Page 17 of Mr. McBeefcake

“Okay, I’m not saying that any of your concerns aren’t valid, but let’s look at it from a different angle. My husband and I were pen pals before we got together. We’d never met in person, and then when he got home, he ghosted me. Told me he didn’t need me anymore and that was that. But I had fallen in love with him so I wasn’t going to take no for an answer unless he could say it to my face.”

“And did he?” I ask.

“Kind of, but not really. The truth was, he came home with battle scars, inside and out. He’d looked me up on my veterinary website and decided I was too beautiful for him. Me!” She points at her chest. “The chubby girl on the spectrum with cow shit on every pair of shoes I own.”

“So how did y’all work it out?”

“His own jealousy got the best of him, then I got stranded at his cabin. It happened the way it was meant to happen. We both had our own insecurities and together we worked through them.”

“I’m going to need you to break that down as to how it reflects me and Donovan,” I say.

“Him being a sports guy doesn’t mean he doesn’t have anything he’s worried isn’t good enough for you.”

I open my mouth to argue but stop. It seems ridiculous to think, and I doubt there is anything Donovan is concerned about, but Lily does bring up a good point.

“Don’t you have a Ph.D? Maybe he’s intimidated by your big, beautiful brain.”

I snort. “That’s doubtful.”

“My point is don’t make the choice for him. That’s what Forest tried to do. Tried to make the decision for me as to whether or not we belonged together. He should get to decide if he wants to be with you or not. Just as you should get to make your own choice. Do you love him?”

“More than anything.” The words come out completely on their own, as if I’ve been holding them in my mouth for years and they’ve been waiting to tumble out.

“Then you owe it to him to let him decide what he wants too.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. My IQ is off the charts!” She chuckles. “Okay, not really, that’s Emmy. But I’ve learned a lot watching her with Zane and how she had never even considered him romantically because she assumed he was too attractive for her. And things with me and Forest. The way Sheriff Burton was nuts about Madison Crawford but waited in the wings for so many years. We let silly things hold us back.”

“You are wise, Lily.”

“I have my moments. So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to talk to him at our parents’ rehearsal dinner. See if he wants to make a go of things. At the very least I’m going to tell him how I feel. Because people deserve to know when they’re loved.”