The final two days of their stay in Maine dragged on miserably for Kate. It was impossible to avoid Jared, and she found herself putting on a false façade of cheerfulness for his aunt’s benefit. Lizzie had been good to her, and Kate didn’t want the woman to know that her nephew had been the one to tear her heart to shreds.
Jared tried to corner her several times to hash out their problems, but after her threat to knee him in the junk if he came too close, Kate thought she might have finally scared him off. The one thing she wasn’t looking forward to was the six-hour-plus drive home. Luckily, she’d brought along her iPod, so she figured she could put on a pair of headphones and ignore him for the entire ride.
But her heart refused to shut him out. Every moment she stayed around him, Kate found it harder to stay angry with him. He melted her resolve with each sweet compliment he gave his aunt and each hearty chuckle he gave after one of William’s corny jokes. The family had tried to include her in their day-to-day activities, but Kate claimed her ankle was bothering her and often hid in the guestroom. Her ankle had healed exceptionally well, and she only felt a twinge of discomfort when she stood for long periods of time.
Lizzie approached Kate on the morning they were heading back to New Jersey. Kate was packing in her room when Lizzie entered and gently closed the door behind her. By the nervous drumming of her fingers against her thigh as she watched her pack, Kate guessed she was hesitant about whatever she was about to say.
“I thought we could talk before you leave,” Lizzie said brightly.
Kate stopped folding a sweater and gave her an uneasy smile. “Of course.”
Lizzie perched on the edge of the bed and patted the seat next to her. Kate sat down next to her and looked at the woman expectedly. “Jared’s keeping mum on why things have been so tense between the two of you. I was hoping you could tell me.”
“We’re fine,” she insisted too eagerly.
Lizzie’s dark eyebrows shot up and it was the first time she noted the family resemblance with her nephew. Jared did the same thing when he wasn’t buying what Kate was selling.
“I haven’t seen a chillier atmosphere since Harriet Garver forgot to bring a dish for last year’s church potluck.” Lizzie gave her a shrewd look. “Have you told him about your life being in danger?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for Jared to know anything right now. Things are too tense and I’m starting to realize that I’m more likely to solve the Rubik’s Cube than get back together with him,” she explained.
“My nephew’s biggest flaw is his idealism. He imagines things to be a certain way, and when they aren’t, he finds it hard to deal with them. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love you.”
Kate put her palms up. “Whoa, whoa. I never said anything about love.”
Lizzie grinned. “Of course you didn’t.” Lizzie grasped her hand and said, “Don’t give up on the two of you. Whatever problems you have can be worked through. I’ve done Jared’s tarot readings and I know for certain that you’re the only girl for him.”
“Maybe it would be better for him to end things though, you know?” Lizzie gave her a confused look in response. “Look at how torn apart he was when he almost lost you a couple of days ago. If Jared decides that he wants to be with me, how will he feel if something happens to me?”
“Do you think Jared wouldn’t trade the world for one more day with his parents? If he could lose you, he’ll want to spend every second possible by your side before that happens,” Lizzie said. “He would also do anything to protect the ones he loves. If there’s a way for you to be saved, Jared will make it happen.”
“Thanks, but it’s not only up to me.” Kate trailed off and her eyes fell on the necklace she had left hanging on the lampshade. She had yet to pack the amethyst pendant that Jared had given her for her birthday. She usually wore it hidden under her shirt, since it felt weird to wear jewelry from the guy who dumped her. It had the power to ground her, though, at times when she felt her world spiraling out of control.
Lizzie followed her gaze. “It’s a gorgeous necklace. Jared never took as much care picking out a present for anyone. He called me daily until he found the perfect gift for you. Which reminds me…” Lizzie dug into the pockets of her housecoat and pulled out a small rounded stone. She pressed it into Kate’s palm. Kate opened her palm to examine the gem. The stone was mostly black, with white and gray flecks spots covering the surface.
“It’s called a snowflake obsidian. It was one of the first stones used to foretell the future. I thought it could help you develop your visions,” Lizzie explained.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely, “You’ve been wonderful to me.”
“It’s a small thing after what you did,” Lizzie said with a shake of her head. “My only wish is that you and Jared stop being so stubborn and realize how perfect you are for each other.”
“Darlene Edwards would be shocked by your rudeness,” Jared chided as he plucked the headphones out of her ears. They were two hours into their drive and her plan to ignore him had been working fine. She had noticed the frustrated glances he had sent her way, but decided to pretend to be enamored by the scenery beyond her window.
“I wasn’t trying to be rude. I was just listening to hypnosis tracks to try and prevent me from ever wanting to kiss you again.” She gave him a sickly sweet smile.
He pulled an earbud close to his ear and shook his head at her as a loud hip-hop track blared through the speakers. “Hypnosis, huh?” he asked dryly. He said, “Do you want me to apologize for kissing you? Because I don’t regret it, and neither should you.”
“Kissing you wasn’t the problem. I just find it revolting that you were willing to sleep with someone that you had no intention of committing to. I’ve had sex a grand total of one time. Doesn’t that tell you I’m not the type of girl to show you her lady parts without forming some sort of emotional attachment?”
He winced at her harsh assessment. “Kate, I have very strong feelings for you. I’m just confused right now.”
She snorted. “Jared, please don’t feed me some clichéd lines like that. Next thing you’ll say is that you need some ‘space’ to figure things out,” she said, using air quotes.
He reached for her and grasped her hand tightly. She wished his touch didn’t have the ability to set her skin on fire. As upset as she was about the state of their relationship, she couldn’t deny that no one else had ever inspired these types of feelings inside of her.
“So what now?” he asked hoarsely. “You don’t want anything to do with me? We’re not even friends anymore?”
“Maybe we should take some time apart. I don’t want to be friends — I’ve never wanted that with you. When you figure things out, you can call me.” She snatched back the headphones resting between them. “In the meantime, back to my hypnosis.”
The rest of the ride was tense, and Kate couldn’t relax until he pulled up in front of her house. She couldn’t wait to see her mom and forget about the highs and lows of her trip with Jared.
As hard as it was to tell him that they couldn’t be friends, she meant it wholeheartedly. The idea of him dating someone else made her want to throw up the burger she had at the truck stop on the way home. That made it perfectly clear to Kate that a friendship with Jared was out of the question.
He helped her carry her bags to the door. “Well then …” she started awkwardly. As eager as she had been to remove herself from his unsettling presence, her feet were now keeping her rooted to the spot and she hated to leave things as they were.
In a flash, Jared’s arms were wrapped around her waist and she was pressed against the hard length of his body. His husky voice warmed her skin as he leaned down to whisper into her ear, “I’ll do what you want. I’ll take some time to figure things out. But you’re crazy if you think I’ll be able to forget what you taste like anytime soon.”
As he released her, Kate had to make a conscious effort to not let her knees give out. She watched him saunter over to his car with her mouth hanging open. Kate had foolishly thought she had the upper hand in the relationship. She now realized that Jared Corbett knew exactly what buttons of hers to push to ensnare her irrevocably.
“Kate, is that you?” her mother called as she fumbled her way inside.
Darlene had Kate in a tight hug before she had the door closed behind her. Kate smiled at her mom and was taken aback by how radiant she looked. Her skin had a healthy glow and her shoulder-length hair had lightened up from days out in the Caribbean sun. Darlene’s cheeks were flushed with excitement as she set Kate back onto the floor. A chuckle from behind Kate caused her to peer around her mother. Her mother’s new boyfriend, Dan, was grinning at Darlene’s display of exuberance.
“Your mom’s been waiting with baited breath for you to get home. I’ve never seen anyone so eager to get back from an island vacation,” he joked.
“Stop,” she said with a smile. “It’s just the first holiday that Kate and I have ever spent apart.”
“Well, next year, we’ll have to all stay together,” Dan said to her mother. Her mother flushed and Kate hid a smile. It was funny to think that this middle-aged man with thinning hair could so easily bring a blush to her mom’s cheeks.
Dan kissed Darlene on the cheek. “I’ll let you girls catch up. Call me later if you would like to get together for dinner.”
“Glad to have you back, kiddo,” he said, and he fluffed her hair before heading out the door.
She liked Dan, but Kate wasn’t sure if they were at the stage where he could assign her a nickname and give her a noogie. She turned her attention back to her mom. “So, things are good with the new guy?”
“Our trip was amazing. I forgot what it’s like to be romanced in the beginning of a relationship. Each night, he had another surprise planned for me. He treated me to romantic candlelight dinners on the beach, dances under the stars, mimosas on the deck of the ship while watching the sunrise …” Darlene trailed off in a dreamy voice.
Wow, Kate thought, maybe Dan could give lessons to the men in her own life. “Good for you, Mom. I’m glad you had such a good time.”
“What about you? How was Maine?”
“Hmm.” Kate tapped a finger against her lips. “The trip was … interesting.”
“How did things turn out with Jared?”
Kate took a minute to answer the question. Jared was impossible to explain. One minute he had her salivating because he oozed sex appeal, and the next minute she was ready to fall apart because he was once again giving her the cold shoulder.
“He’s confused and not sure what he wants,” Kate sighed.
Her mother gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Katie.” Her mother and father were the only ones who still used her childhood nickname. “I understand it’s hard, but he’s probably still hurt about your indiscretion with Declan.”
Kate did blame herself for the sorry state of her relationship. She should’ve never let Declan spend the night in her hotel room and allowed him to kiss her. The worst part was that she had kissed him back. It was thoughtless and stemmed from her insecurities about her relationship with Jared.
“I’ve told him how very sorry I am about a million times, but it’s placed these doubts in his head about me. I feel like he wants to be with me, but isn’t sure if he could ever trust me again,” Kate confessed. Just this one time, Kate wished Jared could be psychic and see into her head. He would know how much she regretted the past. She had seen firsthand what cheating had done to her parents’ relationship. To think that she had hurt Jared in the same manner that her father did to her mother made Kate disgusted.
Her mom gave her an encouraging smile. “Trust has to be earned in any relationship. Give it some time and I’m sure you and Jared will work through this.”
As much as she appreciated her mom’s advice, the words made worry flare in her belly. Time wasn’t something she was sure she had a lot of.