Jonah had begged her to have a sleepover at Brandon’s house and although Evie would normally insist that maybe they have the sleepover at their house, considering he’d been spending so much time with Brandon lately, she was grateful for the reprieve because all she wanted to do was be alone and feel sorry for herself.

Watching Declan walk away from her was the hardest thing she’d ever done. The moment the door shut behind him, her heart had shattered into a million pieces. She’d never felt the way she felt with Declan. So protected, so safe, so…loved.

And now it was gone.

Because Declan was gone and it was her fault.

But would he have stayed?

And if he would have, would it have been real? He wasn’t with her because he loved her and that was the only thing she would settle for. Love. Nothing less.

And if Declan didn’t love her, it was better to have her heart broken now than to prolong it. That would only hurt more. And things were going to change enough with Jonah and Tony; she’d need to learn how to face things on her own.

The idea sent her into a new round of sobs. She pulled her blanket over her on the couch and hid from the world in her little cave. She knew she was being immature and childish. But maybe if she hid, all her problems would go away. She could hope anyway.

A knock on the door, followed by the doorbell, grabbed her attention, but she only pulled the blanket tighter around her head.

She wasn’t done ignoring her problems yet.

Another knock, followed by a voice calling out, “I can see you in there on the couch. Don’t ignore me.”

Evie only barely recognized the voice as Tony’s wife, Lauren. But it couldn’t be. What on earth could the woman have to say to her?

Plenty.

“Open up. We need to talk.”

There was probably no avoiding it. With a groan, she threw the blanket off her head and pushed up from the couch. She had no idea how she looked, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t good. From the moment she’d been left alone, Evie had been crying and feeling sorry for herself. No doubt her eyes were red and bloodshot, her nose runny and her hair a tousled mess.

It didn’t matter.

She opened the door to see that Lauren didn’t look a whole lot better. She didn’t know the other woman well, but from the few times she’d met her, Lauren always looked put together and polished in her own kind of way.

“Lauren. Is everything okay?”

“No.” The other woman pushed her way past her into the house. “Everything is not okay and it’s all your fault.”

Evie could think of a few things that were definitely her fault, but whatever was going on between Tony and his wife had nothing to do with her.

“I told Tony it wasn’t a good idea.” She followed Lauren into the living room. “It was ridiculous because he loves you and—”

“Oh, I know.” She spun around and pointed a finger at Evie. “I know he loves me. I’m everything to him—I always have been. And do you know why?”

Exhausted, Evie lifted and dropped her shoulders in a weak shrug. “I don’t know, Lauren.”

“Because I will always do what’s best for him. Because I put him first and I always will. Even if it breaks my heart, I would do it for him. And that goes double when it comes to Jonah. When it comes to his son, I will always do what is best.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She was far too tired to continue the conversation. Besides, what she really wanted to do was get back to hiding in her couch cave. “Lauren, is there something—”

“It’s because of me that Tony reached out and reconnected with Jonah.”

“Connected.” She corrected her, but Lauren didn’t notice.

“Family is important,” Lauren continued. “Children are important. I would give my life if it meant that Tony and Jonah could be together. Did you know that?”

Of course she didn’t, but the question didn’t seem to need an answer.

“So if Tony told me that being with you meant that he could be with his son, I wouldn’t like it, but I’d do it. For Tony. For Jonah.”

“Lauren, it’s not like that.” Evie shook her head. “I told Tony it was a stupid idea and we didn’t need to be together to have Jonah. I mean, there was a brief moment when I actually considered it, but only for a moment. I told him, Lauren. He loves you. Not me. And I don’t love him. Being together just for Jonah’s sake isn’t a good idea. Besides that, I refuse to be with someone who doesn’t love me.” She choked on the last part, but refused to cry in front of this woman she barely knew.

“I know,” Lauren said simply. “He told me everything.” She shook her head. “I love Tony, but…” She shook her head and when she looked up there was a small smile on her face. “We talked and I think he understands now that he doesn’t have to be with you in order to be part of Jonah’s life.”

“Good.”

“But,” her face grew serious once again, “I also think that more and more, Tony is seeing that family is important. He feels like he missed out so much on Jonah’s life and he really wants to be involved now. And I also know that if you said the word, he would leave me for you and Jonah.”

“No.”

She nodded. “Yes. And that’s why I’m here. I need you to promise you will never take him away from me.”

Of all the things Evie expected her to say, that was not one of them.

“What?”

“I need you to promise.” Lauren was dead serious. “I love him, Evie. I can’t have you taking him away from me.”

“I won’t.” She shook her head and then again. “Ever. I don’t want him.” I want Declan. “It was me who told Tony no, Lauren. I don’t want to be with someone I don’t love. And besides—”

“You have Declan,” Lauren finished for her. “I know you’re engaged to be married and I know I shouldn’t even think that you might try to get back together with Tony, but it’s so hard, Evie.” Lauren crumpled to the couch and dropped her head in her hands.

Unsure of what to do, Evie tucked her left hand in her pocket so Lauren wouldn’t see her now bare finger, and sat next to her. “What’s so hard?” The entire conversation was so crazy and so unexpected, Evie was having a hard time keeping up. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“All I’ve ever wanted is to have a family, Evie. But I waited, ya know? I wanted it to be the right guy. So when I met Tony, I just knew he was the right one. And then when he told me about Jonah, it took me so long to convince him that reconnecting with his son was the right thing and especially when we had a child, we could be a family. All of us.”

Evie tried to ignore the twinge of hurt in her chest. She knew the other woman didn’t mean anything by it, but it wasn’t that long ago that she and Tony were trying to fight for full custody of her son.

“I don’t understand,” Evie said.

“I can’t get pregnant,” Lauren wailed and once again dropped her head in her hands. “All I’ve ever wanted and I can’t have it. I just want a baby. A baby with Tony. And if I can give him that, he won’t ever think about leaving me for the mother of his child again, because I’ll be the mother of his child.”

Evie took a moment to process everything she’d just said and finally when she thought she had it, she stopped to go through it again. “Wait,” she finally said. “You want to have a baby because you think it will keep Tony away from me?”

“Well….yes. Sort of, I guess.”

She didn’t mean to, but Evie laughed. “You do realize that it’s not just Tony making these decisions, right? I mean, I have to agree to be with him and let me tell you right now so it’s perfectly clear: I don’t want Tony. I don’t want to be with him. I don’t love him. And beyond the fact that he’s the father of my son, I don’t really want anything more to do with him. Do you hear me when I say that?”

Lauren nodded.

“And do you believe me?”

She nodded again.

“So you don’t need to worry about me stealing your man, okay?” Evie patted the other woman’s back. “It’s not going to happen. Not as far as I’m concerned, okay?”

Lauren sniffed loudly and nodded. “Okay.”

“So can we put this craziness behind us?” Evie forced a laugh. “I mean, if you’re going to be Jonah’s stepmom, we do need to be friendly and work together, right?”

“Right.” Lauren dug a tissue out of the pocket of her shorts and blew her nose. “That’s true.”

“So we’re good?”

She smiled. “We’re good.” She then impulsively pulled Evie into a hug.

Evie hugged her back, but she’d had just about enough of other people’s drama. She needed to get back to her own, and feeling sorry for herself. After a few more hugs and some more reassurances, Evie finally got Lauren to leave.

She was just about to sink down into her couch and recreate her cave, this time with a tub of ice cream, when the phone rang.

She shouldn’t have answered it. In fact, it would have been so much better if she just unplugged the phones and ignored the world altogether, but the responsible mother in her caved. She answered on the second ring.

“What is going on over there?” Jade’s voice came over the line. “I just heard about you and Declan.”

Good news travels fast. Evie grimaced, but before she could answer, Jade added, “What happened? You guys are so perfect for each other.”

So Declan hadn’t told his family the truth. That it was all pretend. Evie didn’t know whether that made it better or worse. Not that it could feel any worse, no matter what he’d told them.

“It just wasn’t right, I guess.” She could barely get the words out without choking on them.

“But you love him.”

It wasn’t a question, and Jade’s words hung in the air. Evie nodded and after a moment, she finally answered. “I do.” She swallowed back a sob. “Very much.”

“Then why? I don’t understand,” Jade wailed. “I mean…I know we don’t know each other all that well yet, Evie. But I do consider you one of my best friends in Cedar Springs. You know that, right?”

“Thank you, Jade.”

“I just want what’s best for you guys and if you say you love him, then this doesn’t make any sense.”

Part of her didn’t want to know any more details than she had to, but she couldn’t help herself from asking. “What did he say?”

“Pardon?”

“What did Declan say? About us, I mean.” She took a breath and continued. “Did he say…well, did he say anything?”

As soon as the question left her lips, she realized that she did want to know. She needed to know. She held her breath, hoping for the best.

“He said it wasn’t right and that you wanted to make things work with Tony, for Jonah’s sake.”

“He said that?” It was true she’d kind of led him to believe that might be happening, but hearing Jade say it out loud hurt more than she thought it would.

“Yes,” Jade affirmed. “He said that it just must not have been right between the two of you and that you must not love him as much as he loves you.”

Evie’s heart squished and she thought it might have physically broken in that moment. “He…he said that?”

“He did, Evie. When he left here, he looked completely destroyed. Mitch said he’s never seen his brother look so…so heartbroken before.”

“He said he loved me?”

“Of course he did.” Evie could just imagine Jade on the other end of the phone, with her hands on her hips, looking incredulous. “You were engaged, Evie. Of course he loved you.”

“It wasn’t real,” she whispered.

“What?”

“It wasn’t real,” she said, louder this time. “None of it was real.”

“Of course it was real.” Jade dismissed her. “I’ve never seen someone so completely in love the way Declan is. With the exception of Mitch, of course.” She giggled a little, but then was right back to being serious. “You do understand that the McCormick boys are not capable of pretending to be in love,” she said. “When they love, they love hard and true, and it’s obvious to everyone around them. I don’t know what was going on with you guys, but whatever else was happening, there was love. A lot of it. Declan is completely head over heels for you and if you say you love him, too, then I have no idea why the two of you aren’t together right now. I’ll tell you what, Evie. I’ve seen a lot of stupid things in my life, but letting love go like this, I think it might be on the top of my list.”

A sob escaped Evie’s throat, and then another. Until she could no longer hold them in. Jade waited while she cried for what was lost. Everything was such a mess. She didn’t know what was real, or what she could believe anymore.

After a few minutes, Jade’s voice came over the line again. Gentle this time. “Evie, I’m sorry if that was too blunt.”

“No,” Evie said through a sniff. She grabbed a box of tissue and blew her nose. “It wasn’t too blunt. I just…Jade, I just don’t understand. You say that Declan loves me.”

“He does.”

“I want to believe that,” she said. “I want to believe more than anything that he loves me. It has to be love. I won’t settle for anything less.”

“Of course not. Why should you?”

She couldn’t explain to her friend. Not now. Too much had happened.

“But if he loved me, why did he leave?”

That was the one thing she didn’t understand. Why didn’t he tell her? Why didn’t he stay and fight if he really loved her? How could he walk away?

The same way you did.

It was as much her fault as it was his. But she needed to know. She needed to be sure.

“Because Declan will always put others first. He thought it was what you wanted. And he would never get in the way of what you want. Not if it will make you happy, Evie. He’ll sacrifice everything for you. Including himself. Always.”

---

It was wrong. It was all wrong.

But what can I do about it?

After leaving Evie’s shop, he’d returned to his brother’s house and grabbed the few things he had there. Everything else was at Evie’s, but he wasn’t going to stop there. It would be too painful. He’d get new things.

After a quick good-bye, and even quicker non-explanation to his confused siblings, Declan had thrown his few belongings into the back of the car and hit the road. If Wes wanted him to be there for the meetings, that’s what he’d do. And there was no point in grooming him to take over as the face of DAR anymore. Not if he had no reason to stay in Cedar Springs.

But you do have a reason.

The voice in the back of his head was relentless. From the moment he drove out of town limits, headed to the city, the little voice wouldn’t shut up.

Don’t leave.

Fight for her.

You love her.

Tell her.

Would that change anything? He had no idea. Evie would always do what was best for Jonah. Just the way his mom had done what was best for them. That’s the way it should be. He wouldn’t expect anything different from her. If he told her that he loved her, it would just hurt more when she chose Tony and walked away from him.

She wouldn’t walk away.

If only he could be sure.

Declan drove for twenty minutes, battling with himself before he realized that he hadn’t been paying any attention to the road. “Dammit.” He yanked the car to the right and pulled over in a rest stop. He needed to think. He needed a clear head to be sure he was making the right decision. Because if he left and walked away from the only woman he’d ever loved, he wouldn’t be able to look back. It would be over. Forever.

And he just didn’t think he was ready for that.

He turned the car off and got out into the cool mountain air. He inhaled deeply and walked down toward a picnic table that was perched next to the river.

He had to balance what was best for Evie with his own desires. He’d never been selfish before, but he was more than a little tempted at that moment.

Declan sat for a few minutes, trying to sort out in his head how he could explain to Evie that it wasn’t a good decision to be with Tony. How could he tell her that choosing Tony was wrong?

Because it was. It wasn’t that long ago when Declan wasn’t sure whether he’d be enough for her and whether he’d be able to give her everything she deserved. But a lot had changed. No, everything had changed. And maybe he still wasn’t totally sure whether he could be everything for her all of the time. But the one thing he did know for sure was that he could love her because he did love her and everything else would sort itself out if they had that.

But only if she loved him, too.

He dropped his head into his hands, remembering the way she’d looked him in the eyes and told him it hadn’t been real. Those words had completely broken his heart because it had been real. His time with her had been the most real thing he’d ever felt in his life. And she had to feel the same way. She had to. He refused to believe that she’d been acting.

He could also remember with perfect clarity the look in her eyes when they made love. That was real.

It had to be.

It was.

He fixed his memory on that moment and made his decision. Even if it was the only thing he had to hold onto, it would be enough. Because there was no way he was going to get on a plane and fly away from Cedar Springs and the only woman he’d ever loved. Because no matter what Evie said, she loved him. He felt it.

It may have taken him a little while to get there, but he was there now and he wasn’t going to walk away from something that could be so perfect.

He pushed up from the picnic table to make his way back to the car and fight for the woman he loved. His cell phone rang as he opened the door. He almost didn’t answer it, thinking it would be Wes with his flight details. But a quick glance told him it wasn’t Wes at all.

“Jade,” he said as he picked up the call. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?”

He almost laughed, imagining the incredulous look that would be on his new sister-in-law’s face. He hadn’t known her that long, but he’d gotten to know her quickly and Declan loved her spirit. He also knew that whatever she was about to say would be no bullshit.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on, Declan McCormick. You’re making the worst decision of your entire life.”

“No, I’m not.” He turned the key in the ignition. “Because I’m coming back.”

“Yes you are,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “I don’t understand all of the details of what’s happened between you and Evie, but what I do understand is that you love her and she loves you. And if you—wait. Did you say that you’re coming back?”

He chuckled a little and put the call on speakerphone as he navigated the car out of the rest stop. “I did. Because I love that woman with all of my heart and I’m not ready to walk away from her.”

“Good. Then you’re not making the worst decision of your life.”

“I hope not. Wait….” He almost slammed on the brakes. “Did you just say that she loves me?”

“Why do you both sound so bloody surprised when I tell you that you love each other? You’re engaged, for God’s sake. It shouldn’t be a surprise that you love each other.”

“So she said it? That she loves me?” Declan’s heart lifted and for the first time since that morning, he could breathe. Like, properly take a breath and get oxygen into his lungs. Because if Evie had told Jade that she loved him, then….

What the hell was he doing driving on a highway miles away from the woman?

“Yes.” Jade laughed a little bit, but it was more of a sound of exasperation than anything else. “She loves you. And you love her and I don’t understand why instead of being together right now and celebrating that love, you’re driving away, brokenhearted. I really thought you were smarter than that, Declan.”

So did he.

She loved him.

He loved her.

God, did he ever love her.

He pressed down on the gas pedal, more determined than ever to get back to her and change the way they’d left things. Because as far as he was concerned, there would be no leaving things between them. Because they were meant to be together. It may have taken him his entire adult life to realize that not only could love exist, but that it did, but now that he knew it, Declan had no plans of letting it go.

“Jade, I need your help.”

She laughed again. “I had a feeling you might say that. What’s the plan?”

Declan didn’t even know he had one, but as he drove his car as quickly as he could through the mountain roads, it came to him. He explained exactly what he needed from Jade and his brothers. And when he was finished, he said, “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Are you good?”

“Absolutely.” He could almost hear Jade smiling across the line. “Drive safe, and I’ll take care of everything until you get here. Oh, and just to clarify,” she said before she hung up. “It’s the one on the bottom right of the case?”

Declan smiled. “That’s the one. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s perfect, just like Evie.”