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ELIZABETH
I didn’t know what to expect when Tyler threw down the challenge. I certainly didn’t expect him to text me before leaving work to let me know he was going to be home soon. Nor did I expect that when he did show up in the evening he would be attentive and interested enough to ask me questions.
Protecting my heart became my new goal.
It wasn’t enough for me to be independent when I left there. I knew I would leave the house. If for no other reason than because Tyler wanted to sell it. That was taking out the possibility and likelihood that we would be divorced or annulled. Presuming that we stayed together, Tyler was selling the house and I wouldn’t be there after it sold – which it would do after the remodel I was giving it.
No, my independence didn’t matter as far as I was concerned. I had to leave the house on Staten Avenue with my heart intact.
A crush was one thing. I had recovered from so many crushes you’d think they were some kind of virus.
Love? Love was something entirely different that I didn’t think I could heal from. The best thing for me to do would be to protect my heart from the outset. It had been different when I thought he and I were in it for the same reasons, the same goals. After everything was said and done, I really just wanted a do-over.
Okay, not really, but it felt good to think it.
I stared at the calendar in my garage. I had three weeks left of work to do on the house. There were things I couldn’t rush, because they were time-sensitive like drying paint or setting glue or waiting for shipments to arrive. The jobs I had left were things that didn’t matter how long I worked, they still needed time I couldn’t rush. They needed to be done before he got home from work.
The stress was insurmountable.
Tyler had expedited the transfer of the business because his friend wanted to get going on it. The change in time frame left him with two weeks to work there.
Two weeks where I could hide my job a little bit longer. Two weeks until I had to tell him I was... lying.
The deadline to the revelation of the truth loomed. Every day that passed made me want to throw up. I could not justify working on his house without telling him I was the House Doctor. Would he want anything to do with me when he knew how badly I’d deceived him?
Reality had me feeling nauseous on a consistent basis. I deleted the app that had reminded me over and over how badly we failed. I didn’t need the reminder. I saw it every morning when he left and every evening when he arrived.
Two days after we agreed to keep trying, not only did Tyler text me he was going to be home, giving me ample time to pick up, take care of my messes, and change – he also showed up with a bouquet of the most beautiful peach roses and a box of chocolates.
Not just any chocolates. They were dark lemon creams. The man actually listened to me when I spoke. I’d made a random comment the other night about what favorite candies I had. I admitted to being a sucker for dark chocolate or anything lemony.
I couldn’t believe he combined the two.
How was I supposed to protect myself from that?
He handed the flowers to me, wrapped in tissue and mixed with white baby’s breath.
“These are gorgeous. Thank you.” I breathed, as I inhaled their soft sweet scent.
“Wow, would you look at this floor?” He walked in, his arms spread, and studied the refinished hardwood floor.
I had just finished polishing it and his praise warmed me. I wished I could thank him for that, but my secrets held my tongue.
“Do you get to see her much? Has she said anything about added cost or how much longer she thinks it’s going to take?” He glanced at me for answers I honestly had no right knowing.
If he only knew.
I cleared my throat. “She said something about three weeks?” Three weeks. In less than two the truth would come out. I was more nervous about that than anything else. How would he react? What would he think? He would call me the worst kind of liars and kick me out. At least he should. A smart man would.
“Three weeks? I don’t know if I want to sell this now. The more renovated it becomes the more I remember times with my dad here. I need to have Jay over so he can look it over.” He stepped close to me and looked down into my eyes. “Thank you for that. I forgot how important it was to remember him. I got so busy trying to forget my mom and the difficulties we had growing up, I forgot to remember the good things when my dad was alive.”
His touch unnerved me and not in a bad way. I offered a soft smile when he reached down and claimed my hand with his. He lifted my fingers and kissed them casually like it was the most natural thing to do. “So when it gets all done, what do you think about canceling the listing? Would you be interested in staying here?”
His offer startled me. “”Let’s wait and see. You might not like the way things are in three weeks.”
In three weeks he would know the truth.
In three weeks he would have every right to despise me. That possibility stung and I didn’t want to face it. My cowardice was showing.
I wished I could go back in time and start over, be honest from the beginning.
Because there was no way he would love me or even care for me after he found out I was a liar.