“I can’t forgive her,” Nick said again.
“Then maybe you don’t deserve her,” Sherman told him.
Nick’s fury rose inside him again, but Sherman simply shook his head and walked away. Nick wanted to chase after his uncle, demand he take those words back. It was Chloe who had proven she didn’t deserve him, not the other way around. Why would Sherman say such a thing?
Nick decided he couldn’t be in the courthouse any longer. He had to get out of there, had to go somewhere, anywhere where he could think without interruptions. As he rounded a corner, he saw Mav and Cooper speaking by the front door. They were probably waiting for him.
He slipped out the side door. He’d had enough advice from family for the day. It was time for him to hide away and figure out what he was feeling. Sherman’s words wouldn’t quit spinning around inside his head.
Damn the old man.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“What in the heck is wrong with people that they would choose to go through this multiple times? I mean really? How do they bear it?” Chloe asked. There were no more tears left for her to cry, nothing else she could say, but somehow she was still managing to speak. It had been a month since Nick had pushed her from his life, and that month had been the slowest she’d ever felt time move.
She’d decided to make a stand with him, had waited at the house overnight, but he hadn’t shown. That’s when it had truly sunk in that he was finished with her. He’d been there for her when her father had punched her, had held her while she’d fought those demons, but knowing she’d been partly responsible for charges being filed against him had been too much. She didn’t blame him. She just hurt that she’d lost him.
Since her crying jags had stopped, numbness had settled over her. She didn’t hurt quite as badly on a daily basis, but she also wasn’t able to feel joy or much of anything really. She went about doing her job, and she existed from hour to hour. She couldn’t figure out why anyone would choose to fall in love. There was too much risk that it would all fall apart, leaving a person feeling the way she did right then.
“I know you feel like crap now, but I swear to you that the pain will go away,” Dakota said. “It’s either going to all work out and he’ll coming running back to you, begging for you to forgive him for being such a blind fool, or you will find someone much better than him. Because if he doesn’t figure out his life is meaningless without you, he’s a fool and doesn’t deserve your love.”
“Nope. I’m done with the whole love thing. I gave it a shot, and it didn’t work out. I refuse to ever fall in love again,” Chloe told her with conviction.
“Ah, sweetie, don’t give up on love. That’s what life is all about. It sucks when it ends, but I don’t believe there’s a greater goal in life than falling in love and feeling that emotion that only one other can make you feel. It’s too incredible,” Dakota told her.
“The pain is so much worse than the feeling of love,” Chloe emphasized.
“It feels that way now because you’re focused on the pain. But we’re not meant to be alone. We are supposed to be with someone who cherishes us. Too many times, people settle because they don’t want to be alone, but being with the wrong person is just as bad as having no one at all because you’ll always ache for something more. Don’t give up on love, but don’t give up on Nick, either. We need a champion in our corner, and I think he is yours. He’s already proven that. He was hurt, and justifiably so, but he will get his head together. However, if he takes too long, I can go kick his ass if you want,” Dakota suggested.
“I love you so much, Dakota,” Chloe told her. “And even though these are all things you must say to maintain the best-friend code of honor, it’s still very nice to hear them anyway.”
“Take your time to feel better about you. You can’t be with him because you feel it’s the only option. But know it’s his honor to be with you, not the other way around. You are so special and amazing, and just because you went through hell, you feel that you need to hide yourself, but don’t do it anymore. Realize your own strength and relish in it.”
Chloe didn’t know how she’d ever lucked out enough to have Dakota as her best friend, but if she had to give up everything else in life, she could, and survive through it. She wouldn’t make it without Dakota, though. She climbed from her seat and walked to her, throwing her arms around her, and fought off tears.
“I can’t believe I ever wondered what love was like,” she told Dakota. “Because I freaking love you to death. You’re my soul mate,” she said with a chuckle.
“Damn straight I am,” Dakota said, tears in her voice. “And your soul mate wants you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of having.” Dakota pulled back and smiled at her. “Now enough of this pain-filled month. We’re going to laugh like there’s no tomorrow and do that dance thing people speak of.”
Her crooked smile and her mucking up of the most famous of motivational quotes made Chloe laugh out loud. It felt good to smile.
“I promise I’m done with my pity party. What was I thinking?” Chloe said, trying to appease her friend.
“We don’t think when we’re hurting, we react. But I promise you, if we fake it for long enough, we create a new reality. So every morning you get up, you tell yourself it’s a beautiful day, that the world is full of fun and adventure, and that the man of your dreams is going to show up with roses in his hand and sweep you off your feet. Then one day, it becomes reality,” Dakota said.