Emily pulled her lips into a tight line. She certainly didn’t agree with Spencer, but she didn’t want to start a fight. “Don’t you think Grace would be interfering if you and I broke up?”
“Yes, I know she’d be interfering—she and Olivia and Hannah and Claire would all interfere. They’ve been interfering ever since they were born, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Believe me. I know what it’s like to live with four meddling sisters.”
“You know you love your sisters.”
“Of course I love them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t drive me crazy.”
“You’re not willing to help Grace in her time of need?”
“I’m willing to give her all the help she needs, but only if she asks for it. So we need to stay clear and let them work it out themselves. If it doesn’t work out, it wasn’t meant to be. And you’d better not get involved, okay?”
Emily chewed on the inside of her cheek as she contemplated Spencer’s words. As long as she didn’t make any promises, she could still find some way to help. Olivia would know what to do. “What about Friday night?” she asked.
“Well it turns out Ben is in town, so I invited him over. Do you think that’s okay?”
“Sure—he’s a lot of fun. But is Grace coming? She never replied to my text message. At least now I understand why.”
“I’m hoping she’ll come for dinner since it’s just going to be Ben and us,” said Spencer. “I don’t think Ben would give her a hard time.”
“Well I hope she comes. I bet she’s depressed,” she said, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to sort out this mess before it got any worse. Surely it wasn’t too late to salvage their relationship.
“Emily...”
“Huh?”
“I can see the wheels turning in your head. You wouldn’t be planning to interfere would you? Not after we just agreed we shouldn’t?”
“No Spencer. I promise I won’t go against our agreement.” It was certainly fortunate she’d never actually agreed.
*****
Grace had avoided Josh’s phone calls for two days—she simply couldn’t bear to hear about Brad’s rejection of her peace offering. She could call Brad herself, but she didn’t want to hear the pain and animosity she knew would be in his voice, especially since she was totally to blame. But she believed everything happened for a reason. So if Brad wouldn’t accept her apology, it must mean they weren’t supposed to be together. Right?
Why did this breakup hurt so much more than the others? She knew the answer—she had broken her own dating rules and allowed herself to become attached to Brad. Well, she wouldn’t let that happen again. She was a pro at emotional detachment in dating. She’d done it before, and she could do it again. She was strong. She wo
uldn’t allow herself to be controlled by her feelings.
Her brother’s fiancée, Emily, had been controlled by her emotions. She’d gone crazy when she thought she’d lost Spencer, and her impulsive actions had almost been disastrous. Granted, everything worked out in the end, but Grace was determined to remain in control of her emotions and her actions. She wouldn’t repeat Emily’s mistakes.
She took a deep breath and steadied her nerves before calling Josh. “Hi Josh,” she spoke with a light, airy voice. “I’m sorry I’ve missed your calls—I’ve been really busy.”
“Too busy to try and save your relationship with Brad?” She didn’t miss his accusing tone.
“Look Josh. I did try. He turned me down, just like I predicted. So I have to get on with my life.”
“When did you try? He told me on Tuesday he hadn’t heard from you at all.”
“Then he’s lying to you. I totally apologized and really put myself out there, asking for another chance. But he never even responded.”
“Are you telling me he didn’t speak to you? He just stood there and looked at you?”
“Well... No... I never actually spoke to him.”
“Grace—”
“But I tried! I went there Tuesday morning, just like I promised. But I didn’t get to see him. I had to leave my card and flowers with one of the nurses—her name was Leanne.”
“In the ER?”