like the answer.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “You’re not asking anything of him. You’re telling him what you want.”
“But I don’t know what I want. I think I want to be married. I think I want a baby. I want to make sure—”
The bells on the bookstore door jingled and I called out in my usual, cheerful voice.
“Welcome to Chapter One Books!”
“Ladies, it’s only me.” In walked Laura. She grinned at Sarah and kissed her on the cheek. “Am I interrupting?”
I shook my head.
“We were talking about Caleb and Emma and Emma’s deep, dark fears of the future.”
“Jesus, Sarah,” I replied crossly.
“What? About how lovesick he is for her?” Laura turned to the electric kettle nestled in a nook on the back wall.
Annoyed, I slapped my hand on the counter. Here I was, doing it again: talking to Sarah, and now Laura, about what I wanted. Practically everyone except Caleb. Why was I avoiding the conversation with him? Intellectually, I knew I was being immature.
“No. About why he won’t ask me to marry him. He obviously doesn’t love me enough. Or love me as much as Tara.”
I must have been louder than I anticipated because both Sarah and Laura appeared startled. Then Laura laughed.
I shot her a glare and she sighed. “I’m probably talking out of school here, but there was an interesting backstory between my brother and Tara. I guess you probably don’t know what happened, because if you did, you wouldn’t be reacting this way.”
“I know. He told me. They met in college.” I took a deep breath and tried to distract myself with making tea while the image of Caleb and Tara’s wedding photo popped into my mind. I was pouring water into a mug when Laura spoke.
“Yeah. And she was with Colin before Caleb.”
Nearly spilling boiling water everywhere, I stared at Laura. “What?”
Laura took the kettle from my hands. “You can’t be trusted with hot liquids for this story.”
“What happened with Colin?” I demanded. “And why haven’t you told me this before?”
“Yeah, why haven’t you told us this?” Sarah focused on her with a raised eyebrow.
“I don’t know. I kind of thought Caleb had told you. I’ve been trying to deal with my own shit. I can’t keep track of my brothers’ issues.”
Sarah and I nodded sympathetically. Laura had a serious panic disorder and had a bitch of a time trying to find the right combination of medicine to control it. I knew she’d struggled for years. I wondered how it would affect her when Sarah got pregnant and wanted to ask, but I didn’t. And now I was too curious about Tara.
“Well…” Laura pushed out a breath. “Here’s the deal. Caleb was a senior at UF. He’d met Tara, but they weren’t dating. They were just friends. Colin was a freshman at FSU and went to visit Caleb one weekend in Gainesville. He hooked up with Tara one night.”
Frowning, I dipped my tea bag into the steamy water. “And then what?”
“Well, for starters, Thanksgiving sucked that year.”
“But why would Caleb still want Tara if she…” My voice trailed off.
“Because once Caleb wants something, he won’t take no for an answer. He’s mellowed a bit since he was younger. Believe it or not, he was even more self-assured back then.”
I fought back a grin. That was difficult to believe.
“Colin and Tara never did anything after that one weekend, at least as far as I know. So Caleb kept pursuing her. It was like he wanted to prove to Colin he was the winner. It was messed up. So when Caleb graduated, he asked Tara to marry him. And she did.”
In my two years with Caleb, this was the least flattering thing I’d learned about him. I scowled in response.
“Yeah, it was truly messed up. I mean, Caleb loved her. And Tara did love Caleb. A lot. She’d been drunk when she hooked up with Colin and she later told me she thought Caleb wasn’t interested her in the beginning, which was why she chose Colin that night. College
Sarah rolled her eyes. “You’re not asking anything of him. You’re telling him what you want.”
“But I don’t know what I want. I think I want to be married. I think I want a baby. I want to make sure—”
The bells on the bookstore door jingled and I called out in my usual, cheerful voice.
“Welcome to Chapter One Books!”
“Ladies, it’s only me.” In walked Laura. She grinned at Sarah and kissed her on the cheek. “Am I interrupting?”
I shook my head.
“We were talking about Caleb and Emma and Emma’s deep, dark fears of the future.”
“Jesus, Sarah,” I replied crossly.
“What? About how lovesick he is for her?” Laura turned to the electric kettle nestled in a nook on the back wall.
Annoyed, I slapped my hand on the counter. Here I was, doing it again: talking to Sarah, and now Laura, about what I wanted. Practically everyone except Caleb. Why was I avoiding the conversation with him? Intellectually, I knew I was being immature.
“No. About why he won’t ask me to marry him. He obviously doesn’t love me enough. Or love me as much as Tara.”
I must have been louder than I anticipated because both Sarah and Laura appeared startled. Then Laura laughed.
I shot her a glare and she sighed. “I’m probably talking out of school here, but there was an interesting backstory between my brother and Tara. I guess you probably don’t know what happened, because if you did, you wouldn’t be reacting this way.”
“I know. He told me. They met in college.” I took a deep breath and tried to distract myself with making tea while the image of Caleb and Tara’s wedding photo popped into my mind. I was pouring water into a mug when Laura spoke.
“Yeah. And she was with Colin before Caleb.”
Nearly spilling boiling water everywhere, I stared at Laura. “What?”
Laura took the kettle from my hands. “You can’t be trusted with hot liquids for this story.”
“What happened with Colin?” I demanded. “And why haven’t you told me this before?”
“Yeah, why haven’t you told us this?” Sarah focused on her with a raised eyebrow.
“I don’t know. I kind of thought Caleb had told you. I’ve been trying to deal with my own shit. I can’t keep track of my brothers’ issues.”
Sarah and I nodded sympathetically. Laura had a serious panic disorder and had a bitch of a time trying to find the right combination of medicine to control it. I knew she’d struggled for years. I wondered how it would affect her when Sarah got pregnant and wanted to ask, but I didn’t. And now I was too curious about Tara.
“Well…” Laura pushed out a breath. “Here’s the deal. Caleb was a senior at UF. He’d met Tara, but they weren’t dating. They were just friends. Colin was a freshman at FSU and went to visit Caleb one weekend in Gainesville. He hooked up with Tara one night.”
Frowning, I dipped my tea bag into the steamy water. “And then what?”
“Well, for starters, Thanksgiving sucked that year.”
“But why would Caleb still want Tara if she…” My voice trailed off.
“Because once Caleb wants something, he won’t take no for an answer. He’s mellowed a bit since he was younger. Believe it or not, he was even more self-assured back then.”
I fought back a grin. That was difficult to believe.
“Colin and Tara never did anything after that one weekend, at least as far as I know. So Caleb kept pursuing her. It was like he wanted to prove to Colin he was the winner. It was messed up. So when Caleb graduated, he asked Tara to marry him. And she did.”
In my two years with Caleb, this was the least flattering thing I’d learned about him. I scowled in response.
“Yeah, it was truly messed up. I mean, Caleb loved her. And Tara did love Caleb. A lot. She’d been drunk when she hooked up with Colin and she later told me she thought Caleb wasn’t interested her in the beginning, which was why she chose Colin that night. College
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