Adrianna for telling her to jump into a relationship with both feet and her whole heart. Look where that had gotten her—desperately in love with a man who would never be hers.
“Betsy.” A sharp rap sounded on the passenger-side window. “Are you okay?”
Betsy recognized Lexi’s voice immediately. She hurriedly swiped at her eyes, then shifted to face her friend.
“I’m fine.” Betsy’s smile felt stiff on her lips. “Just getting ready to head home.”
Lexi tried the door handle. When it didn’t open, she frowned. “Let me in. I want to talk.”
Talking was the last thing Betsy wanted to do, especially with a woman who was Ryan’s friend.
She’s your friend, too, Betsy reminded herself.
She’d barely clicked the door unlocked when Lexi slid into the passenger seat. Even though dressed in a black-and-gray-plaid coat that looked warm, her friend shivered. “It’s cold out there.”
Pulling a tissue from her coat pocket, Betsy surreptitiously swiped at her nose. Small talk. Definitely manageable. For a second Betsy considered asking what had brought Lexi to the courthouse but realized the social worker might then ask her the same question. “I heard on the radio it’s supposed to dip below zero tonight.”
Lexi’s lingering gaze brought a warmth to Betsy’s face.
“I’m not sure if there’s snow in the forecast or not,” Betsy added. “They say there’s a band of moisture—”
With gentle fingers, Lexi took her hand, stopping the babbling. “We can discuss the weather for a few more minutes. Or you could go ahead and tell me what’s wrong now.”
Her soft voice invited confidences. Yet Betsy found herself reluctant to tell Lexi that she and Ryan were no longer a couple. Somehow, saying it aloud would make it seem so, well, final.
But it is final, she told herself. It had to be. Ryan had worked hard to build a respectable practice in Jackson Hole. She would not let his association with her ruin that for him.
Betsy took a deep breath and forced out the words. “Ryan and I, we’re not together anymore.”
“What happened?” Lexi released Betsy’s hand and sat back, a stunned look on her face. “You two seemed perfect for each other. So happy.”
Betsy could take the questions. It was the concern in Lexi’s eyes that made keeping her composure difficult. But she had to pull this off. Ryan’s reputation in the community was at stake. “He wasn’t the man for me. I feel bad, but I had to call it quits. It’s best for him.”
The lies flowed surprisingly easily from her lips, but the speculative look in Lexi’s eyes told Betsy the woman wasn’t convinced.
“It’s best for him,” Lexi repeated slowly. “An odd thing to say.”
Darn. Darn. Darn.
“I meant,” Betsy stammered, “that it’s best for both of us. Best for him that he’s not with someone who doesn’t love—” Her voice broke. She took a deep breath and tried again. “Who doesn’t love him. And best for me not to be with someone I, I don’t love.”
Lexi’s gaze searched Betsy’s face. She must have seen something that answered her question because her amber eyes softened. “I’m sure someone has told you the story about Nick and how he lost his memory.”
Betsy nodded, the tension in her shoulders easing. Her time on the hot seat was over. Even if Lexi wasn’t fully convinced, it appeared she was ready to give her the benefit of the doubt. Betsy was grateful. Very grateful. “You fell in love with a man who didn’t even know his own name.”
“That’s right. But what you probably don’t know is that once we learned his true identity, we discovered he had a serious girlfriend back home.” Lexi’s eyes took on a faraway look. “By that time we were already deeply in love.”
Lexi was right. This part she hadn’t heard before. “What did you do?”
“Nick was certain it was me he loved, but at that point he could only recall bits and pieces of his former life in Texas. And nothing at all about the woman claiming to be his fiancée.”
“Fiancée?” Betsy choked out the word. She couldn’t imagine Nick with anyone but Lexi.
“Turned out Nick had never actually proposed, but I’m getting ahead of myself.” Lexi shot Betsy a wry smile, then continued. “Nick and I talked, and we decided he should go to Dallas. We hoped that being back on his home turf would jog his memory. If he ended up wanting his old girlfriend, I told him I’d understand.”
“But he didn’t.” Betsy already knew this story’s ending. “He chose you.”
“Yes.” Lexi’s lips lifted in a smile. “And happily his old girlfriend found her own true love, too.”
The story was fascinating, but Betsy had a feeling there was a point to the tale she’d missed.
“Is there something about what happened with you and Nick that you think relates to Ryan and me?” Betsy cleared her throat. “Because the two situations couldn’t be more different.”
“Nick and I encountered an issue that could have torn us apart, but we faced it together. We discussed how we were going to handle it...together.” There was a challenge in Lexi’s eyes. “You and Ryan need to face whatever is going on in your life together.”
“He doesn’t—” Betsy began, then stopped, remembering what he’d said to her. “I don’t—”
“You don’t what? Love him? Rubbish. I’ve seen how you look at him.” Lexi chuckled. “And Ryan is in love with you.”
“Stop it, Lexi,” Betsy said, a hint of desperation in her tone.
She didn’t want to talk about Ryan’s love for her. All that did was remind her of how much she’d lost. And, if it was true, if Ryan really loved her, then she’d hurt him when she’d broken things off. For some reason that made her sacrifice seem almost selfish.
No. No. She’d done the right thing.
“I know I’ve never seen him like this with any other woman.”
A chill traveled up Betsy’s spine. The social worker speculating in the privacy of the car was one thing. If Lexi mentioned any of this to Ryan—
“This is not your business, Lex,” Betsy said firmly. “Stay out of it.”
The gorgeous brunette seemed more amused than offended by Betsy’s blunt admonition.
“Sorry, I can’t promise that.” The words had barely left Lexi’s lips when a car containing her husband and daughters drove up. The social worker opened the car door and stepped out but didn’t immediately walk away. She leaned down and met Betsy’s gaze head on. “I care about you. And I care about Ryan. If I find out there’s something I can do to help this situation, I’m going to do it.”
Betsy
