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After Leah felt composed enough to leave the car, she grabbed her things and then walked to the front door.

When she looked back, she realized Skye’s car wasn’t there.

That wasn’t a surprise to Leah. After every game, Skye’s coach always kept them at least thirty minutes to an hour talking in the locker room.

That was the best part about Skye driving herself now. They didn’t have to wait.

The house was dark except for the kitchen light that illuminated from down the hallway.

Leah walked in and saw Quinton through the glass sliding doors.

He was sitting outside on their back deck.

She crossed the room and placed her hand on the door, then stopped.

She watched as he stared ahead into the backyard.

Leah thought about his surprise party and how hopeful she’d felt for their future on that day.

Her lips lifted into a smile as she remembered them dancing and laughing like they were the happiest couple in the world. Back then Leah thought that they were.

She looked down at her hand, which was still resting on the door handle, and realized that the conversation she was about to have could be the turning point in their relationship. The question for Leah was in which direction it would turn.

Leah stepped outside and sat on the wooden chair next to Quinton. In his hand was a glass half filled with an amber liquid that Leah was sure was whiskey. Quinton didn’t drink often, only when he had a lot on his mind. And Leah didn’t have to ask what was occupying the space in his head tonight.

Quinton turned his gaze toward her, his expression hinting at wariness. The outdoor light broadcast his features, revealing the tension in his jaw and the furrow of his brows.

“I tried to call you,” Quinton said, shifting slightly in his seat but maintaining eye contact with Leah as she sat. “You didn’t make it to the game.”

“No, I didn’t.” Leah crossed her legs and her arms. “I went to have drinks with Harper.”

Quinton nodded slowly. His eyes briefly dropped to the ground before meeting hers again. “Skye played a good game. I’m sure she would’ve loved for you to have seen it.”

“I would’ve loved to have seen it, too, but ...” Leah paused. “This isn’t about Skye or her game. Is it?” Leah said, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. Her eyes searched Quinton’s face, looking for any sign of remorse.

Quinton was the master of deflecting. Too bad for him that Leah was the master of redirecting.

“We both know why I wasn’t at the game tonight. Maybe we should talk about why you didn’t want us to go together like we’ve done for years.”

Quinton took another sip. “I explained that already. My meeting ran over. Coming over here then going to Bayou would’ve been out of the way,” he said, shifting his gaze back toward the backyard.

Once again Leah thought of all the times it had been out of the way before and had never been a problem.

“You have no idea how much I wish that was really the reason,” Leah said, her voice slow and steady. “And had I not overheard your conversation with Mario tonight, I would’ve made myself believe it.”

Quinton stared ahead, allowing a painful silence to stretch between them. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say.” His once powerful voice was low and subdued.

“I don’t know if there’s anything more to say. You’re still in love with Nova,” she stated, the words feeling more like a conclusion than a question.

Quinton looked at her. His eyes were heavy with what Leah assumed to be regret, maybe even shame. “I said I didn’t know how I was feeling. I know that I love you, though. That hasn’t changed.”

His words caused a physical ache inside her.

It wasn’t the declaration she needed to erase her fears or heal the wounds of uncertainty she held about their future.

“I don’t doubt that, but you not being sure about your feelings for Nova is a big concern for me.

” Her voice sounded calmer than she felt.

Leah grappled with the implications of his admission.

His love for her didn’t offset the uncertainty of his feelings toward Nova.

She felt herself starting to build a barrier around the trust and security she used to feel.

The very things her past relationships had stolen from her and Quinton had restored.

It was as if he’d given her a gift that he’d decided he no longer wanted her to have, or maybe he felt she no longer deserved it. Not from him, anyway.

“Even if the feelings are there, it means nothing. It’s not like I’m leaving you for Nova. You know I’d never do that.”

“I used to know that. But I’m not sure of anything anymore. Do you understand how unfair this is to me? I love you totally and completely. My feelings aren’t split between you and anyone else. Don’t you think I deserve that too?”

Quinton looked away. “So, what now?”

Leah wasn’t ready to give a voice to the thoughts she’d had all the way home.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Quinton said, his husky voice laden with emotion. His eyes locked on Leah as if he was too afraid to look away.

“I don’t want to lose you either,” Leah admitted solemnly. “But we can’t pretend that your feelings aren’t real because they are. Every second I’ll wonder if you’re thinking about Nova. If you’re feeling stuck or have regrets.”

Quinton straightened his back, and lifted his head before saying, “I don’t have any regrets.”

“Now you don’t. But what about a month from now? A year from now?”

“I’ll still feel the same way,” he said.

“Torn between my sister and me?”

“No. With you. In love like we’ve been these last five years.”

Leah wished those words were enough to erase all her doubts.

All she wanted was to go upstairs, take a hot bath, and slide into bed next to her husband, as she’d done almost every night that they’d been married.

But how could she? For the rest of their marriage, Leah would always wonder if Quinton was with her because he wanted to be or if he was there out of obligation.

She couldn’t live like that, so she had no choice but to let him go.

As they say, if he came back, it was meant to be.

If not, then she was in for a major heartbreak.

She hoped it was one she could eventually bounce back from.