I nod, excited to see what he got for me. “Absolutely. I can’t wait.”
He leads me over to the patio door, slides it open, then we step outside. It’s dusk, but not too dark. His patio is lit by twinkle lights strung on an awning, which gives everything a magical glow. A little further out he has a cute little gazebo with a couple of chairs and a table. I turn and gaze at him and wait for him to give me a present, but he just stands there, smiling. His gaze keeps flicking to something behind me, and I look to see what he’s staring at.
I gasp as I realize the fence between our properties is gone. There are spots where I can see holes that still need to be filled, but that’s all that remain. I blink back tears as it hits me what this means.
I turn to him. “You tore down your fence.”
“They’ll come back and fix the holes tomorrow. They promised they can restore your property to the fullest. I’m getting a new one installed later in the week. I’ll make sure it’s installed solidly on my property.”
Emotions rise in me, and I can’t stop the tears from falling. Dustin gave in to what Jera wanted. He did it for me. He wasn’t acting nice to me to get what he wanted. Jera was wrong. He does like me for me.
He pulls me to his chest. “Hey, why are you crying? I thought you’d be happy.”
I can’t help the sobs from coming. I cling to him and try to get my emotions under control. It doesn’t work and I turn into a blubbering mess. “I am,” I say, but it comes out choked and high pitched.
He holds me close, softly stroking my hair. “I don’t understand why it means this much to you, but I’m glad you’re happy.”
My throat tightens as I think about it. Him tearing down his fence and rebuilding is overwhelming to me. Jera has to be happy now. She’s gotten what she wanted. And maybe now she’ll see that Dustin isn’t the jerk she thinks he is.
I realize I’m not just crying because he gave into Jera’s demands. I’m also crying because it means I have to break things off without the excuse that he’s been playing me to get what he wants with the fence. I’ll destroy everything we have, and I’ll be a rotten, horrible person.
“I’m so sorry, Dustin,” I say when I can get my voice under control. “I’m sorry for the lawsuit, and for everything.” And I’m sorry for so much more that I can’t say right now. I’m sorry for the future we won’t have.
“It’s all over now. Let’s put it all behind us.”
I nod, pulling back from him. I’m sure I look terrible, but he lifts my chin and smiles at me anyway. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” It’s a lie. I’m not okay. I’m about to totally destroy him, and shatter my own heart.
“Good.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “I have one more surprise to give you.”
Great. He’s got more for me. As if I don’t feel bad enough. I try to give him a smile. “What’s that?”
“My new fence will have a gate. It will be able to lock on both sides, so if you ever don’t want me using the gate, just put a lock on it.” He brushes a strand of my hair back. “But I hope you won’t need to lock it.”
I stare up at him, my heart swelling. I don’t know how it happened, but somewhere in all this pretending, I’ve fallen in love with him. The realization startles me and takes me aback, but I can’t deny it. I love Dustin, and he’s the most amazing human I’ve met.
He’s staring at me, waiting for me to respond. I gather up my emotions so I don’t start crying again. “That will make it easier for me to come eat your food.”
He chuckles. “I’ll make you food whenever you want.”
He leans down and gently presses his lips to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a proper kiss. After a few minutes he smiles and pulls back. “I’m glad you like your present.”
“I do.” I can’t hold back a smile. He’s shown me the truth. His true and honest feelings toward me. He doesn’t know why the fence was such a big deal, but he’s moving the entire thing anyway. The whole project had to cost him several thousand dollars.
“Jera, I’m glad you’re happy. I want you to be. I just hope someday you’ll be able to open up to me.”
Guilt rises in my throat. He’s right. I haven’t opened up to him. I’ve told him some things, actually more than I’ve shared with most people. But I haven’t told him the most important thing. That I’m not Jera.
He pulls me to him, and I lay my head against his chest. “I know you were hurt by Luke. It kills me to think about what he might have done to you. It takes time to start to heal from that.”
My palms grow sweaty, and I feel even worse. I’m such a scumbag. How could I have let things go this far with Dustin without telling him who I really am? I’ve told him so many lies…led him to believe so many things that were wrong. Even Luke is a lie.
“I want you to know I’ll wait for you. What we have—it’s something special. It’s worth waiting for.” He kisses the top of my head.
I close my eyes, regret filling my soul. I should tell him. Right now. I should explain everything and then at least he’ll know why I lied. But if I do, he will get very upset with me. It will end things between us, I just know it will. What I’ve done can’t be smoothed over by mere apologies.
Jera wants me to stay until I get the photoshoot done. I need to tell him, but if I wait, I can hold on to this dream for just a little while longer. I can pretend this love is real for a few more hours. This is what I need. I need Dustin to hold onto me like he is right now. I need the warmth he gives me.
I’ll tell him the truth tomorrow night.
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