uncomfortably tight. âShe saidâshe said that she realized, for the first time, that you and I must have felt just the way she and Nick feel. You know, as if we were the only two people on the whole planet whoâd ever loved each other so much.â
âLovers always feel that way,â Chase said gruffly.
âShe said that if her mother and father could go from feeling like that toâto feeling the way we do about each other now, then she didnât want any part of the process that got themâthat got usâto this point.â
Chase stared at his ex-wife. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and her mouth was trembling. Was she remembering, as he was, how it had once been between them? The joy? The passion? After a long minute, he cleared his throat again.
âWhatâd you say?â
âWhat could I say?â
âThat our mistakes donât have to be hers, for starters.â
Annie waved her hand in a sad little gesture of dismissal.
âDid you tell her that she was probably tired and jittery, and overdramatizing things?â
âYes.â
âGood.â
âI thought so, too.â Annie sighed. âBut Dawn said she was just being pragmatic. She said sheâd rather end things between her and Nick now, while they still cared for each other, than wait untilâuntil they hated each other.â
âGod, Annie. We donât hate each other. You told her that, didnât you?â
Annie nodded.
âAnd?â
âAnd she said I was kidding myself, that love and hate were two sides of the same coin, that there was no middle ground, once people whoâd been in love fell out of love.â
Chase blew out his breath. âMy daughter, the philosopher.â
Annie looked up, her eyes filling again. âWhat are we going to do?â she whispered.
âI donât know.â
âDawnâs heart is breaking. Thereâs got to be something! We canât just let her walk away from Nick. She loves him, Chase. And he loves her.â
âI know. I know.â Chase shoved his hand through his hair. âLet me think for a minute.â
âOur daughterâs terrified of marriage, and itâs our fault!â
Chase shot to his feet. âThatâs crap.â
âItâs the truth.â
âIt isnât. Itâs bad enough we couldnât make our marriage work but Iâll be damned if Iâm going to feel guilty for the failure of Dawnâs marriage. You hear me, Annie?â
âThe entire house will hear you,â Annie hissed. âKeep your voice down, before you wake the kids.â
âTheyâre not âkids.â Didnât you just tell me that? Our daughter was old enough to decide she was ready to get married even though, according to you, you tried to talk her out of it.â
âAccording to me?â Annie leaped up, her hands on her hips. âI did try to talk her out of it! But youâd already caved in and given her the âfollow your heartâ baloney. You told her to do what she wanted!â
âThatâs not true.â Chase strode toward Annie, his eyes blazing. âI begged her to think and think again. I said she was too damned young to take such a serious stepâand guess what? I was right.â
Annieâs shoulders slumped. âOkay, okay. So we both tried to convince her to wait. So maybe she should have listened to us. But she didnât.â
âNo. She didnât. She did her own thing. And then she sees us dancing and all of a sudden, she turns into Sigmund Freud and figures out that sheâs made a terrible mistake.â
âChase, please! Keep your voiceââ
âShe has an epiphany, brought on by seeing us dancing. Why not by a gum wrapper on the floor at the airport, or the electrical energy from an overhead wire?â
âThis is not something to joke about, dammit!â
âMaybe it was
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