A Perfect Distraction(96)
No such luck. Emily knelt beside her. “Did you fight with Mr. Jake?”
There was no point lying; she’d find out soon enough. “Yes.”
“But you’re still going to marry him, right?”
Shocked, Maggie blurted out, “Married? Why would you think that?”
“Everyone’s been talking about it since Thanksgiving. How you’re ‘in love’—” Emily rolled her eyes “—and you’ll get engaged soon.”
Maggie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “We won’t. From now on, I won’t be seeing Mr. Jake at all.”
Emily’s face fell. “You’re not friends anymore?”
“No.”
Her daughter was silent for a moment. “When I fall out with my friends, you tell me to make up with them.”
Hoist by her own petard. “Sometimes, you can’t do that. Especially if they hurt you.”
“Like Daddy did?”
Maggie nodded, her throat tight.
“Mr. Jake didn’t hurt you like Daddy.” Disbelief rang in Emily’s tone. Maggie’s wasn’t the only heart he’d wormed his way into.
“No, sweetie. He’d never do that.”
“Then why can’t you make up?”
How could she explain? She didn’t want to bad-mouth Jake, but she needed Emily to understand this couldn’t be resolved. “We don’t get along anymore.”
“You don’t like each other?”
“Not really.” Like? No. Love? Unfortunately, yes.
“Doesn’t Mr. Jake like me?”
Maggie’s heart squeezed. She hugged her daughter. “Of course he does. Even though we’re not together anymore, you’ll always be special to him.”
“Maybe you’ll change your minds.”
“We won’t.” Maggie’s tone was gentle but firm.
Emily tilted her head. “Does this mean we have to go home?”
Maggie deliberately hadn’t mentioned the forthcoming custody battle. There was no point upsetting Emily until the situation was clearer.
“Do you want to go back to England?” she asked cautiously.
“Nope. I want to live here. Can we?”
“We’ll see.”
“Okay. Can I watch The Aristocats?”
She’d barely nodded before Emily ran to the living room and started the DVD.
Maggie got to her feet slowly and went to stand at the living room door.
Emily turned. “It’ll be okay, Mummy.”
Her daughter’s innocent words tore through the numbness, exposing the raw emotions.
Choking back the tears, Maggie dashed into the kitchen and almost ran into Tracy.
Her sister handed her a glass of wine. “I figured you could use a sympathetic ear.”
The last vestiges of Maggie’s control vanished. Tears spilled over as she slumped into a chair. The whole miserable story flooded out.
“It’s déjà vu. I’m so stupid,” Maggie said brokenly.
“You’re not. Jake’s not Lee.”
“Breaking up with me for my own good is no different to Lee running my life.” She dashed a tear from her cheek. “Falling in love with Jake was another foolish mistake.”
“No, it wasn’t. Jake’s the idiot. Who sacrifices a lifetime of happiness with the most wonderful woman he’ll ever meet for the possibility of a moment of glory?”
Maggie sniffed. “You’re biased.”
“Sure, but it’s still the truth,” Tracy huffed. “Jake’s thrown away the one person who could help him see that he’s a good man. He’s so wrapped up in guilt about what happened to Adam, he’s lost sight of the kind of bloke he is. Jake said it himself—he thinks he doesn’t deserve you. Dumping you is just another way for him to protect you.”
“But that’s crazy.”
“Bless him, he’s a man. They always go for the quickest solution to a problem. Jake blames himself for what’s happening to you, so to put that right fast he’s removing himself from your life.”
“Instead of standing beside me and weathering the storm.”
Tracy shrugged. “I said the quickest way, not the best.”
It made a strange kind of sense. “So what do I do now?”
“You carry on with your life.” Tracy covered Maggie’s hand with hers. “The media fuss will die down. Someone else will grab the headlines. Jake’s play won’t improve because he’ll still be thinking about you and he’ll realize he hasn’t chosen the best solution after all.”
“What if he doesn’t?” The hollow feeling inside threatened to overwhelm her.
“You’ll survive. It won’t be easy and it’ll hurt like hell, but you’ve come through worse.” Tracy smiled reassuringly. “I have faith in you.”