Memory of You (A Misty Cove Love Story) Read Online Free PDF Page B

without bringing up the past. There were too many emotions floating between us for them not to be addressed.
    “Look, Bryce, thank you for inviting me over. It means a lot. But we both know it won’t work. We can’t undo the things we’ve done or take back the words we’ve said. Maybe we should continue keeping out of each other’s ways. It would be best for both of us. Merry Christmas.”
    I hurried down the steps and didn’t look back. I didn’t want him to see the tears flooding my eyes.
    It was when I stepped out of the gate that I remembered he had driven me. I would not ask for him to give me a ride back home. It wasn’t a long walk. Fresh air would do me good, anyway.
    I only took a few steps away from the gate, headed in the direction of the Memorial Gardens, when a hand grabbed my forearm and halted me. He spun me to face him. We stood there, too close, his breath on my face, and then he took a step back.
    “I didn’t want to talk about the past tonight,” he said. “I don’t know why I brought it up. But now I think we have to talk it out, clear the air before moving on… separately. Let’s talk over dinner. I can’t eat all that food alone.”
    ***
    The first fifteen minutes of dinner were spent in silence. We sat side by side on the couch instead of the dining table, and I had turned on the TV to a station that was playing a children's Christmas movie, a good distraction from the elephant in the room.
    The food was delicious just as I had remembered it. I ate the grilled hake and roasted potatoes because when Gran and I ordered the Christmas platter from Deep Grill it was always what I went for first. But this time I couldn't enjoy the food as much as I wanted to. I felt so tense and dreaded the clearing-the-air-conversation I would be having with Bryce.
    Finally, I put my plate down and switched off the TV. I turned to him. “I'm ready to talk.”
    “Good, so am I. Allow me to start.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “For all it’s worth, you were the love of my life, the girl I wanted to have babies with and grow old together with. You were it for me. You’re all I ever wanted.”
    I ran a hand through my hair. My heart was beating so fast at the words he had spoken, releasing conflicting emotions. He seemed so sincere, so honest. “I'm sorry. I don't understand. I…” I closed my eyes and tried to remember the scene from that night. I saw him with her again, and it was just as painful to swallow the betrayal.
    He shifted and scooted closer, placed an arm around my shoulders. The touch electrified my insides. “Could you have been mistaken? Could it have been someone else?” He paused and then removed his arm. He turned me by the knees so I was facing him, looking into his eyes. “Do you remember the exact time it was, that you think you saw me?”
    “Around nine, I think,” I said, confused.
    A triumphant smile spread across his face. “I wasn't even home. I left at seven. I was at Luke's the whole night with some of the other guys. I made it home close to midnight.”
    “What? But I…” Had I really seen a clear picture of him? I realized that I didn't even see his face, only the side of it and his hair. “Was anyone else at your place that night?”
    “Who had my spare key…” Bryce slapped his forehead and then pulled his phone from his pocket. Before I could ask who he was calling, he raised his hand to halt me. “Marcus,” he said into the phone. “Question, remember the night before my wedding?” He paused. “Yes, to Jade? Do you remember where you were around nine, before you met up with us at Luke’s?”
    I tapped my foot as I waited for him to end the call. I tried to stop but it had a life of its own.
    “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll call you later. I have something to straighten out.” He hung up and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he looked at me. “The person you saw that night with Marybeth was not me. It was Marcus, my