Move the Stars (Something in the Way 3)

Still in love with him. I hid my shiver by crossing my arms. Neither Val nor I had said Manning’s name in months, because it saddened me and upset her, but that didn’t mean I was fooling either of us. Hearing her acknowledge my feelings for him for the first time in a while made me realize my love for Manning hadn’t lessened even a little. That was why I’d agreed to meet him. That was why I’d taken extra care to look good tonight. But that didn’t mean I forgot, even for a second, what he’d done to me. “He’s my sister’s husband,” I said. “That’s all. I think he and I can have a simple meal like civilized adults.”

“Really?” She stomped across the room toward my dresser.

“What are you doing?” I asked, standing.

“If you don’t have feelings for him, you won’t mind if I destroy this, right?” she asked, digging her hand into my underwear drawer.

“Wait!” I leaped toward her. “Don’t.”

She held up the small wooden box I thought nobody knew about. I tried to grab it from her, but she jumped back and showed it to me. “A few minutes in Corbin’s fancy fireplace should do the trick,” she said.

“Stop it.” The box might’ve been small, but it and its contents were some of the only sentimental things I owned anymore. “I only have it for the earrings, and they’re worth a lot.”

Val opened it and showed me the inside. There were no earrings, only the mood ring I’d found in Manning’s things at the courthouse so many years ago, right after he’d been arrested. “Funny,” she said. “Somehow these earrings turned into a cheap-ass ring Manning never technically gave you.”

“Tiffany didn’t even buy those earrings, my dad did, and it was probably out of guilt for how he treated me.”

“Didn’t you pawn them for rent money?” Val asked.

Ashamed, I stopped trying to fight her, stopped fighting at all, and let the tears flood my eyes. “I don’t know what to say, Val. Do I still love him? How could I not? But he’s changed, and so have I. I’m smarter now. I’m not going to let him hurt me again. I promise. Please don’t ruin the box. Or the ring.”

“He chose your sister, Lake. He married her.” Val shook her head at me. “Four years, completely undone. We’ve been working through this for four years, and he’s going to unravel it in a night.”

“I won’t let that happen. You’re blowing an innocent dinner way out of proportion.”

“Does Tiffany know about it?”

I went quiet, and that was all the answer Val needed. Of course Tiffany didn’t know, because it wasn’t innocent. It wasn’t simple. Manning and I could never be either of those things, no matter how hard we pretended or how much time had passed. “No,” I admitted.

“Of course she doesn’t,” she said. “They are still married, right?”

“He wasn’t wearing a ring, so I’m not sure . . .”

“You didn’t even ask?” She tossed the wooden box at me. I jumped into action, catching it so it wouldn’t hit the ground.

“I didn’t ask because I was scared of the answer,” I said, “not because I don’t care about hurting her.”

Val left the room, and I followed. She gathered up her apron and purse from the coffee table. “You know something, Lake? I’ve hated him all this time. You were young, and so fucking optimistic, and I hated him for stealing some of that from you. But you’re an adult now.” Tying on her waist apron, she pinned me with a look. “If you go down this path, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Her words stung. I loved Val, her spirit and her loyalty, but she didn’t know Manning like I did. She didn’t understand what he and I had been through. “I take full responsibility,” I said. “Trust me—I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you? You’re an idiot if you think he can’t ruin you in a night. I’ve seen him do it. I’m not going to stick around for an encore. And don’t worry, I’m not going to waste Corbin’s time with this. You’re on your own.” She walked down the hall, looping her purse strap across her body. “At least this time when Manning crushes you, you’ll know it’s coming.”

I wasn’t sure how long I stood there watching the door after she left. Wave after wave of tears hit, but I did my best to breathe through them. It wasn’t so much Val’s harsh words that stung, but the fact that she was right. I still loved Manning. Still hadn’t figured out how to resist him. I’d worn my hair down hoping he’d touch it again. I’d chosen my highest heels to feel closer to him. I’d almost let him kiss me this morning, in this same spot, despite the fact that he was married and had hurt me before.