Marley gave Emma’s hand a quick squeeze. “I don’t think you should worry about that. For as long as I’ve known him, he’s only ever had eyes for you. Even when he was with Darlene, I had a feeling it wouldn’t last.”
Emma didn’t know if that made her feel better or worse.
She wasn’t here to rekindle a failed high school romance.
Emma was there to try to rebuild a relationship with her family. Anything else came secondary.
It had to.
Chapter Thirteen
“There you are.” Jack’s tie was askew around his neck, and he looked like he’d run his fingers through his hair multiple times. “I was looking for you.”
“You found me.” Emma tilted her glass of spiced apple cider in his direction. “It seemed like an important conversation back there. I didn’t want to intrude.”
Jack sat down next to her and rolled his shoulders. “It wasn’t important. Darlene never has anything new to say.”
Emma took a long sip of her drink, and it trickled down her throat before settling in the pit of her stomach. “It didn’t seem that way to me. Not that it’s any of my business, of course.”
Nor could it be.
Emma had spent the past hour watching the Christmas dance evolve into a full-fledged party, and she’d told herself not to seek Jack out.
What good would it do?
He needed someone who could give him everything he deserved: a family and stability. He’d been given a taste of those things with Darlene.
It didn’t matter how nostalgic the past made her or how good she felt around Jack; she couldn’t give him what he wanted when she didn’t even know what she was doing.
She had no idea if she was meant to stay in Rockport or return to Boston.
She wasn’t even sure what her life was meant to look like after all of these years, and Jack deserved someone as sure as he was.
Someone whose head wasn’t sent into a tailspin because of her parents and hometown.
“Darlene and I have been over for a long time. We tried to make it work, and honestly, I gave her way more chances than I should’ve, for Derek’s sake. I wanted us to be a family, you know? And I really did try.”
Emma twisted to face him, and her stomach dipped. “So, what happened?”
Jack lifted his gaze to hers, and he frowned. “We just weren’t a good fit. We wanted different things out of life, and I knew Darlene wanted to see the world. I wanted to stay here and give Derek a stable life full of community, family, and tradition.”
“Darlene had other ideas?”
Jack exhaled. “She usually does. When she first left to find herself, I thought she would never come back, and for a long time, she didn’t. She was gone for almost six years, and when she showed up at our door, I couldn’t believe it.”
Emma spotted Derek out of the corner of her eye, half of his flannel shirt untucked as he spoke to a petite brunette with almond-shaped, hazel eyes. “I’m sure it must’ve been hard for Derek.”
“It was, but I told myself that I would give her another chance, and I did,” Jack replied, his expression turning wistful. “I guess I told myself that because she was his mother, it was going to work out.”
A loud crash interrupted the conversation, and the music drew to a halt.
Someone hoisted the now-drunk piano player onto his feet, and laughter erupted among the nearby group. Suddenly, music began to play through the overhead speakers, and everyone returned to the festivities, even when the lights on the Christmas tree flickered and the snow outside fell in large chunks. A fierce wind howled, rattling some windows as Emma inched closer to Jack, overcome with a strong urge to hold his hand.
Would he still feel as warm and solid as he used to in high school?
Like she could do anything with him by her side?
“I’m sorry it didn’t,” Emma said, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the chatter. “I wish things had worked out differently.”
