“That’s enough.” I’d been so caught up in the hurtful words she was hurling at me that I hadn’t heard the door open. Jason stood in the doorway, his eyes blazing. He stepped into the room, and I stood. If he was angry with me, he was going to have to deal with it. I wasn’t going to give up on him without a fight.
As he neared me, I studied him. His hair was tousled, and his attire was a dark sweater and jeans. He’d lost weight, but he still looked great. Somewhere in my head, I wondered why he wasn’t dressed for work.
“Your girlfriend came here to harass me,” Sarah told him sharply.
His lips thinned, but he didn’t say anything to her. “Daphne?”
“I was just leaving,” I said. I walked past him, expecting him to stay behind with his mother, but he followed me outside past the reception area to the enormous entrance porch ringed with shrubs and flowering plants that swayed in the breeze.
I folded my arms, feeling defensive. “Did Leonard tell you I was coming here?”
He shook his head. “When you called, I got an alert. She usually doesn’t get many…any visitors.”
“I’m not surprised,” I said unkindly. I’d have been surprised if she had any friends.
He gave me a look. “She’s my mother.”
“She gave birth to you,” I retorted. “Do you know who’s worrying about you right now, concerned that you’re falling apart? Your mom, Helen! This woman just…she just—”
“I know. I overheard enough.”
“You’re pushing everyone away—for what? You don’t
have to do this alone, whether you get tested or not, whether you’re affected or not—”
“You think I haven’t thought about this?” His voice rang with sudden impatience. “What do you think I’ve been doing? What do you think I’ve been obsessing about every day, every night?” He took a step toward me then stopped himself. “What you’re asking me to do…I can’t do it to you. I miss you so much it kills me, but you’ve already been through enough. You don’t deserve this.”
“And you do?”
He let out a bitter laugh. “Does it matter now?”
“Jason.” I reached for him, placing my hands on his arms. “Jason, if it were me, would you leave if I told to?”
His eyes closed. “I could never. It would kill me to ever leave your side.”
I drew in a breath. “Then understand that you’re killing me right now.”
He didn’t say anything, and I walked away. My ride was parked close to the entrance, and I gave Jason one last look as I slid in, my eyes stinging as the car made its way out of the compound through the wrought iron gates. I could feel him still standing there, watching, but I refused to turn back to look at him.
Chapter Ten
Days passed, then a week, then another. Colin’s parent made the trip over, and Helen and Grant made plans for a large dinner party at their home to celebrate the engagement.
The day of the party, I arrived early, and the arrangements Helen had made took my breath away. The garden had been converted to something out of a fairy tale with a long dinner table, beribboned chairs, and colorful flowers on the table and around the garden in strategically placed flowerpots.
“It’s so beautiful,” I exclaimed when she led me out to show me the decorations.
“I’m hoping it helps lift the gloom around here, even if only for one evening,” Helen said.
I went upstairs to join Amy. I’d brought some last-minute wardrobe change options for her, and she agonized over which dress to wear.
“Jason is on his way,” she told me when she noticed my faraway expression. “Are you sure this is okay?”
I chuckled. “I’m sure I can spend an evening in the same house without dissolving into tears.”
“I know you’re trying to be strong, but we live together. I know how much this affects you.”
The spontaneous tears, the late-night weeping…of course she hadn’t missed all that.