Page 32 of Almost
He smiles tersely, signaling to the bartender for another beer. “Too long. You’ve been AWOL the last few days, and I wanted to see you before I went back to Tampa.”
“I went back to Greensboro for a few days to check on the house. Kiera and I got into an argument, and we needed some space,” I explain briefly, trying to leave the bit about Thalia out, but the yellow shadow on my eye probably says it all.
I have to hand it to Thalia, she has a mean right hook. Owen and I taught her well when we were kids; I never considered it might come back to bite me in the ass.
“I’ll bet. Having Thalia around again probably isn’t doing you any favors, but if she was the worst thing that almost happened to you, then I wouldn’t think she’d be a problem,” he says bluntly, quoting what I said to Thalia at the funeral as he sips his beer.
The bartender has great timing as he sets my bottle in front of me. I stare at it for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts, but there’s no excuse. “You talked to Thalia.”
“Of course I talked to her. What the hell is wrong with you?”
I avert my eyes because I’m ashamed of how I spoke to her that day. “Apparently a lot,” I mumble under my breath. “Chris, I don’t want to talk about Thalia.”
“Well, tough shit; I don’t want to talk about this either, Bash,” he snaps harshly, rubbing his temples. “Why are you marrying Kiera?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Did Eric tell him that I tried to call Thalia?
“Why are you marrying Kiera? Why did you propose?”
I didn’t propose, but I can’t admit to that without sounding like more of an asshole than everyone already thinks I am. “Because I love her. She’s a great person, and I think we’ll be happy together. It makes sense,” I list my reasons for why I went along with it.
He watches me carefully. “And why did you propose to Thalia?”
I turn away, chewing the inside of my cheek. “What do you want me to say? That I fucked up three years ago? Iknow that.” I know it so much, I tried to fix it last weekend, and it bit me in the ass.
“Bash, I’m by no means pretending to be an expert at this, but I think your answer about why you proposed to Kiera was missing something,” Chris says irately, and I drink as a response. “When I asked Allie to marry me, it was because I loved her with every piece of me. I couldn’t, and still can’t imagine not having her in my life. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, and now I have Henry because of it.”
Thalia is with Eric. They’re together. I’m with Kiera. I’m letting her go, exactly like I should have a while ago.“Congratulations, Chris. It sounds like you really hit the jackpot.” My voice is bitter because he doesn’t understand. Without Kiera, I have no one.
“If Kiera is honestly enough for you, then let Thalia go. Whether you realize it or not, choosing to not tell Kiera about your relationship with Lia puts everyone in a hard place. Kiera’s a nice girl, but is she really what you want? Or is she just the easy, convenient option?”
I pull my wallet out of my pocket and pull out cash. I don’t have to sit here and listen to this. “Go to hell. If I wanted to be lectured, I’d talk to Blake and Owen.”
“Fuck you. They’re done dealing with this shit. Do you know how exhausting it is trying to keep you and Thalia separated from each other when we all try to make plans? It’s not our fault that you guys can’t get along, but we’re all the ones suffering for it.” Chris shakes his head at me, and I clench my jaw tightly, shoving my hands in my pockets before I take a page out of Thalia’s book and swing at him.
“You’re the ones suffering from it? The woman I’m in love with wants me out of her life for good, and I’m gettingmarried to someone else.” The words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them, and it’s maddening that he doesn’t even look surprised. There isn’t a point in trying to take it back. I said it, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. “I’m done, Chris. Thalia is with Eric now. I don’t want to hurt her, and I don’t want to hurt Kiera. Don’t think for even a second that you know what you’re talking about, because you have no fucking idea,” I warn, walking away from him to go home.
I’m such an idiot for going there thinking he genuinely wanted to catch up. I should have guessed that Chris would have an ulterior motive.
I’m not sure why he thinks its his place to say anything regarding Thalia. I know they became close, but this is ridiculous. It’s obvious what he’s trying to do, but I’m not going to mess things up for her. I saw how happy she looked with Eric at her gallery opening. I know how happy Kiera makes me. It’s not the same kind of love, but I do love Kiera.
I want to sleep in my own bed because as nice as the mattress at my grandparent’s house is, the bed in the master bedroom feels like heaven.
Unfortunately, there are a few stops I have to make before I can sleep.
I’m going to marry Kiera in forty-six days.
Nothing is going to change that. Not even how I feel about Thalia.
~
I’m woken up by the shifting mattress, and I blink a few times to focus on Kiera, perched on the bed next to me. Her eyes are rimmed red, and she looks exhausted. I should have tried to come back sooner; I was gone almost a week.
Yawning, I push myself up to lean against the headboard, rubbing my eyes.
“Seb, I’m sorry,” Kiera says softly, tears welling up in her blue eyes. Oh hell, she has no business apologizing. Everything that’s happened is because I haven’t been honest with either of us.
“No, you have nothing to be sorry for.”