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Scotty and I held hands.
It didn’t have to mean anything…because it couldn’t mean anything.
But the mantra folded in half as his thumb dusted over my knuckles, our fingers intertwined in a way that felt like more. Emotion burned holes in my chest. Love blazed hot, the fire far from cindered.
“I don’t know what to say,” I admitted as we dodged other couples, dogs on short leashes, and a slew of baby strollers. “I think my words are broken.”
He glanced at me, tangerine highlights from the low-hanging sun brightening his dark hair. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“I should. There’s so much to say.” I sighed, squinting my eyes at the orange globe hovering on the horizon. “How are you?”
“Never been better.”
“I mean…before. Before you came here. How’s your business? Your life back home?”
He stared straight ahead, his cheek twitching. “Doesn’t feel like home these days.”
“How’s, um…” My eyes closed, pain sinking inside. “How are things with Tara?”
The grip of his hand strengthened, and I could almost hear his pulse kick up. “Strained,” he said.
God…still?
It had been two years.
Reed was never a topic of discussion between Tara and me. I refused to bring him up, hoping, praying, silently begging for her to broach the painful subject that haunted all of us. She never did.
Had she looked through the scrapbook? Drank in those pages filled with love and truth?
I didn’t know.
She had never mentioned it.
I swallowed, clinging to his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Whitney told me everything.” He glanced down at the sidewalk and stroked his chin with two fingers. “I’d known a little at the time—a teacher getting fired, a strained friendship. I knew Tara was going through something, but I never sought out details. I was busy getting my business off the ground, and I regret not being more present. More in tune. If I’d had known…” Reed’s eyes glassed over as he exhaled through his nose. “I never would have put those ideas in her head.”
Our palms squeezed.
My heart clenched like a fist around an iron weight.
“Anyway…I just keep hoping every day brings with it the potential for a fresh start. Forgiveness. Healing.” His eyes narrowed with thought. “I’ve seen her. I think she’s trying. But it’s not the same, and there’s still this divide between us. A dark cloud. Whitney says she’s making progress, but it’s hard to see it that way from my side.”
We turned a corner, headed toward the beach. The breeze stole his hair, spinning it into a disheveled, glorious mess I ached to sift my fingers through. “I’m still hopeful. If I can be standing here after everything I went through, so can she.”
A smile tipped his lips as he switched gears. “You’re doing amazing things, Halley. I saw your website. Your wedding photography. It’s just incredible.”
A shimmery beam dazzled through me at the compliment, lightening my mood. “It’s been everything I ever dreamed about. Capturing forever moments; love in motion. The smiles, the speeches, the carefully selected flowers and trinkets that decorate tabletops.” I peered up at him, unable to tame my smile. “My favorite part of the whole wedding is when the groom catches sight of his bride walking down the aisle for the first time. While Monique is concentrating on her, I’m focused on him. The tears in his eyes. The unmistakable love splashed across his face. It can’t be staged. It’s just so…raw. So magical.”
He smiled sadly as the pavement beneath our feet morphed into sand. “Do you want that?”
I wavered for a moment. “Love?”
“A wedding.”
“Oh.” I glanced ahead, a landscape of blue-green water coming closer into view. “I don’t know. It’s not something I think about.”
His eyes narrowed with consideration. “Interesting.”