Nick managed to calm her down enough that she no longer looked as though she was going to spit nails at him, but it still wasn’t enough.

Or maybe it was.

“I can’t do this, Nick.”

His heart sank because he knew what she was saying. Without her even having to speak the words out loud, he knew what she meant. But then she clarified.

“Eight years ago, I was in love with you.” Her words hit him so hard his heart fluttered. “I thought you loved me too.”

Desperately, every part of him wanted to tell her how much he had loved her. How much he still loved her. Had never stopped loving her. He opened his mouth but closed it again when he couldn’t find the words.

“I took a chance, Nick.” She looked so vulnerable in front of him, pouring her heart out and opening herself to what had to be the most sensitive part of her, but still, he was frozen, unable to appropriately respond. “And you laughed. You actually laughed.”

The word was like daggers in his gut. He flinched, although it was doubtful she noticed. He should have said a million things. He could have come up with a million ways to defend or explain his actions of that night eight years ago, but he couldn’t. It was his chance to tell her why he’d turned her away. Why he’d pushed her away that night. How it saved both of them and the family they both loved.

But he couldn’t.

He was a coward.

Nick’s mouth opened and closed and still, no words came out. Not the ones that mattered, anyway. The only thing he could say was, “I don’t remember that.”

It was a lie. An ugly, hurtful lie and judging by the look on her face, it was a lie that cut her to the quick. It hurt him physically to watch the pain it caused her to digest that lie. Because the truth was, he remembered that night in vivid Technicolor.

Of course he did.

He remembered the way she’d come to him. Heady and excited on the high of graduating high school, with her whole life in front of her.

She’d looked amazing.

And she walked right up to him, told him how much she loved him, and kissed him. Just like that.

It was the single best kiss of his life.

Hands down.

Until last night.

But instead of doing what he should have done—instead of wrapping his arms around her and holding her close while he pressed his lips to hers the way he’d wanted to for at least over a year—he’d pushed her away. And then he’d laughed.

It was the only thing he knew to do because eight years ago, Jake had taken Nick aside and told him how much he valued their relationship. How much their brotherhood meant to him. Maybe he knew what Nick was thinking when it came to his sister. Maybe he didn’t. But either way, Jake had hugged him and told him how nothing could ever come between them. Not even a girl. Especially not a girl. And not even an hour after that conversation, Missy had come home from her graduation dance and kissed him.

He’d panicked.

How could he sacrifice his entire relationship with Jake—his family—for a girl?

Not even for Missy.

And eight years later, it was the same thing all over again. His relationship with Jake meant the world. The Duncans were everything to him. More family than his own. Heck, after this weekend, he probably didn’t even have a job with his family business and his own father would have even less of a reason to talk to him on a monthly basis. No. Jake and the Duncans were everything to him.

But this is different.

“You don’t remember?” Missy took a step back, the hurt lining her face. “Really? You don’t remember the way I told you how I’d loved you for years?”

Stunned, he stood in front of her, dumbfounded.

“I kissed you, Nick.”

Still, he said nothing.

“And you kissed me back.”

He shook his head slightly.

“You did.” Her words were almost a cry. “And then you pushed me away and laughed at me.”

Nick struggled not to react to her words. He struggled not to reach for her and apologize and kiss away the pain those actions caused her so long ago. The actions he’d regretted for years. He wanted to do all of those things more than anything else in his life, but Jake’s words from earlier that day rang in his ears again. It would have ruined everything. So instead he said, “Missy, I’m sorry if you ever thought our relationship was—”

“Stop.” Missy shook her head and took a distancing step backward. “Whatever you’re going to say, don’t. Whatever excuse you’re going to make, stop. I don’t want to hear it.” She put her hands on her ears like a child and stepped farther back into the wooded path. “I can’t hear it.”

“Missy.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I just can’t, Nick.” She turned away from him, and said the last words before she turned and fled into the trees. “Not again.”

---

As much as she wanted to, Marissa couldn’t stay away from the rehearsal dinner all night. She owed it to Jenny to be a good maid of honor—the best one, really. And that definitely included being at her side for the rehearsal despite the fact that her heart was completely shattered and she felt like the world’s biggest idiot.

She should have seen it coming. She sort of had seen it coming, really. Well, her subconscious had, anyway, with that dream.

But it was just a dream and this was real life and Nick Slater had broken her heart for the second time and she’d let him.

I thought this time was different.

Despite everything, the voice inside her continued to try to make sense of what had happened. But there was no sense to it.

In the cool evening air, Marissa took a deep breath and then another, trying desperately to clear her head. She needed to pull herself together before going back in there. It would almost be time for dinner and, unlike the first time Nick had embarrassed her and hurt her, she couldn’t just run away and avoid him for another eight years.

Besides, she was a bigger person than that. She was a strong, confident, self-assured woman. She would not let this define her.

Not again.

She made a quick stop in the restroom to splash water on her face and smooth her hair back before she headed back into the restaurant. It was perfect timing, as everyone was just finding their way to their seats. She did a quick scan around the room, and saw Nick in a corner, alone. He held a glass of what looked to be whiskey.

She looked away and went to find her seat.

Fortunately, there was an empty seat next to her mother. There didn’t seem to be place settings this time, so she slid into the spot and picked up her menu, pretending to be engrossed in the pasta options so she wouldn’t have to make conversation.

“Where’ve you been, honey?”

Clearly her mother wasn’t picking up on her I don’t want to talk vibes.

“I just went for a walk.”

“But it’s dark.”

Marissa nodded. “It is. I didn’t go far.”

“There are bears out there, Marissa.” She didn’t even have to look to know her mother’s face would be screwed up in worry and wrinkled in intense concern. If there was one thing her mother did well, it was worry. “And cougars. Marissa, we’re in the mountains. That was reckless.”

With a sigh, she put the menu down and made eye contact. “I promise it wasn’t reckless.” She tried very hard to keep her voice down. She didn’t want to attract any attention and if her mother continued on the way she was going, that’s exactly what they were going to do. “I was only outside for a minute and I stayed on the path. You could hardly even call it a walk.”

“Then why did you say it was a walk?”

Marissa sighed again and tried very hard not to get flustered. “Mom, it’s fine. Really. I just needed a few minutes alone. I was perfectly safe the whole time.”

“Who was safe?” Jake sat down across from them and immediately jumped into the conversation. “What’s going on? Marissa, why do you look so—”

“I’m safe,” she interrupted him before he could point out how terrible she looked. Because she did look terrible—how could she not? She felt even worse than she looked. “I just went for a little walk outside and Mom got her panties all in a twist about it. Nothing bad is going to happen to me at the Lodge, Mom.”

Unless you counted getting your heart broken, she wanted to add, but didn’t. She picked up her menu again and stared at the chicken rotini dish. She could eat it quickly and then beg off to finish her speech. Surely it was legitimate to use that excuse two nights in a row when you were the maid of honor.

Even if it wasn’t. Marissa wasn’t sure she cared anymore. She just wanted to get out of there. Away from Nick and his gaze that she could feel on her. Not that she would look to confirm. There was no way she was going to look at him.

She was going to hold her head up high and be strong because that was the only thing left to do.

Fortunately, her mother dropped her concern about Marissa’s safety and focused instead on the proceedings of the evening, which ultimately went quite quickly and smoothly. There were a few speeches and toasts and meals were served.

Somewhere around the time the dishes were being cleared and dessert was being prepared, Marissa noticed that Nick was gone.

Jake noticed her looking in the direction of Nick’s empty seat and leaned across the table. “Have you noticed that Nick’s acting weird this weekend?”

“No.” She shook her head quickly and looked away. “Why would you say that?”

“Because something’s up,” Jake mused. “I assumed it was just with work and the way he blew off his dad to be here. I mean, not that it couldn’t be the reason he’s acting strange, because no kidding, his job is totally on the line right now.”

“That must be it.”

“No,” her brother said. “There’s something more. He mentioned something about a woman earlier.”

Marissa’s ears perked up, but she tried even harder to look disinterested. “Did he?”

“Yes and no.” Jake took a sip of his drink before he turned his attention back to his sister. “He actually started to tell me about a girl he thought he loved way back in high school.”

Marissa almost spat out her drink.

“I told him it was crazy,” Jake said. “No one knows what they want in high school. Can you even imagine if you had to marry the one you thought you loved back then?”

She could imagine it. That was the whole problem.