Page 99 of The House Guest

I took a deep breath and dialed.

After a couple of rings, she picked up. “Primrose?”

“Yes! Hi. Wasn’t sure you’d know it was me.”

“Well, I don’t have too many people other than Chandler calling me at this time. I’m glad you called.”

“This is a good time for me, too. My daughter is in school for another couple of hours.”

“Aren’t these little breaks when they’re out of the house like gold?”

“The only time I can think straight and get stuff done.” I exhaled.

“I know.” She paused. “I hope I wasn’t being too forward in asking you to call me. I feel more comfortable talking than typing everything out, especially since Chandler sometimes uses my phone to scroll on social media. He doesn’t have his own account.”

“Ah. Well, I don’t want you to have to hide anything from him.”

“Oh, I know. I love my husband, but I don’t trust that he wouldn’t run to Dorian and tell him everything. I want you to be able to talk to me honestly, if you want to, without having to worry about that.”

I smiled. It made me happy that we were on the same page. “I appreciate that,” I said. “At the same time, I feel like I shouldn’t be talking about Dorian behind his back, especially to one of his friends.”

“You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to,” Candace assured me. “I just wanted to say hello and acknowledge that I’ve thought of you, too, all these years. When I found out the real reason Dorian broke up with you, I felt horrible that you were out there somewhere with a broken heart, not knowing the full story.”

“Yeah,” I breathed. “Needless to say, the truth was a shock, but I’m grateful he came to find me to explain everything.” Then I changed the subject, asking about her health. We spent the next several minutes discussing her remission and her fears of recurrence, especially now that she had children. She seemed to be in a good headspace overall, though—much better than mine, if I were being honest.

“So…” she said the moment there was a lull in our conversation. “I couldn’t help but notice that you liked and then unliked the photo of Dorian and Liv. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to see that.”

She had a name.Liv.

“I don’t know how to feel,” I told her. “I do want him to be happy.”

“She’s an acquaintance of mine. That’s how they met.”

I felt unjustifiably betrayed by that news. “Really...”

“Yeah. I invited them over at the same time one day. I suspected she’d be a good fit for him, but I had my reservations because I knew he wasn’t over you, despite knowing you were moving forward with your wedding.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It looks like it worked out.”

“They’ve been dating ever since, and I know she’s crazy about him. But…” She hesitated.

“What?” I urged, sitting at the edge of my seat.

“I’ve struggled with feeling like maybe I made the wrong decision in introducing them. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“I’m getting married...” I said defensively.

“I know that.” She went silent.

I got the impression she was digging for my true feelings on the matter, trying to see if there was still doubt on my end. She wouldn’t have had to dig very far to figure it out. I was grateful she couldn’t see my face. She’d probably see right through me.

“I’m not going to do anything to disrupt his life again,” I eventually said.

“Not intentionally. But you’re still breathing, right?” She chuckled. “I think you’re always going to be in his heart. Anyone else comes second.”

Her candor made me sweat. “I can’t do anything about feelings Dorian still has for me. I’m not sure what you want me to say...”

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to say anything. I’m just being honest about how I see the situation. I understand if you’d prefer not to know anything.”