The kind where emotions whirled around inside her,
at war with one another. Feeling stupid, desperate, and confused, she tried to remember when she knew. There wasn’t some crystal clear moment. Not a black and white answer. Dallas had just always been hers. She never questioned it, never saw their ages as an obstacle, and until this week, she didn’t think he had either. Alex just knew Dallas would wait for her.
That was what hurt the most. Well, two things actually. Being wrong—and being empty.
For
the first time she felt hollow and questioned her entire path. Her foot slipped, landing hard on the ground
below the fence. She shook her head and closed her eyes. It was supposed to be Dallas. He would retire from rac- ing and join the staff of the academy.
They
were supposed to have the big white wedding. They’d spend their years teaching side-by-side as the fairy
tale
ending lived on around them.
There’d been no question in her mind over the years. All she knew was there wasn’t supposed to be a different
woman in her spot by his side. Feeling the sting, she screwed her eyes tighter then swiped at the tears that fell, despite her best effort to prevent them.
The hand on her lower back made her flinch in surprise. She’d been so lost in her own world she hadn’t heard him approach. Without a word, she knew the scent, the hold was one she’d felt a million and one times.
Dallas.
She tried to be angry, to hold onto the feelings that made her flee the house
in the first place. She couldn’t.
At his touch, even through clothing, his warmth melted the ice in her veins that quickly formed during the last few minutes of solitude. Another tear—another swipe
at it.
“Alex.”
She didn’t answer, instead she shifted her cheek to rest the opposite direction to avoid him. “Alex, talk to me. Please.”
Suddenly his touch burned her, seared her. Jerking away from the source of pain left her standing face-to-face with him.
“You
don’t love her,
Dallas.” Her mouth fired off the accusation before her brain engaged. Either way, the words were spoken. His silence was deafening. The admission painful. However, she knew she’d been right, even with- out seeing the narrowing of his eyes or the flare of his nostrils. He’d never lied to her—ever. And she knew he couldn’t start now.
His mouth twisted, his brow knitted tighter. In the glow of the light from the shop, she saw his torment as he searched for words. He didn’t have to. Alex saw the answer in the gray eyes she knew so well. Her imaginary world had been just that—totally one-sided and in her head
only. The security and love she’d felt from him over
the years vanished, and the foundation of her world crumbled. The walls started to shift. Her heart was breaking,
the cracks deepening
at warp speed.
Her only choice—run.
Stepping away from the penetrating gray, she made a half turn, only getting an arm’s length away as he reached out to stop and spin her back. “Don’t you dare walk away from me, Alex.”
The command was crisp and the deep tone had her body reacting to his order. Frozen to her spot, she stood ab- solutely still. It could’ve been because of shock—it wasn’t. The pounding in her chest left her reeling. He held her tightly by her upper arms. Unable to move, she shivered in his hold.
Fire sparked again. “Don’t dare walk away? Excuse me? You have no right—”
“Stop. Now.”
Her eyes flared as she clenched her fists at
her
sides. “You made your choice.” She spat out as she twisted in his
hold, trying to free herself.
He
gave her a light shake, after a long minute she realized she was going nowhere until he decided to let her. Gritting her teeth and panting in anger, she glared at
the man she’d spent a lifetime loving. It wasn’t anger
she saw mirrored in his eyes.
“You’re
too young.”
The lines deepened and his head tilted to the side as if he was pleading with her to understand. That wasn’t going
to
happen. Not now, not ever. “Bullshit! I’m twenty-three, Dallas. What’s your little friend? Twenty?”
“Stop it, Alex.”
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