20. Jake

20

JAKE

T he whole way to my new house, I could hear Lydia's words repeating in my mind. What could she not tell me? What was so complicated about saying how she felt?

I could see in her eyes that something was bothering her, and I wanted to know what it was. What could Max offer her that I couldn't? She barely knew him, whereas we had a history that nothing could ever replace.

I pressed Hailey's name on my dashboard and the line rang over the car speakers. "Hey, big brother. Is Lydia awake yet?"

"Oh yeah, she's awake," I said, my voice sarcastic.

"Uh-oh, why the snarky tone?"

"Well, let's see. A lot happened after you left."

She sucked in a breath. "Do I want to know?"

I turned down the street to my new home. "I'm surprised you don't already. It's obvious Lydia hasn't called you yet."

"Oh dear God, just tell me."

"For starters," I began, "I bought a house. The papers are signed and I'm already pulling into the driveway. It's already furnished."

"What?" she squealed. "How in the world did you do that so fast?"

"I had to get out of Lydia's house, especially with her getting ready to be with Max all weekend. I don't want to see them two together."

As I got closer to the house I saw a big red ribbon on the door with a sign that said Welcome to your new home! Janet must've come over and put it up as soon as I signed the papers.

"I'm assuming they're going to the Mistletoe Mania Festival this weekend?"

I pressed the button on the garage remote which Janet had given me earlier, and drove my car inside. "Yep."

"Jake, I'm sorry. If you'd just tell her how you felt, I'm sure she wouldn't take a second look at Max."

That made me laugh but there was no humor to it. "And herein lies the problem, Hailey." After grabbing my bag, I hopped out of my car and unlocked the door. "Lydia heard everything we said today."

"Excuse me?" she said. "Did you just say she heard everything ?"

"Everything," I repeated. "She knows about you lying about the spare bedroom, how I lied about the car so I could sabotage her date, and my true feelings for her." I walked into my brand-new modern-style kitchen and tossed the keys on the counter. "So, she knows about my feelings and nothing came of it."

She huffed. "That makes no sense. I know she's in love with you. Anyone and everyone can see it. Even her sister has made comments about it for a while."

"You're wrong."

"Did she say anything ?"

I moved into the living room, where the view from the ceiling-to-floor windows was phenomenal. However, the serenity of it did nothing to ease the pain in my chest. The mountains had always brought me peace, but all I could focus on was my heartache.

"She said things were complicated and she couldn't explain."

Hailey scoffed. "That's vague. It doesn't even sound like her."

"Exactly. I don't know what's going on. My guess is she's chosen Max and doesn't want to hurt my feelings."

"Please," Hailey grumbled, "that can't be it. I'm going to call her right now. Text me your home address and Oliver and I will bring takeout from somewhere as soon as we close up the store."

"Sounds good."

We hung up and I texted her my address. Typically, people would be ecstatic to walk around their new home for the first time. Buying a house I'd never entered probably wasn't wise, but here we were. Everything was immaculate, and the furniture was brand new. I walked upstairs and tossed my duffle onto the king-sized bed in the master bedroom. There was a small balcony which had the same mountain view as the living room. I opened the glass doors wide and stepped outside as my phone rang.

Hailey's name popped up on the screen and my chest tightened. I was curious to hear what Lydia had to say to her.

"Hey," I answered.

"So, it looks like Lydia might be mad at me. She didn't answer my gazillion phone calls or text messages."

With a heavy sigh, I walked back inside and shut the doors. I was afraid I'd ruined things for good with Lydia. If she did choose Max, how could we go back to being friends?

"What if things are never the same after this?" I asked.

Hailey sighed. "We won't let that happen. You and Lydia belong together. One way or another, it will work out." I wanted to believe that more than anything. "Okay," she continued, "I'm going to go, but Oliver and I will be there soon. All you need is your little sister to cheer you up. We'll have us a housewarming party."

"Sounds good, Hails."

We said our goodbyes and I went back out onto the balcony. There was only one place that truly felt like home . . . and this wasn't it.