Unbreakable (Cloverleigh Farms, #4)(66)

She shivered and held me tighter. “I hope I never fall in love. It sounds scary and horrible. I’d rather be alone.”

“Give it some time, okay? Maybe you’ll change your mind.”

She shook her head vehemently. “Never.”

Part of me wanted to argue with her, but another part agreed with her one hundred percent. Love was terrifying. It put you completely at the mercy of someone else. You basically handed over your breakable heart and hoped that someone wouldn’t shatter it. Whitney was right—there was never any real assurance you wouldn’t get hurt.

Maybe I was better off alone.

At that moment, we heard shouts coming from outside. I checked the clock on her night table, and realized it was midnight. “I think we missed sparklers,” I told her gently.

“I don’t care.”

“Do you want to go back to the party?”

She shook her head.

“Okay, honey. You don’t have to. But I should go back and get your brother.” I started to get up, but she gripped me tighter.

“No! Just . . . just stay for a few more minutes, okay?”

“Okay.” Fighting tears, I began stroking her hair again. This wasn’t the fresh start I’d envisioned. “It’s going to be okay, baby. You’ll see.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and didn’t answer, and I sat there with her for a little while longer, drying my tears with the sleeve of my blouse so they wouldn’t fall into her hair. Within minutes, she fell asleep, and I carefully removed her shoes from her feet before pulling her comforter over her legs.

After leaving her room, I stopped in mine to trade my party clothes for a pair of jeans, a sweater, and some boots. In the bathroom, I tamed my hair into a ponytail and took off my ruined eye makeup. Then I went downstairs, put my coat on, and dragged myself back to the party, more miserable with every step.

An hour ago, I’d been so happy, so starry-eyed, my heart so full of hope.

How had everything gone so wrong?





Nineteen





Henry





Waiting for Sylvia to come back to the party was torture.

I didn’t feel like drinking, listening to music, or talking to people, but there wasn’t really anywhere I could hide. I thought about leaving, but in case Sylvia needed me tonight, I wanted to be somewhere she’d be able to find me.

How the fuck had this night gone so wrong so fast?

I returned to our dinner table, where Mack and Frannie were sitting, and dropped disconsolately into my chair, where I proceeded to brood and fret.

“Everything okay?” Mack asked over the music.

“Fine.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them exchange a look. It just made me scowl harder.

“Do you know where Sylvia is? I haven’t seen her in a while,” Frannie remarked, false brightness in her voice.

“She’s at the house with Whitney.”

“Why? What happened to Whitney?” Frannie asked.

I struggled with it for a moment, then realized their own kids were probably going to tell them what they’d seen. “She saw us kissing outside. She got upset and took off.”

Frannie gasped. “Yikes!” She looked toward the door. “Do you think I should go over there?”

“I have no idea,” I said, feeling like the least qualified person to give advice on doing the right thing. “But I might as well warn you, your girls saw the whole thing too. They might say something to you about it.”

“Oh, our girls have caught us kissing a million times.” Frannie reached over to pat Mack’s arm. “They’re used to it, right, babe?”

“Right.” But Mack, who’d been a single father of three young girls, understood what the issue was. “Whitney doesn’t like the idea of her mom with someone else?”

“Apparently not.”

“But that’s ridiculous,” said Frannie. “Wouldn’t she want her mom to be happy? The girls were thrilled when we stopped sneaking around and finally admitted what was going on between us.”

“But that didn’t happen right away,” Mack reminded her. “My guess is that Whitney is upset because she lost her dad and thinks she’s going to lose her mom too. My girls didn’t want to let me out of their sight after Carla left. They used to cry when I dropped them off at school. They thought I might not come back.”

“Oh, I remember that.” Frannie shook her head. “That was so sad.”

“It takes time,” Mack said with a shrug. “I’m sure if you give it a while, things will calm down.”

I nodded, but I didn’t fucking want to give it time. I wanted to be with her now, and I was furious that somehow we’d already fucked this up before we’d even given ourselves a chance.

“You look so miserable, Henry. You really care about her, don’t you?” Frannie gave me a sympathetic look.

I slumped down lower in my chair. “Yeah.”

Just then, a server came by with a tray of champagne glasses. “Almost midnight,” she said, setting a glass down for each place at the table. “Enjoy!”

But the occasion had lost all its appeal.

Just before twelve, I watched the kids light up their sparklers and listened to the crowd count down the last ten seconds of the year, but I couldn’t even lift my glass as the band kicked off Auld Lang Syne. I didn’t drink the champagne or even pretend to sing along. I just kept looking at the door hoping to see Sylvia come through it, and checking my phone in case she tried to send me a message. Each time, I was disappointed, and finally I gave up. Without even saying goodbye to anyone, I headed for the coatroom.