Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Today it was my turn.
“What’s with you?” Emme asked as soon as I dropped into the chair across from her. She and Stella were seated next to each other on the emerald green banquette.
“What do you mean?” I smiled up at the server who poured me some water.
“You look different.” Emme eyed me curiously.
“I do?”
“Yes. Doesn’t she, Stella?”
Our older sister studied me. “More rested, that’s for sure. Are you sleeping better?”
“A little.”
“It’s more than that,” Emme insisted. “I know that look.” She leaned closer to me. “You had sex.”
I laughed and picked up my water. “Good guess.”
My sisters gasped.
“I knew it!” Emme clapped her hands. “With who?”
“You’re not going to believe it.”
“Tell us anyway,” Stella said, wide-eyed.
“Dallas Shepherd.”
Two jaws dropped simultaneously.
“Dallas I’m-totally-over-him Shepherd?” Emme blinked at me.
“Dallas don’t-be-ridiculous-that-was-twelve-years-ago Shepherd?” added Stella.
I grinned ruefully. “That’s the one.”
“Oh my God, Maren.” Emme shook her head. “How did this happen?”
“It was the craziest thing,” I said. “He showed up on my doorstep out of the blue on Friday afternoon.”
Emme gasped again and held up her arm. “I just got goose bumps. Look.”
“And said what?” Stella prompted.
“That he wanted to apologize.”
“After all that time? Why now?” Her therapist face appeared.
“I don’t really know exactly why now.” I lifted my shoulders. “I’m a little fuzzy on that, too. I asked him, and he just said he felt like it was time.”
“Huh.” Stella picked up her coffee and sipped. “Okay, go on.”
“He spent a few minutes saying he was sorry and explaining why he left like he did, and—”
Emme held up her hands. “Wait, what was the reason?”
“He was young. Immature. Didn’t know how to say goodbye and didn’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“He said he didn’t want to spend our last night being sad. He’d only found out that morning he was being sent away. And he was ashamed.”
“Still,” Emme said. “Totally shitty. And why not return your messages?”
“He said he’d convinced himself I was better off without him. He thought he was doing me a favor.”
Emme huffed. “He should have said that to your face.”
“I’m not sure that would have been any easier on me,” I told her.
The server came back and asked if we were ready, and I quickly glanced at the menu while my sisters ordered. When she got to me, I asked for the bruléed grapefruit and some tea.
“Okay, go on,” Stella said impatiently once we were alone again. “So he thought he was doing you a favor …”
“Which still sounds like a bullshit excuse to me,” said Emme.
“Not to me.” Stella touched her chest. “Not if he felt really bad about himself for being sent away.”
“He did. And it goes deeper than that.” I explained what I knew about the way Dallas had grown up in the shadow of his older brother. “I think he really internalized that. It explains so much about his personality and his choices.”
Stella nodded. “Definitely. If it was really that bad, no kid would come out the other side feeling good about himself. I see it a lot in my clients. They think they have nothing to offer, or that no matter what they do, it’ll never be good enough for their parents or anyone else.”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “But anyway, he really didn’t try to make excuses, just said how sorry he was, how much he regretted what he’d done, and asked my forgiveness.”
“And?” Emme urged.
“And I gave it. Well, first I gave him some shit, told him how I’d felt being dumped that way. But then …” I shrugged. “It just seemed wrong to hold on to that hurt any longer. I wanted to forgive him. It felt right.”
“God, you’re too easy,” Emme said. “I’d have stood there on that porch yelling at him for days.”
I laughed. “Probably. But that’s not my thing.”
“So how did you get from there to there?” Emme leaned forward eagerly.
“That happened later. After the prom.”
My sisters exchanged a look. “The prom?”
“Yes.” My tea arrived, and I took a sip before telling them about the elaborate date Dallas had arranged because he’d felt bad when I said I’d missed the prom.
Stella sighed. “That is so romantic and sweet.”
“It really is,” agreed Emme. “I’m totally impressed, and I’d have forgiven him after that for sure.”
“I was impressed too, and totally swept off my feet. I was having such a good time, the most fun I’ve had on a date in years. And at some point during the evening I realized that I still had feelings for him. He asked me if I wanted to go back to his hotel room, and I said yes.”
“So how was it?” Emme wiggled her eyebrows.
“Unbelievable. Amazing. Mind-blowing.”
Emme squealed and clapped her hands.
“And I can confirm Emme’s discovery about two,” I said to Stella. “It’s definitely possible.”
Stella closed her eyes and sighed. “This is me being jealous.”
Emme poked her shoulder. “You need to spice things up with Buzz. He’s a smart guy, I bet he’s good in the sack. He went to medical school, so he should know where all the parts are, at least.”