‘No,’ I say immediately, stepping closer. ‘I came to make sure your wedding goes ahead.’
She lets out a broken laugh.
‘It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it?’ she replies.
‘Not if you come back with me,’ I say.
She shakes her head.
‘I can’t go back there,’ she replies. ‘Andy hates me – he looked at me like he didn’t recognise me.’
I sit down beside her. I’m a bit too scared to touch her though.
‘He’s confused,’ I tell her.
She laughs again, sharper this time.
‘You don’t get to tell me how he feels,’ she snaps. ‘Oh, wait, I forgot, you’re in love with him.’
She says the last few words in such a mocking tone.
‘I’m not in love with him,’ I insist. ‘I love him as a friend, honestly, but nothing more. I don’t want him as anything other than a friend and the person who told him that I did love him, and all that stuff about you, well, they were misinformed and thought they were doing the right thing. And maybe I don’t know exactly how he’s feeling right now, but I know that he loves you. I’ve seen him with other girls. He’s never been all that into anyone. No one has ever been able to truly turn his head, until you. You’ve got the man using Disney nicknames, for crying out loud – that’s so not him.’
She laughs.
‘He really does love you,’ I continue. ‘Things have got messy – but the kind of mess that can be cleaned up if you’ll go back.’
‘I can’t go back alone,’ she whispers.
I stand and offer her my hand.
‘Then don’t,’ I say. ‘Come back with me. I promise you, I will fix this.’
She hesitates for a split second before taking my hand. Then we head back to the lodge.
‘I’m a snotty mess,’ she says.
‘It’s okay, go to the bathroom, I’ll see where Andy is,’ I reply.
While Cordelia goes to her room I pop into mine, to see if Jake is there. I imagine finding him lying back on the bed, his arm behind his head, flexing his bicep in that way that makes me crazy. He’s not there though; of course he’s not, because he thinks I was only with him to make Andy jealous, like he was just this big sexy prop I was using.
I head downstairs to find Andy standing in the middle of the living room, one hand braced against the back of a chair, the other raking through his hair in that way he always does when he’s thinking. He looks up when he sees me, and the relief on his face hits me harder than I expect.
‘Whit,’ he says as he comes over to hug me.
‘Hello,’ I reply. ‘How’s your day?’
He laughs.
‘All the better for seeing you,’ he replies. ‘Things aren’t great. JJ told me everything.’
‘Yeah, she said,’ I reply.
‘Is it true?’ he asks.
‘Which part?’
‘All of it,’ he says. ‘Cordelia. The divorces. You.’