Free When Love Happens by Darcy Burke Page B

your life. I almost put off living when I started to fall for Dylan. I thought it was the wrong time, that I couldn’t possibly put myself first with so much going on around me. But we don’t get to decide when love happens, Tori. If I learned anythingfrom Alex, it’s that we get one shot at life, and I don’t want to live it with regret.”
    Tori’s shoulders sagged. She couldn’t ignore that Sara made sense or that, deep down, she probably knew these things to be true. She’d just spent so long on autopilot . . . She needed to think. “I’d rather no one else knew about Sean.”
    Sara dropped her hands to her sides. “I can’t lie to Mom and Dad. Notnow. I can’t believe that you can.”
    Tori wiped her hands over her face and drew them back down the length of her hair. She angled her head down and stared at the bare wood floor. She couldn’t hide from it anymore. It seemed her grand mistake had finally caught up with her. “I’ll talk to them today, okay?”
    “Hey, I know this is hard.” Sara briefly touched her hand lightly. “I’ll be here for whateveryou need. It won’t be as bad as you think. It never would’ve been, anyway.”
    Who could say? Things were different than they’d been six months ago. Mom was smiling again, laughing. Even Dad had begun to relax. Did she really want to aggravate them again? There were worse things than finding out their daughter had married a guy they’d never met or even knew existed. And hadn’t they already survivedthe worst thing ever?
    Tori looked up at her sister, saw the kindness in her eyes, and felt just a smidgeon better. “Thanks.”
    “I’m going to grab Dylan and go. We walked over from his house this morning.”
    “Your house, you mean.”
    Sara had moved in with Dylan a few weeks ago. “Yeah, our house.” She smiled. “I keep forgetting. I can’t believe you’ve been married all this time! Here, I thought Iwould be the first Archer kid to get married—Derek notwithstanding.”
    Tori was tempted to smile at Sara’s buoyant tone. She knew her sister was trying to cheer her up, and she was grateful for it. “I’ll see you later at dinner.”
    “Yes, you will.” Sara gave her a last, quick hug. “Bye.”
    When she was alone, Tori sagged back against the wall and closed her eyes. It had been only a matter of timeuntil everyone found out, even if she’d gotten the divorce. Right? She’d been nuts to think she could keep a marriage a secret. Except she had for eight months.
    But that was over, and she needed to reconcile herself to that fact.
    A few minutes later, footsteps sounded from the sanctuary just before she heard the door whoosh shut. She straightened, running her hand down her hair and swiping afinger beneath each eye even though she hadn’t cried. Sean poked his head around the corner. “You okay?”
    “Yes.”
    His gaze was wary, perhaps doubtful, as he stepped into the hallway, which had practically become a therapist’s office. “Dylan showed me the Ridgeview. It’s stunning.”
    She appreciated him not diving directly into the abyss. “He and his team did a great job.”
    “Yes, as did you. Heshowed me before pictures on his phone. That your vision transformed it into what it is today is astounding.”
    “It was Sara’s vision.”
    Suddenly, his face darkened, his brows dipping low over his eyes as he walked toward her. “Stop doing that.”
    She tensed, but he stopped just before her. “Doing what?”
    “Just take the damn compliment I’m giving you.”
    “Thank you.”
    “You’ve been really hard onyourself. I can see that now.” He frowned, his gaze turning contemplative. “What do you plan to do?”
    “It’s your lucky day. I’ll be introducing you as my husband at dinner tonight.” She tried to inject a bit of levity into her tone but was afraid it came out sounding shrill.
    He rocked back on his heels. “I see. Sara talked you into having an open mind after all.”
    “No, she admonished me thatI