on the dance floor, if not for Rose,” Phoebe agreed.
“I probably would have found Gareth,” Anne said with her customary optimism, “but Rose helped me to deal with a lot of really difficult things with my parents and half-sister.”
“Me too,” Julie put in. “I mean, I know she fired me initially, but she was kind enough to give me a second chance.”
“She’s done a lot for all of us,” Tyce said. “And so has RJ.”
“I can’t believe how hard he’s working to help her this week, considering that it’s Donovan’s wedding,” Phoebe pointed out, though honestly, she knew what the Knight brothers could be like. Selfless to a fault.
“It’s Rose’s wedding. That’s why he’s doing it,” Anne explained, though they all knew that. “And maybe…well, maybe he’s been picturing himself as the groom, rather than Donovan.”
Tyce gestured towards the far side of the bar. “There’s the back exit. Anyone with me?”
Phoebe wasn’t surprised to see everyone else standing up. She did too.
“I just hope that with us leaving them alone today, these two finally manage to tell one another what they really feel for each other.”
Everyone murmured their agreement as they got the heck out of the bar.
* * *
As soon as Rose came back from the bathroom, she saw that the table they’d chosen was deserted. RJ was still there with six full drinks laid across the otherwise-empty table, but the others were gone.
She knew exactly why they’d abandoned her there with RJ, and for a moment, Rose felt a flash of panic.
Maybe, she tried to convince herself, it was actually a good thing. There were so many things she hadn’t said to RJ the day before, and floods of tears definitely weren’t the way she wanted to leave things between them. Maybe if they talked, they could get some closure. Rose had to believe that.
“Did they at least say goodbye,” she asked as she sat down.
“No. Clearly, they hoped that if they snuck out, we’d talk.”
“They’re right,” she said in a voice that shook a little on the two words.
“I’m sorry, Rose,” he said in a voice raw with emotion. “I know what you want from me. I know you want me to make it easy for you, but doing that is so damned hard.”
“I don’t think anything about this is easy,” Rose said.
She was so nervous suddenly that she grabbed one of the beers. She was surprised by how good it tasted, so much better than all the champagne she’d been forced to sip at the endless parties Donovan’s friends and colleagues had been throwing for them.
“I want to be everything you want me to be, Rose. Everything you need me to be. It’s just that…I can’t do that and fight for you too. And I want to fight for you, Rose. Because I love you.”
“Please,” Rose begged him. “Please don’t say that again.”
“Why not?” RJ demanded. “Why can’t I tell you I love you when it’s the truth?”
Rose put the beer back down on the table with such force that it sloshed over the rim and a drop slid down the side of the glass like a teardrop. “Because it makes things too complicated.”
RJ sat on the other side of the table, so handsome, so strong. Yet despite that strength, she could see how much what she was saying — and everything that she wasn’t — was hurting him.
After a few more seconds of silence, he spoke. “The situation wouldn’t be complicated if you didn’t feel anything for me. If I thought you didn’t care about me at all, then I’d walk away. But you do, Rose. I know you do.”
“Of course I do,” Rose snapped back, frustration getting the best of her tongue. “But it doesn’t change anything, does it? I’ve had feelings for you for a long time, and you never did anything about it before. Why now?”
“You were always so careful with me. Until Valentine’s Day, last year, when we were at this very same bar and you grabbed me and kissed me. Then I knew you had feelings for me, too. But you were
“I probably would have found Gareth,” Anne said with her customary optimism, “but Rose helped me to deal with a lot of really difficult things with my parents and half-sister.”
“Me too,” Julie put in. “I mean, I know she fired me initially, but she was kind enough to give me a second chance.”
“She’s done a lot for all of us,” Tyce said. “And so has RJ.”
“I can’t believe how hard he’s working to help her this week, considering that it’s Donovan’s wedding,” Phoebe pointed out, though honestly, she knew what the Knight brothers could be like. Selfless to a fault.
“It’s Rose’s wedding. That’s why he’s doing it,” Anne explained, though they all knew that. “And maybe…well, maybe he’s been picturing himself as the groom, rather than Donovan.”
Tyce gestured towards the far side of the bar. “There’s the back exit. Anyone with me?”
Phoebe wasn’t surprised to see everyone else standing up. She did too.
“I just hope that with us leaving them alone today, these two finally manage to tell one another what they really feel for each other.”
Everyone murmured their agreement as they got the heck out of the bar.
* * *
As soon as Rose came back from the bathroom, she saw that the table they’d chosen was deserted. RJ was still there with six full drinks laid across the otherwise-empty table, but the others were gone.
She knew exactly why they’d abandoned her there with RJ, and for a moment, Rose felt a flash of panic.
Maybe, she tried to convince herself, it was actually a good thing. There were so many things she hadn’t said to RJ the day before, and floods of tears definitely weren’t the way she wanted to leave things between them. Maybe if they talked, they could get some closure. Rose had to believe that.
“Did they at least say goodbye,” she asked as she sat down.
“No. Clearly, they hoped that if they snuck out, we’d talk.”
“They’re right,” she said in a voice that shook a little on the two words.
“I’m sorry, Rose,” he said in a voice raw with emotion. “I know what you want from me. I know you want me to make it easy for you, but doing that is so damned hard.”
“I don’t think anything about this is easy,” Rose said.
She was so nervous suddenly that she grabbed one of the beers. She was surprised by how good it tasted, so much better than all the champagne she’d been forced to sip at the endless parties Donovan’s friends and colleagues had been throwing for them.
“I want to be everything you want me to be, Rose. Everything you need me to be. It’s just that…I can’t do that and fight for you too. And I want to fight for you, Rose. Because I love you.”
“Please,” Rose begged him. “Please don’t say that again.”
“Why not?” RJ demanded. “Why can’t I tell you I love you when it’s the truth?”
Rose put the beer back down on the table with such force that it sloshed over the rim and a drop slid down the side of the glass like a teardrop. “Because it makes things too complicated.”
RJ sat on the other side of the table, so handsome, so strong. Yet despite that strength, she could see how much what she was saying — and everything that she wasn’t — was hurting him.
After a few more seconds of silence, he spoke. “The situation wouldn’t be complicated if you didn’t feel anything for me. If I thought you didn’t care about me at all, then I’d walk away. But you do, Rose. I know you do.”
“Of course I do,” Rose snapped back, frustration getting the best of her tongue. “But it doesn’t change anything, does it? I’ve had feelings for you for a long time, and you never did anything about it before. Why now?”
“You were always so careful with me. Until Valentine’s Day, last year, when we were at this very same bar and you grabbed me and kissed me. Then I knew you had feelings for me, too. But you were
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