Too Good to Be True - Kristan Higgins [132]
“I am, Dad. I’m sorry,” I said, swallowing hard. Here it was at last…my confession. I started talking again, and my voice grew faster and faster. “Andrew broke up with me because he fell in love with Natalie, and it hurt. A lot. But I was getting over it. I was, and if they wanted to be together, I didn’t want to be the reason they stayed apart. So I made up Wyatt Dunn, this impossibly perfect guy, and everyone felt much better, and I just ran with it because to tell you the truth, it felt great, even just pretending I had a boyfriend who was so wonderful. But then I fell for Callahan, and obviously I had to break up with Wyatt, and then, that night that Andrew came over and kissed me on the porch, Cal was really unhappy about that, and we talked and then I ended up telling him about Wyatt Dunn. And he dumped me. Because I lied.”
My breath came in shaky little gasps, and my back was damp with sweat. Margaret reached across the table and put her hand over mind. “Good girl,” she murmured.
Natalie didn’t move. The Carsons’ heads swiveled to gape at their son, who looked like he’d just been shot in the stomach, eyes wide with horror, face white. The rest of the restaurant was so quiet, you could almost hear the crickets cheeping.
“Wait a minute, wait a sec,” my father said, his face slack with confusion. “Then who was I talking to in the bathroom that night?”
“Shut it, Jim,” my mother hissed.
“That was Julian, pretending to be Wyatt,” I said. “Any other questions? Comments? No? Okay, then, I’m going out for some air.”
On shaking legs, I walked across the restaurant, past the now-silent diners, my face on fire. As I entered the foyer, Cambry leaped over to open the front door. “You are one magnificent creature,” he said in an admiring voice as I walked out.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
He had the grace to leave me alone. I was shaking like a leaf, my heart thudding. Who said that confession was good for the soul? I wanted to throw up. Going over to a small bench that sat in the restaurant’s front garden, I sat down heavily. Pressed my cold fingers against my burning cheeks and closed my eyes, just trying to breathe normally. In and out. In and out. Not hyperventilating or passing out would be enough for now.
“Grace?” Natalie’s voice was timid. I hadn’t heard her footsteps.
“Hey, Nattie,” I said wearily without looking up.
“Can I sit with you?” she asked.
“Sure. Of course.” Natalie sat next to me. When she slipped her hand into mine, I looked down at our entwined hands. Her engagement ring caught the light. “My ring looked just like this,” I murmured.
“I know. Who buys the same ring for sisters?”
“He probably didn’t remember the one he gave to me. He can’t even pick out matching socks.”
“Pathetic,” she murmured.
“Men,” I muttered.
“So dumb.”
I agreed…in Andrew’s case, anyway. “Did he tell you about that kiss?” I whispered.
I hadn’t meant to ruin anything for Natalie. Should’ve thought about that before I opened my mouth.
She was quiet for a moment. “Yes, he told me.” A mockingbird twittered above us, a long stream of notes.
“What did he say?” I asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
“He said it was a lapse in judgment. That being in the house with you, having seen you with another guy…it made him feel a little jealous.”
I sneaked a glance at my sister. “What did you think about that?”
“Well, I thought he was an asshole, Grace,” she said, making my mouth drop open in shock. “It was our first fight. I told him he’d screwed up our lives enough already, and kissing you was unacceptable. Then I slammed a few doors and stomped around for a while.”
Natalie’s face was red. “How refreshing,” I murmured.
She snorted. “And I was…jealous. Not that I had a right to be, given what I did to you.”
I squeezed her hand. “You can’t help the big kablammy,” I said.
Natalie shot me a questioning glance.
“You know,” I said. “The thunderbolt. Just one look, that’s all it took, all that garbage.” I paused. “But you made up, obviously. You guys are okay, right?”
She gave a little