Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined #3)(34)

"I’ll go with you." I begin to stand, but she stops me.

"I just need a few minutes alone. Please. I won’t go far." She offers me a fake smile.

I reach out and squeeze her hand. "Yeah. Of course."

"Girl time," Emma announces, standing from her chair.

"No. Alone," Sarah repeats and walks away only to pause just a few steps from our table. She backs up and quickly grabs the box, taking it with her.

"See! That went well," Emma tells Caleb, who is shaking his head at her.

"She’s outside crying, Emmy."

"She took it with her though. She’ll be okay. I promise."

I clear my throat. "Can one of you enlighten me on what the hell just happened?" I growl, becoming increasingly frustrated by being left in the dark. I have a pretty good idea what this is about, although the necklace confuses me.

"She told you about the wreck, right?" Emma asks.

"No," I answer, and it’s not a lie. I know about it, but Sarah has never uttered a single word.

"Not at all?"

"Nope."

"Oh my God. What the hell have y’all been doing for the last month? Clearly, it’s not talking."

"Excuse me?" I reply, surprised by her sudden frustration.

"Okay, calm down. This is not his fault," Caleb tells Emma before turning his attention back to me. "Look, Leo. I’ll be honest with you here. Sarah has a shit past. That necklace belonged to her best friend, Manda, who passed away about seven years. That’s all I’m giving you, but I highly suggest you start asking her some questions."

"What kind of questions exactly?" I play dumb because there is something about his words that pisses me off.

"The kind that enables you to decide if you can overlook her past…or not."

What the f*ck is happening right now? I just blink at him, not sure I can honestly trust my own ears.

Is her own family actually warning me off her? I begin to choose my words very carefully while trying to keep my anger at bay. Her past. This is her family. God damn. He might not have said anything wrong yet. But I sure as hell don’t want to give Caleb a chance to get there. Luckily, Emma chimes in before I have a chance to act on my impulse to become a real dick.

"She likes you. A lot. Probably more than you even know. I know y’all haven’t been seeing each other long, but she’s smitten." She laughs. "I love it! She’s always so happy, and I’ve really missed that. I’ve missed seeing her just genuinely happy in life as a whole." Tears well in her eyes. "You just have to understand. You would be lucky to have her. Sarah is an amazing person. But it terrifies me that she isn’t talking to you. I’m only telling you this because, if you can’t handle all that is Sarah Kate Erickson, I need you to leave…like, yesterday." Emma implores.

"I’m not going anywhere," I respond firmly

"It’s easy to say that now. But you don’t have enough information to make that decision. I love my sister, but—"

"You are not listening," I start as my temper begins to slip. Sarah’s outside bawling her eyes out and I’m stuck inside listening to them spew warnings. "I’m not going anywhere."

"Then ask her about the necklace. Don’t let her brush it off as nothing. Everyone in Sarah’s life has known her for years. I think someone finally needs to hear her side of the story without the clouds of the past fracturing her truths. Someone needs to finally know that woman standing in the parking lot right now."

"See, right there. That’s a big part of the problem I’m having right now. That woman standing in the parking lot shouldn’t be out there at all. She should be sitting in here, laughing and eating chocolate cake. I think your heart is in the right place, but this shit is seriously f*cked up. It’s her birthday. Why would you even give her that necklace tonight?"

"What? Are you kidding me?" Emma asks in awe.

"Hell no, I’m not kidding," I snap.

"All right. That’s enough. You need to calm the hell down and watch how you talk to my wife."

"Right. Of course. Well, I’m going to extend you the same courtesy. Watch how you talk about my woman. It doesn’t sit well with me that we are even having this conversation tonight. You should have talked to Sarah about what she feels comfortable telling me. I shouldn’t be privy to anything about her until she’s ready to tell me. Now I’m suspicious. Where does that leave the two of us? What’s if she’s not ready to talk yet, but I can’t stop asking questions?"

Hypocrite. Fucking. Hypocrite. But Christ, this is too much.

I didn’t seek out information about Sarah. And I feel guilty as shit that I know about her past—but not guilty enough to tell her.

"Just so you know, I’m smitten with her too. I’m not blind. I know she’s keeping some things to herself, and I appreciate you looking out for her, but I think it’s up to her when she wants to open up."

"She won’t ever tell you! She has you so high up on a pedestal, Mr. Perfect."

"I’m not perfect." I quickly correct.

"Maybe not, but she sees you that way. You don’t understand. You weren’t here when things went down."