Page 87 of With This Ring
Dakota pushed an errant tendril of hair behind her ear.
“I try not to get caught up in the gossip, but I heard Skye tell Eileen that you broke up with her art teacher.”
“That’s all true.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It was my call.” She brushed her hands down her green sundress.
“Still, you look stressed.” Nick gave her a hesitant expression. “Want to talk about it?”
“I’m really fine,” she fibbed, peering out to where Aubrey had begun turning cartwheels on the front lawn. “I never could master the cartwheel.”
“She definitely doesn’t get her talent from me,” Nick quipped. “But you are one heck of a roller skater, so not all Jamisons are unathletic klutzes.”
Dakota grinned. “Thanks.”
His smile flattened. “Eileen says I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For inviting Hud to stay for supper last Sunday. She insists I made supper awkward by having your ex there.” Nick held his hands up. “I’m sorry. I know I ordered you around a lot and gave you tons of unsolicited advice when you were younger because I thought I was so much wiser than you. I wasn’t trying to be your know-it-all brother again. I honestly thought inviting Hud to join us would be okay, but apparently I was mistaken.”
“You did nothing wrong. In fact, that’s what has me tied up in knots. I broke up with Parker because I can’t stop thinking about Hud, but I know it could never work between us.”
“Why?”
“Because he chose his career over me once, and he’d probably do it again.” She moved her finger over the white-painted chair arm. “We want different things. I want a life here in Flowering Grove, and he wants to run another company in the Middle East.”
Nick scratched the scruff on his neck.
“If he really loved me seven years ago, he would’ve kept the promise he made when he gave me a diamond ring. He would’ve chosen a life with me instead of a fancy life in Manhattan.”
“Dakota, I know how you get when you’re fixated on something, so I need to ask you a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you ever tell Hudexactlywhat you wanted?”
She swallowed. “No.”
“Maybe it’s time you had an honest conversation with him.”
Dakota stared at him as his words took hold. An honest conversation was what she was trying to have with Hudson at the bridal shower. She had been pushing him to be honest with her and himself about why he was really against Layla’s wedding. It was obvious to Dakota that he didn’t want to let his little sister go. And she suddenly saw the hypocrisy of how she’d never been honest with Hudson about their breakup.
“Who wants pizza?” Eileen called, and Aubrey and Kevin started cheering.
Nick stood. “That’s my cue to order supper.”
While her brother disappeared into the house, Dakota began to wonder if things could have ended differently between her and Hudson seven years ago if she’d just told him the truth about her dreams.
Chapter 20
Two weeks later, the sound of the bell at the front of the store startled Dakota. It was a Thursday afternoon, and she was working on Layla’s gown in the back room. She rushed to the store floor and stopped where Hudson stood by the counter, flanked by Shane and his three groomsmen. She rubbed her eyes and hoped she looked alive. She’d worked late the night before and felt as if she hadn’t quite woken up this morning. In fact, she’d even managed to pour salt instead of sweetener into her coffee.
A warm glow filled her as she took in Hud’s worn jeans and short-sleeved collared shirt, which sported the logo for Wallace Construction where the breast pocket would’ve been. His strong jaw was covered in a few days’ worth of scruff that she longed to run her fingers over. She mentally pulled herself off the ledge and smiled at the men.
“You must be here for your final fittings,” she said, and they all nodded.