“I can see that. I won’t tell anyone.”
“We can’t tell Lexi either.”
“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that, Bryce.” Luke rubbed his temple. “I think Lexi has a right to know.”
“Of course she does, but not right now.” I looked at him earnestly. “We can’t let her know right now. It could spoil everything.”
“Spoil what?”
“I have a plan.” I spoke slowly, my mind racing a hundred miles a minute. “But I’m not going to tell you. I have to work on this by myself. I just need some time.”
“I don’t know, Bryce.”
“Please, Luke. Please do this for me. You’ve kept it a secret from Lexi for this long already, what’s another few weeks?”
“But this is different now.”
“What’s different?” I lean in towards him. “What’s different now, Luke?”
He turned his face away from me and sighed. “It’s not my place to say anything.”
“Good.” I nodded my head.
“I didn’t mean about Shelby…” His voice faded and he shook his head. “Okay, Bryce, I’ll keep my mouth shut for now. For you and for your mother.”
“Thanks.” I reached over and shook his hand. “You’re a good guy, Luke.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“No. I’ve got to see a man about a dog. But I’ll call you when I have some news.”
“Okay. Well have a good time with Lexi.” His voice sounded distraught and I ignored the urge to pull him close to me.
“I … I will.” I frowned and turned away, already disgusted with the lie. “See-ya.” I looked at my watch and decided to make a quick trip into town before I went to go and see Anna. There was someone I needed to speak to urgently. I had to make a visit to Mr. Raynor. He was my mom’s lawyer, the one who was filing for her divorce. I only hoped that he still had the paperwork I needed to see.
Chapter 7
Lexi
“Should I call him?” I played with my hair as Luke sat next to me on the bed.
“No, I wouldn’t call him now.” He kissed my neck and I snuggled into him, breathing in his cologne and manly essence.
“I do want him to know I’m here for him, you know.” I sighed. “Where did you say you saw him again?”
“At the store. He was getting something to eat.”
“And he told you he was on his way to meet me?”
“Yeah, something like that.” He sighed. “He’s obviously not in a good place right now.”
“Maybe I should go and visit him. Explain that I still care about him.”
“You may just hurt him even more, Lexi.”
“I don’t want to hurt him,” I sighed. “I just don’t want him to grieve alone.”
“I don’t know if you can just be his friend at this point, Lexi. He is convinced it is a lot more than that.”
“I thought it was,” I moaned. “I thought we were meant to be. I made a mistake.”
“You can’t tell him that now.”
“Maybe he would understand. He knows I never really knew him. My crush was just a fantasy that built and built. I allowed it to go too far.”
“Lexi, you know I love you. But this is not the time to tell a guy whose mother has just died that your love for him was a figment of your imagination.”
“You don’t think I should be honest?”
“I think you should just let it go for now.” His hand reached under my tee shirt and he started nibbling on my lips. “His heart has just been broken. Don’t break it again.”
“Oh Luke.” I grabbed his head and looked into his eyes. “How did I get so lucky to get you?”
“Your mom bought the right house.”
“Yeah.” I laughed. “She did something right.”
“You know Lexi, love isn’t always what we expect it to be.” Luke pulled away from me and he ran his fingers over my eyebrows, smoothly them down gently. “Sometimes love is knowing when to let something go, or knowing when to keep something to oneself.”
“But lies never help.”
“Give him some time, Lexi. He has a lot going on.”
“Since when have you been on his side?”
“I’m not taking sides. I’m just saying that maybe everything is too black and white for you. That rarely works in life. You don’t just love one person and hate another. You don’t just fall in love in a day and you don’t fall in love in one day either. Emotions are complicated. The truth is complicated. Sometimes that grey area is where things need to be.”
“I don’t want to be in that grey area. Not anymore.”
“Lexi, last week you were overjoyed that Bryce was back in town and was inviting you to his party. Last night you were in my bed, telling me how much you love me. Forgive me when I say this, my dear, but you are the grey area.”
I pulled away from him and jumped out of the bed, hurt. “How could you say that to me Luke? Do you think I’m some sort of slut?”
He sighed deeply and stood up. “I’m not saying that, Lexi. I know you inside and out. I love who you are. But everything’s going so fast in your mind. In fact, I don’t even know what’s going on in your mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday I told you I loved you and you panicked. The next thing I know you’re in my bed, telling me you love me too. I want to know what caused the change.”
“I realized that I loved you,” I mumbled, upset.
“How?”
“A butterfly told me.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” I pulled on my pants and I pushed past him. “I can’t believe we’re doing this now.”
“Why, Lexi?” He grabbed a hold of my arm. “Why can’t we have this conversation? How did you go from Bryce being the love your life to me in less than a week?”
“Do you want me to be with Bryce, Luke?” I turned around and shouted. “Is that what you want? He cheated on me, Luke, do you want me to be with a cheater?”
“If he hadn’t cheated on you, would you be here right now, Lexi?” His tone was soft, silky, and smooth. It was only his eyes that belied the importance of this question to him.
“I don’t know,” I whispered softly. “I don’t know.”