, and beg for forgiveness with a whole lot of groveling on his knees, if necessary. He loved her.
But she looked like Mel.
He couldn’t force himself to move.
She nodded but didn’t turn to face him.
“Look, your sister and Liam need you anyway. You don’t have to tell me stories about you wanting to move out here to make me feel better. You don’t need to lie to me. I know how it would have happened. You’d go home, plan to come back for a visit, then something would happen. Delays. More delays. Until a year or more passed with more excuses, and eventually we never hear from you again. I love Tim too much to let that happen. Isn’t it better we just end it now? Remember it as fun and just let it go?”
She made that sound again, a laugh that sounded like a snort, but she didn’t reply.
Part of him desperately needed her to agree with him, to ease the ache in his own heart. So he didn’t feel like such an asshole. “You’re a nice woman, you’ll find—”
“Please, don’t. Okay? Have enough respect for me not to give me that bullshit line. That’s almost as bad as the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line.” She still wouldn’t turn from the sink.
“But I’m right, right? Tell me I’m wrong.” He felt his own anger creeping in. “Tell me I’m fucking wrong that we’d never see you again.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, because you are obviously pretty sure of yourself. Thank you for your hospitality. And please tell Tim thank you for us.”
This isn’t how he wanted things to end. But they had to end.
Things always ended.
He just wanted them ended on his own terms, with as little pain to Tim as possible. “Gwen, would you please look at me?”
“Just go. You made your position perfectly clear. I’m sorry you feel the way you do. Obviously, you’ve made up your mind. Nothing I say will change it.”
This felt wrong. His old pain warred within him. Wasn’t that part of the problem, that she looked like Mel? If she hadn’t looked like her, he never would have fallen for her, right?
But why did it hurt so much to think about her walking out of their lives?
He walked over and touched her arm, but she sidestepped away from him, still not turning. “I’m a big girl, Jack. You don’t need to comfort me to make yourself feel better.”
“Gwen—”
“Goddammit, you spoke your piece, now get the hell out of here!”
He turned and walked out, somehow resisting the urge to slam the door behind him. He was halfway back to the station when he pulled into a park and sat, thinking. What right did she have to act hurt? If he was wrong, why didn’t she beg him to change his mind? Challenge him?
Why couldn’t he get her words out of his head? I never should have let myself fall in love with the two of you.
She held it together until she heard the door shut and his car pull out. She locked herself in the master bathroom, turned the sink on for noise, and slid down the wall to the floor where she cried for half an hour.
Moron! she screamed at herself. Fucking moron! You should have known better than to fall in love with someone you’d just met.
Someones.
She washed her face, blew her nose, and turned off the water. Then she went and packed her stuff. Not that she had much to pack, fortunately. She washed her face again then decided she looked reasonably normal enough so she could face Liam.
He still sat on the back deck, working on his laptop. He looked up when she stepped out the sliders. He immediately slid his sunglasses on top of his head as he frowned. He yanked one of his earbuds out. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She’d rehearsed this in her head. “Jack found Amy.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. He talked to her. Do you want me to pack your stuff for you, or can you manage?”
He sat back in his chair and studied her. “Gee, what’s going on? What happened?”
She shook her head and held up a hand as she struggled to maintain her composure, finally winning that battle. “He and I just had a talk,” she softly said. “Apparently he was convinced I wasn’t serious about him and Tim.”
“Did you tell him you loved them?”
“It doesn’t matter, Li. He spoke his piece. He made it perfectly clear to me that it’s best if I leave.”
“What about Tim?”
“He said he doesn’t want Tim to get his heart broken.”
“Well what the fuck about your heart getting bro—”
“Please,” she softly begged, holding on to her composure by a rapidly fraying thread. “Please, let’s just go. I told him we’d be gone when he gets home.” She handed him the piece of paper. “This is where she is.”
Liam looked at it before returning his gaze to her. He frowned briefly then a look she recognized well took him over. Protective big brother, upset for her.
She sank to her knees in front of his chair and cried as he enveloped her in his strong, comforting embrace.
In an hour, they were on their way to the hotel. Gwen didn’t know what she was going to say to her sister when they got there. All she knew was that she didn’t want to lose her temper.
Unfortunately, under the circumstances, she knew that it probably would happen anyway. Hopefully Liam would be able to keep her in line.
But she was dying to give Amy a piece of her mind. Amy better have a damn good excuse as to why she left.
“Don’t lose your temper, Gee,” Liam said.
“I make no promises, bro,” she replied.
“I know you’ve had a shitty day, but just try for me. Please?”
She didn’t reply, just nodded.
Liam didn’t need her help getting out of the car at the hotel. Gwen took a deep breath before they stepped up to the room door. She reached out and knocked.
At first, they received no response. Gwen was about to knock again when they heard the chain rattling. Amy opened the door looking ragged and drawn, like she’d spent the morning crying.
Her sister never looked like this. Gwen felt some of her anger dissolve. “Can we come in?” Liam gently asked.
Amy nodded and stepped aside letting them walk in. She closed the door behind them and stood there, not looking at them.
Gwen had run through several scenarios in her head over the past few days. The one that usually floated to the top of the barrel was her screaming her head off at Amy—if she was alive and well and voluntarily missing—until she lost her voice.
Amy looked like Gwen felt.
“What’s going on,” Liam asked as he settled himself on the bed closest to the door.
It looked like Amy was going to answer when they heard a cell phone go off with a ring tone Gwen had never heard before. Amy snatched a cell phone off the dresser and silenced it. That’s when Gwen realized it wasn’t Amy’s regular cell phone, which was also sitting on the dresser.
Amy sat at the table, refusing to meet their gazes. “I’m sorry I ran off like this. I didn’t mean for you to come out here looking for me.” She stroked her fingers over the phone, like she wanted to dial a number.
“Who is he?” Gwen asked, not even sure if she was right.
But Amy’s head snapped up, shock and fear in her eyes. “Who?”
“The guy you were out here with. I’m guessing that’s what’s going on, right?” Amy stared at them. Gwen hated the cliché of someone having a deer-in-the-headlights look, but if any description applied to their sister at that exact moment, it would be that.