The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister(71)

CHAPTER 19


Lala



The smile fell from my face as I read the name flashing on my cell phone.

Warren.

I’d assumed it would be Holden, since we’d been dirty texting back and forth all morning. I debated not answering, but I had so much guilt after breaking things off a week and a half ago and then running straight to another man’s bed. It felt like the very least I could do was act like an adult and communicate.

So I swiped. “Hey, Warren.”

“Hi, Laney.” He was quiet for a few seconds. “Is this okay? I mean, am I allowed to call?”

My heart squeezed. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. This is new territory for me, and I’m not sure what to do.”

“Well, I’m sorry if I made you feel like it wasn’t okay to call. How are you?”

He went silent again. “Maybe we can talk about work or something. I don’t want to start out on a negative note.”

“Of course. Yeah, sure. How are things at work?”

“Pretty good. I’ve been working a lot, keeping myself busy, and this week I’ve made some solid progress on the immune cells I’ve been engineering, the ones from healthy donors that I’m using to target the blood-cancer cells in stage-two and -three patients.”

“Oh, wow. Congratulations. Tell me more about it.”

For the next twenty minutes, Warren explained how he was using Gamma T cells to promote cancer progression by inhibiting antitumor responses. Our conversation almost started to feel normal, like maybe we could be friendly without it being weird, until we came to a lull and he cleared his throat.

“How much time, Laney? Is it a week, a month, a year?”

I wasn’t sure what we were talking about, considering ten seconds ago we’d been discussing the fact that his latest research might move to a human clinical trial at some point. “How much time for what?”

“You’d said you needed time apart, to live as a single woman. But I don’t know what that means. Is it just a few weeks, or do you need longer?”

My gut twisted. “I don’t know, Warren. I’m sorry I can’t be more definitive, but I’m very confused, and I thought it was unfair of me to keep things moving down the same path when I wasn’t ready to go where we were ultimately heading.”

“I know I haven’t been a great partner. I work too much and haven’t been attentive enough. I took what we had for granted.”

I shook my head. “No, Warren, it’s not your fault at all. I meant it when I said you didn’t do anything wrong. This is entirely about me. You were always a very good boyfriend.”

His voice strained. “I should’ve moved to New York with you. I could’ve taken a leave of absence and showed you that you and your work meant more to me than staying here.”

“Warren, no. What happened between us is not your fault. If you would have offered to come to New York, I wouldn’t have let you. Your work is very important, and our relationship should have been able to weather a few months apart while I was here. Where we are today doesn’t have anything to do with New York, really. I think sometimes we get on a path and keep following it without giving the destination any real thought. We fall into a nice routine and keep going. Being here just made me stop and question a lot about myself.”

“I loved our routine, and I know where we were heading is exactly where I want to be, Laney. I’d marry you tomorrow, if that would make you happy.”

That was a kick in the gut. But that’s what I deserved. I’d committed to him and told him I felt the same, and then pulled the rug out from under him with no warning. “I’m sorry, Warren. I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just take the time you need and come back to me. I’ll be waiting. You’re not wearing my ring anymore, but that doesn’t mean my heart isn’t with you. I’ll be loyal to you, my love.”

Oh God. I put my hand on my stomach, feeling a little queasy. I didn’t know how to respond, so I didn’t.

Eventually, Warren broke the silence. “I’ll let you go,” he said.

“Thank you for calling, Warren. I hope things continue to go well at work.”

“Bye, Laney.”

I lowered my phone and was just about to swipe to end the call when I heard Warren yell. “Wait! Laney!”

I raised the phone back to my ear. “Yes?”

“You’d tell me if there was another man, right? Is there someone else?”

Caught completely off guard, I panicked. “No. No, Warren, there isn’t anyone else.”

***

“Hey, stranger.” Billie smiled.

I’d been staring straight ahead as I walked past the tattoo shop and hadn’t noticed her walking out the door, only a few feet away.

I blinked. “Oh. Hey, Billie.”

“I wasn’t sure if you saw me. You looked lost in thought.”

I attempted a smile. “Just tired.”

Billie wiggled her eyebrows. “I heard you aren’t getting much sleep these days.” She laughed. “Sorry, the guys can’t keep a secret. But I probably should’ve waited until you told me about you and Holden getting together before I started cracking jokes.”