It's Only Love(81)

“You’re not thinking about him anymore,” she reminded herself, laughing out loud at the preposterous thought. She’d have to be dead to not think about him anymore.

She pulled up to Hannah and Nolan’s home and cut the engine, taking a second to gather herself before she went inside.

Hannah waited at the door, wrapped up in a plush robe that was tied over her protruding midsection. The first thing Hannah did was hug her. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s an ass.”

“I assume we’re talking about my lovely brother-in-law?”

“Who else?”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Where’s Nolan?”

“Asleep. I wore him out.”

“I’m so sorry to barge in on you guys. I know I got you out of bed—”

“Ella.” Hannah led her to the sofa where they sat together. “Tell me.”

Ella replayed the disastrous presentation of her gift trip to the wedding and told her sister what he’d said and done. By the time she was finished, she had new tears on her cheeks and fresh anger in her heart. “I knew it was a gamble, that he would be worried about work, but for him to end things with me over it. That I just don’t get.”

“He’s running scared, Ella. You caught him off guard, and he’s running.”

“He said he wouldn’t do that. He promised to give us a real, honest chance, and it was going so well. Why would he do this?”

“I don’t know, honey. I honestly don’t know. He’s got all these dark corners inside him that he doesn’t let anyone see. It’s hard to know what goes on in that brain of his.”

“What do I do, Hannah? How do I fix this? I told him we don’t have to go on the trip if he really didn’t want to, but he left saying I deserve better and how he was bound to disappoint me sooner or later, and it was better it happen now. Did he go into this expecting it to end?”

Hannah mulled that over. “It’s possible he went into it expecting to eventually disappoint you, and this felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy or something.”

“It was only intended as a surprise to get him away from it all for a few days, so we could spend time together and he could go to his friend’s wedding. That’s all it was to me.”

“It was obviously something much more complicated for him.”

“I should’ve listened to him when he said he didn’t want to go, but Amelia was all for the surprise and Bob . . .” Ella shook her head, still trying to process how it had gone so terribly wrong.

“You did a really nice thing for him, Ella. No matter how he took it, the gesture was a lovely one.”

“For all the good it did me. Now we’ve apparently broken up and any chance I had with him is lost. No good deed goes unpunished.”

“You want to know what I think you ought to do?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Go on the trip. Take a break from him, from work, from everything and have a nice, relaxing vacation. We’ll be there, Will and Cam, Hunter and Megan, Bob and Amelia. We’ll all make sure you have a great time.”

“Gee, that sounds fun. A romantic getaway with my siblings and their partners as well as the couple I’d hoped might one day be my in-laws. Woo-hoo, sign me up.”

“You’ve already made the arrangements, and it’s too late to back out now without losing the money. Why let it go to waste? Maybe some time apart will help Gavin get his head on straight when he realizes how much he misses you.”

With her elbows on her knees, Ella let her hair cover her face. “I don’t think I can go back to him after this. I told him if he left it was over, and I think I mean that.”

Hannah put her arm around Ella’s shoulders. “Nothing has to be decided tonight or even tomorrow. Come with us on the trip, and we’ll figure it out when we get back. Let him miss you.”

Ella leaned into her sister’s comforting embrace. “Okay. I’ll go.”

“Are you packed?”

Nodding, Ella said, “I packed two days ago because I was so excited.”

“Then stay here tonight. We’ll run by your place in the morning to pick up your bag before we go. How were you planning to get to Boston?”

“We were going to drive.”

“Then you can come in the car with us. It can take ten and we’re at eight.”

Ella wiped away more tears that kept coming at the thought of going on the trip without him. “Everyone will know that he shot me down.”

“That’s on him, not you.”

“I played this all wrong, Hannah.”

“You played it just right. What you did was done out of love for him. No one could ever blame you for caring too much.” She kissed Ella’s cheek. “Let me get you a pillow and blanket. I’ll be right back.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind me bombing in on you guys?”

“Don’t be silly. I already rocked Nolan’s world. He’s out cold until the morning, and we won’t have time for anything then. Our pickup is at six.”

“In that case,” Ella said with a weak laugh for her sister. “I’d love to stay.”

“Great. I’ll fix you up with something to sleep in and a toothbrush. I’m glad you called, Ella. There’s no need to go through this by yourself. I just wish I had more insight into why he would’ve done such a thing.”