Her heart hadn’t actually broken during the whole conversation. She’d been hurt and she’d been angry, but she hadn’t actually felt the moment where the ground seemed to disappear beneath her feet and left this sense of...emptiness. But now...she knew it was for the best, and yet she wanted him to tell her that she was wrong; that he had fallen in love with her too and they could work it out.
She’d always been a stupid dreamer like that.
Her lips trembled as he bent his head and touched his mouth to hers, then pressed his forehead against hers for a long moment while his hands gripped her upper arms.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want.”
He let her go and turned away, and without looking back went through the door, down the steps and to his car.
Every cell in her body begged her to go after him and tell him it didn’t matter.
But it did matter. And it was for the best. Because she deserved someone who loved her unreservedly.
And that wasn’t him, no matter how much she wanted it to be.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
BRAN VENTURED OUT to the lighthouse to survey the latest work. It was coming along nicely, now that the restoration had begun. The foundation had been sound, but there’d been work to do at the top, including replacing the platform and making everything airtight. The door was replaced with a replica of the old one, and fresh paint would go on early next week.
The biggest change, however, was the
addition of windows on the bottom level. Now when he went inside, beams of light lit the interior, making the empty space bright and cheery.
Except nothing was very cheery at all.
He ran his finger over the top of the woodstove, remembering the day Jess had been here and she’d cautioned him not to open the stove door in case there were mice. He smiled a little at the memory, but sadness made his heart heavy. He missed her. His days had gone back to the routine of one after another, little variation, too much time on his own.
The writing was there now, at least, and he’d sent off an opening and general synopsis to his agent, who’d responded with relief. Bran wasn’t a lot of things, but he was still a writer, thank God. Even if the sunshine seemed to have disappeared from his life, he was back in the land of the living.
It just seemed so very bland and pointless without her.
Despondent, he went back to the house and made himself a coffee, then wandered to the den. He booted up his laptop and then, missing her more than usual, opened the browser and went to her website.
It had been updated.
She had a show opening in late October in Chicago. A recent photo showed her laughing, her face alight with happiness and her sunshiny hair gleaming. It hit him right in the gut. Of course she was happy. He was glad. But he was resentful, too. That she’d clearly moved on and he was still...here. Moping half the time and writing the other.
But this was what he’d wanted. What he’d chosen.
His attention was diverted by a car coming up the driveway—Jeremy’s Jaguar. Bran closed the window and shut the laptop, preparing himself for a visit. Cole would be closing on the island property soon, and then the three of them had made a promise to spend a weekend after the possession date, a guys’ weekend with some deep-sea fishing, maybe some rounds of pool in the games room, and unhealthy food like chicken wings and pizza. Bran was looking forward to it.
Anything to be able to stop thinking about her all the time.
He opened the door for Jeremy, and immediately had a moment of alarm. The man looked like he’d hardly slept. His hair stuck up on one side, and his eyes were red.
“What’s happened?” Bran asked, his heart freezing.
“Rose is sick. She’s in Halifax at the children’s hospital right now, but I’ve just spent twenty-four hours there and came home to get stuff to take back. Except... I can’t go in the house, Bran. I didn’t know where else to go.”
Bran took a deep breath. While memories threatened to overwhelm him, he pushed them aside. His best friend needed him, and Bran knew the fear and shock Jeremy was going through. “Is Tori okay?”
Jeremy nodded. “She’s fine. Still at the hospital. We didn’t want to leave Rose alone, and there was no way I was going to be able to tear Tori away, so...”
His voice trailed off, weak and shaky.
“It’s okay. You need to pick up what, clothes? Toiletries? Maybe some food for Tori, so she keeps eating?”
Jeremy nodded, his expression one of exhaustion and misery. “Yes, all of those things.”