“I won’t.” He started down the walk, then stopped and turned around. “Lori’s not really on a date. Is she?”
Please say no.
Rachel laughed. “No. She was making us her famous Chicken parm but ran out of breadcrumbs. So get out of here before she gets back and sees your empty hands. Don’t screw this up, Deek. See ya.” She closed the door.
He’d come up with something so awesome, Lori would have no choice but to fall all the way in love with him. He hoped.
What the hell was he going to do?
After their late dinner, and Emily was tucked in bed, Lori put the last of the dishes into the dishwasher and started it. She’d wanted to make Rachel’s favorite food as a thank-you. If it hadn’t been for her pushy sister talking her into speaking with Mel, she’d still be walking around with all that bottled-up anger and pain.
While the conversation had been hard, it had been so freeing to her heart. As if a weight she’d been carrying around since that horrible night had been lifted. Forgiving them had been the best thing for her soul.
Why hadn’t she done it sooner and saved herself all that pain? She’d screwed up there. Now if she could get over the hurt Deek put in her heart, maybe she’d feel like a whole person again. Hopefully soon.
Rachel had a tough shell, but deep down had a heart as gooey as Lori’s. Well, maybe not quite as soft, but still tender.
Lori poured herself another glass of wine and then joined her sister on the couch in the den. “What are we watching?” Just once, she’d like to choose what they watched, but oh well.
Rachel sighed. “Two single women feeling sorry for themselves on a Saturday night sound good?”
“Nope.” Lori picked up the remote and started searching for something upbeat. “You don’t have to sit here and mope, you know. You could call Marcello.”
“It’s the middle of the night where he is. But you’ll be happy to know I told him this afternoon that I had something important to tell him when I see him. He’ll be here in a few weeks.”
“That’s great, Rachel. And it’s the right thing to do.”
“Yeah. It is.” She shrugged. “I hope I can figure out by then how to tell him I love him too.”
Lori patted her sister’s leg. “You’ll figure it out.”
“Speaking of figuring things out, just a few weeks ago, you weren’t sure if you could ever trust a man enough to get married again. Especially now that Em’s in the picture. So maybe this whole thing with Deek was just a physical release, and it worked out for the best?”
Lori stared into her wineglass as she pondered. It didn’t feel like it all worked out for the best. She missed Deek so much, it physically hurt. “Deek is the kindest guy I’ve ever met. I honestly believed he’d never cheat on me. Enough that I think I could’ve overcome my trust issues for him. If you could’ve seen the look on Deek’s face as he watched me leave. It was…heartbreaking.” She sighed. “He didn’t want to choose her. He had to.”
“What if something changes and you and Deek could be together? It’d be pretty unfair to him if you got all the way to the altar and then got cold feet. You’re talking to me here, Lori. I know you struggle with trusting men more than you like to admit.” Rachel snatched the remote from Lori’s hand and flipped through the channels. “We both do.”
Rachel was right. Lori had vowed never to marry again after Joe died. She’d made a bad choice in men like her mother had. She feared it ran in her genes. It was with the passing of time, and the blurring of memories, that she’d eventually decided she didn’t want to grow old alone and would try dating again. But that was no reason to get married. “Are you and I going to end up living together until we die? Along with our thirty cats?”
Her sister laughed. “Maybe not if we get our heads out of our butts and work through our issues. And learn to trust ourselves to make good choices.”
“I think I made some real progress today on that.” She took a deep drink from her glass. “I forgave Joe. And Mel. Mostly. I don’t know exactly when during Mel’s story, but while I was driving home, I realized he and Mel made a mistake in the heat of an emotional crisis. And people make mistakes.”
“Including you and me, and we’re too hard on ourselves for it. So you’re welcome.” Rachel leaned over, and shoulder bumped Lori. “Stick with me, kid, and I’ll have you all straightened out in under a week. Guaranteed.”
“Oh, guaranteed, huh?” She wished it was that simple. “We’ll see about that.”