The Perfect Lie (Hope Falls Universe)(19)
Amanda’s face softened. “Is this about the tourist who you ate with at Sue Anne’s?”
Ah, the joy of small towns. But he didn’t have to wonder about who told Amanda about his date with Steph. “Karina told you.”
“And she said this woman was super pretty too.”
That was one hell of a compliment coming from the famous singer, but it was also an understatement. Steph was more than pretty. She was more than beautiful. She was more than gorgeous. She was perfect. “Yep,” was all he said.
“And I’m guessing from your recent display of dumpster abuse that things aren’t going great.”
Josh wasn’t used to talking about his feelings and he definitely wasn’t used to talking about his relationships, so it took a few seconds for him to find the right words. “It… I don’t think we were ever supposed to be anything. Everything was too fast and sudden. Not easy, like it’s supposed to be.”
He was expecting sympathy, but Amanda let out a bark of laughter. “Easy? Whoever told you it was easy?”
He blinked at her strange reaction. “Well, you and Justin work just right.”
“Yeah, now. But there were years when we didn’t even speak to each other. It wasn’t until tragedy struck that Justin and I were finally able to find each other again. Thinking back at the paths I could have gone down if things hadn’t happened like they did…” She let out a little shudder. “Just be grateful you didn’t meet the jackass I was dating before Justin.”
“Yeah, but you guys have true love,” pointed out Josh. “One way or another, you and Justin would find each other eventually.”
“Eventually. But there were a lot of years we missed in between because fate hadn’t worked out in our favor. What if I had gotten over my embarrassment and tracked him down? What if he had taken a chance and called me out of the blue? Listen, I’m forever grateful for what I have right now and how things went down, but let me just impart some of my wisdom down on you. Love is epic. Love is hard. And slamming dumpsters won’t do anything to mend a broken heart.”
“I only knew her for two days…” He said it weakly and even though it was true, it had felt like more. “Who finds something serious after only two days?”
Amanda shrugged. “I don’t know her and I never saw how you two get on, so it really isn’t my place to tell you what to do. But the way I see it, you have two options. You can move on, or you can not move on. Either way, remember the dumpster did nothing to hurt you.”
He nodded and thought about what she said. Did she have a point? Was it stupid to sit back and hope things worked out right? Maybe the reason he felt so strongly about Steph even though they’d just met was because this was something once-in-a-lifetime. Maybe the reason he couldn’t stop thinking about her was because he wasn’t supposed to stop thinking about her.
“Would it be possible to have the next few days off?” he asked.
Amanda smiled victoriously, revealing she wasn’t quite the impartial advisor. “On one condition.”
“Anything.”
“If you two get married, you do it at Mountain Ridge.”
~~~~~
Steph spun around in the chair again and again, allowing the dizziness to take over. All of this was almost done. Tomorrow, the final divorce papers would be signed and this whole mess could be put behind them. Her mother could try to move on with her pool boy toy and her father could openly parade his mistresses around for the first time in decades.
She should be stressed or worried or even embarrassed about the conduct of the two adults in her life who were supposed to be taking care of her. But in truth, all she could think about was Hope Falls. More specifically, the man she’d left behind in Hope Falls.
It had been six days and twelve hours since she had talked to him last and she was counting down the seconds until her self-imposed exile ended so she could give in to temptation and call him, just to hear his voice. Sometimes she wondered whether he would change his mind about being with her, but then she’d flash back to their time cuddled together in that comfortable little bed and she was so sure that any second her phone would ring and he’d be on the other end.
Just a few more hours…
Her phone rang then and she leapt up to answer it, but it was just AJ. She let out a sigh of disappointment as she answered it. “Where are you?”
“Nice to talk to you too,” deadpanned AJ.
She was in no mood for his sarcasm right now. “I’ve been waiting here for twenty minutes. Where are you?”
“I’m in my office. Dad just called and said he can’t make it. I let Mom know. She hadn’t even left yet so I’m guessing she wasn’t planning on showing up either.”
Steph glared around the empty conference room in annoyance. “So I’m here for no reason.”
“If it makes you feel better, I have something interesting to tell you. It might also terrify you, so we’ll see.”
She sat up straighter as she tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about. “Huh?”
“What would you say if I told you that a certain redneck was in the downstairs lobby asking about you?”
She stood up so fast that the chair went sliding out from under her and hit the glass wall of windows. “You’re not serious.”