A Love Like Ours

Chapter 10

"She... she..."

"I tried to talk her out of it! Really, I swear! But she was adamant," Emily said, hurrying to get the words out, to fill the silence I'd left hanging between us. I still hadn't caught my breath. "You know Maddie... she gets something into her head and its practically impossible to get it out again."

I did know Maddie, and I knew very well how stubborn she could be. How she could fixate on something—a thought, a feeling, until it either drove her to action, or tore her apart. And trying to get her to see it any differently was almost impossible. It was there to stay. It was part of the reason why we'd broken up—the fact that she couldn't seem to fully believe me when I told her I loved her. No matter how many times I'd said it, no matter how passionately or deeply I meant it, she couldn't ever quite wrap her mind around it.

I'd had plenty of time to think about it, about her and all the insecurities she'd let leak into our relationship, and I still hadn't come to any solid conclusions, any ideas about how I could've done anything differently. Except for maybe not allowing Mimi to sit in my lap at that stupid party. But sitting here in my empty kitchen, Emily still chattering in my ear, something occurred to me.

Something that I probably shouldn't have even let myself consider.

Maybe those insecurities had played a part in this decision—this engagement of hers. Maybe, like Emily had said, Madelyn had convinced herself she loved this guy, this Rob. Maybe she could only see that what she was doing was for the best, that what she was doing was the "right" thing.

Because as frustrating as Madelyn Freeman was when she got something into her head, she only ever acted if she thought it was the right thing to do. And I was certain that that hadn't changed.

"Harry?"

"Hm?" My mind was still reeling, still working over possibilities, still trying to get a grip on the fact that Madelyn was on her way...

"Are you listening?"

"No," I said automatically, and Emily was quiet.

Then, she laughed. A little breath of sound that caught me off guard. "Can't blame you, I guess. At least you're honest."

The amusement in her voice eased something in me, enough that I felt compelled to ask, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is she coming?" I clarified, already feeling too damn hopeful.

Emily sighed, then said, very gently, "Because she loves you, Harry."

I closed my eyes, let that sink in, let the words brush gently at the torn edges of my broken heart. "But she didn't say that to you," I said quietly, already fearing the answer I was sure I would receive.

"She still didn't have to."

I felt my disappointment bleed over that blooming sense of hope the thought of seeing her again had given me.

"You want to know why she's going there?" Emily said when I stayed quiet. "She couldn't stand the thought of you hating her. Of you never wanting to speak to her again."

I huffed a little. "Given the last three years, that sounds pretty selfish, if you ask me." The bitterness of knowing that she'd had all that time to talk to me and had chosen to stay away, to say yes to another man, was winning out.

"I know, I know," Emily said, "but I really think it's just the beginning, Harry. This is the first step."

The thought made me horrifically nervous. Even more nervous than confronting her at Emily's wedding—and look at how that turned out.