Page 33 of In The Dark

Maybe it was time to choose.

Just…not yet. Not right this very minute.

She opened a new message and chewed her lip.

I’m sorry if I hurt you last night. I’m still figuring my feelings out and I feel terrible for what I did to you. I hope you can forgive me, and I hope you can believe me when I say that I wish things could be different x

She didn’t press send. Instead, she saved it to her drafts and set her phone back down on the table. Today was going to be about honesty. With herself, if nothing else. And maybe, tomorrow, she’d be ready to send the message.

Pacing the kitchen floor,Amelia held her phone tight against her ear, wondering if opening this can of worms was going to be worth it. She needed to talk, and Evie was always the one who gave her sound advice. Well, most of the time.

The call connected on the third ring.

“Amelia?”

“Hi,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You alright?” Evie asked, concern laced in her tone. “You don’t usually call me on a Sunday unless something’s fallen through…or you’ve bought a new building without telling me.”

Amelia wanted to laugh, but it didn’t seem appropriate right now. She moved into the living room, dropped down into thearmchair in the window, and sighed. “No. It’s not property related.”

“I see.” Evie cleared her throat. “Is this about Jo?”

Amelia pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. “Yes.”

“I was wondering when you’d call.”

“I’m in over my head.”

“Because she kissed you?” Evie guessed.

“She didn’t.”But God, I wish she had,Amelia thought.

“O-oh.”

“She almost did,” Amelia said, pressing her fingers to her temple. “We were at my door after dinner and…God, Evie, it was right there on offer. It would have happened if she hadn’t pulled back.”

Evie continued to listen.

“I can’t blame her. She was being responsible.” Amelia said. “She was probably doing the exact thingIshould have done weeks ago instead of letting any of this happen in the first place.”

“You mean…the Lia situation?”

The reminder of the dark room made Amelia’s stomach lurch. “I still haven’t told her. She has no idea it’s me.”

“Okay,” Evie said slowly. “And what’s your plan?”

“I don’thavea plan. I have an emotional disaster and a woman who makes me feel like I’m twenty years younger and twice as stupid as I was back then.”

Evie chuckled. “That bad, huh?”

“I lied to her, Evie.”

“You didn’t lie. You withheld.”

Amelia clenched her jaw. “That’s splitting hairs, and you know it.”

“Well…yeah, but we both know why you did it.”