Page 100 of Mr. Brightside

I nod and avert my gaze. Rhett doesn’t need to tell me how close they are. I’m aware, and I really don’t need another reminder of how little I know about the man I married.

He continues. “I tell him I love him on a regular basis. Monthly, at least. Sometimes even more than that. I’ve been saying it to him for years. He has never once—never once in our goddamn lives—said it back to me. That’s okay. I don’t need to hear it, because I know the truth. He just doesn’t say it. Like, ever. I can only think of one exception. I think maybe he said it to Tori once?”

She nods. “On the morning of our wedding day,” she whispers dreamily. “But that’s it. That’s the only time he’s ever said it to me.”

“So if you’re here because something happened between you two… and Jake said he loved you…”

My eyes go wide as Rhett’s confession unravels the narrative I’ve woven about the last forty-eight hours of my life.

Mierda.

“I’m sorry. I feel like an asshole for intervening, but now that I know what’s at stake…” Rhett blows out an extended breath as I try to make sense of his words.

My mind is at war with itself as the enormity of Jake’s confession expands and takes on a life of its own.

He loves me.

But he doesn’t know how to love me.

He loves me.

But loving him will only end in heartbreak for me.

Rhett interrupts my spiraling thoughts. “If Jake put that out there, I can guarantee you that he wasn’t trying to manipulate you or smooth things over. He wouldn’t even think to use those words against you, because it’s just not something he says. If Jake said he loves you… Fuck…”

He turns on his heel and resumes his pacing, pulling his phone out of his pocket again before pounding out a message on the device.

“He cusses a lot for a CEO,” I mutter, desperate to cut the tension.

Tori giggles beside me before wrapping my shoulders in a hug. “He really does.” She rests her head on my arm as we watch her husband process our conversation.

As if sensing our eyes on him, Rhett looks up and gives us an apologetic glance. “Excuse me. I’ve gotta make a few calls.” He steps forward and reaches out for Tori.

She lets him grasp her hand in his, then he lifts it to his lips and kisses it.

“Beautiful, I’m probably—”

“I know,” she cuts him off. “He needs you. Go.”

Rhett gives her this deep, emotive look, then turns to me and nods once before walking out of the room.

“Wait.” I pull back so I can look her in the eye. “Is he—”

“Yeah. Yeah, he is.”

What does that mean for me? For Tori? For this visit?

“So are you—”

“Oh, no.” She chuckles, stretching her arms overhead and smiling. “Running back to Hampton to save the day is Rhett’s MO. He’ll go. He’ll make sure Jake’s okay. He’ll help him figure his shit out and keep us updated.”

My eyes widen at her explanation. How does she know all that from the three words he uttered?

She squeezes my arm once and offers me a sympathetic smile. “I’m staying here with you. Our only job is to sit on this couch, eat ice cream, and feel our feelings. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what it means for Jake to say I love you if you don’t feel the same way.”

But that’s the true heart of the issue: I do.

Chapter 42