Her words were a hammer to his heart.
“Please,” she said. “Just go.”
And she fled into her house.
Leaving Roan feeling utterly wretched for breaking her heart...
... and his own.
She’d known this was coming and still, she’d been blindsided. Following the end of her relationship with Danny, she’d believed she was immune to the romantic magic of happily-ever-after fairy tales.
Ha!
All this time, she’d been actively weaving a story about her and Roan. Her hometown was at fault. Twilight and its stupid myths and legends.
She paced her house, but where once it had seemed cozy, now it felt too small. She had to get out of here. Had to clear her head and try to make some sense of her situation with Roan.
Unable to stand herself, she put on her coat and headed toward Sweetheart Park. Stuffing her hands into her pockets, she bent her head against the wind. It was getting late and the stores on the square were closing. A few people lingered on the streets. Shoppers laden with bags scuttled to their vehicles. Couples strolled, holding hands. One duo stopped to smooch beneath the mistletoe hungfrom the quaint street lantern. Christmas music still played from the speakers on the courthouse. It would shut off via timer at ten.
Twilight was a beautiful little town. She couldn’t deny that. It was the kind of place others dreamed of living in and she’d been lucky enough to be born here. Could there be a young woman in Paris with posters of Twilight on her wall? Longing for something that was missing from her life, just like Jazzy.
She walked past the windows advertising last chance sales. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. Roan and Trinity wouldn’t be coming over to spend time with her and get their Christmas stockings.
A tear formed on her cheek.
Angrily, she swiped it away. None of that stuff.
All the decorations in Sweetheart Park were lit up and she followed the path, trying to find the joy she usually felt at Christmas. But her natural glee and effervescence had disappeared along with Roan.
The wind gusted. She tugged her collar higher and hunched lower, the cold stinging the top of her ears, and she hurried past the stone archway leading into the park. A few more people were here than on the square, mostly lovers from the looks of it, out on a late evening stroll arm in arm. Heads resting on shoulders, they stopped to admire the lights.
She and Roan could have been one of those couples. They hadn’t had much time for anything beyond baking. A fresh sense of loss washed over her.
The quickening breeze urged people home and one by one, the couples filed from the park as Jazzy trudged deeper into it. Twilight was a safe town,but did she really want to be in the park this late by herself?
Truth? She didn’t want to be anywhere except with Roan and his daughter.
An idea hit her like a punch.
She wanted to be around Roan, but he didn’t want her around. He might say it was because she was too young, but it was something else. Something deeper holding him back from loving her.
He was still in love with Claire.
That’s where she’d been dumb. Believing she could replace his beloved wife. If she stayed with Roan she’d always pale in the shadow of Claire the Wonder Wife. She already had enough problems with competitiveness. She didn’t need his mess.
Or Danny’s.
What was happening to her? She’d lost the most essential part of herself.
Her joy.
Oh, this was bad. She shouldn’t indulge her dark mood. She should go home. Go to bed. Get some sleep. Things would look brighter tomorrow.
Christmas Eve.
Normally, her favorite day of the year. She lived for Christmas Eve. Loved everything about it. The lights, the decorations, the food, the cheer, the family gatherings.
Ugh.She had to go over to Dad and Sarah’s tomorrow.