“Now, honey, I don’t mean to upset you. I’m concerned about you getting hurt again.”

“Luke would never hurt me.”

“Not intentionally.”

“Not ever. I’m far more worried about hurting him the way I did before.”

“You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened years ago, Syd,” Mary Alice said. “You were just a kid.”

“I was old enough to know he’d be crushed, but I was too much of a coward to end it the way I should have.”

“If you saw fit to end it with him then—”

“I didn’t see fit to end it! You told me he wasn’t good enough for me, and I believed you! I let you twist me in knots until I didn’t know which end was up.”

“But you were happy with Seth. We saw that with our own eyes.”

“I was happy with him, but I never loved him the way I love Luke.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, filling her with despair. Until that very moment, she hadn’t admitted it even to herself.

“Sydney! How can you say such a thing?”

“It’s the truth. I can’t help how I feel.” She swiped at the tears. “I couldn’t help it then, and I can’t help it now.”

“But if you hadn’t married Seth—”

“I don’t regret marrying him. I don’t regret the life we had together or our beautiful children, but I deeply regret decimating someone else on the way to that perfect life you wanted so badly for me.”

In Maddie’s driveway, her father parked next to Syd’s car and turned off the engine. The three of them sat in uncomfortable silence until Sydney took a deep, fortifying breath. “I miss Seth and my children every minute of every day, but I’ve chosen not to be defined by what I’ve lost. I simply can’t live mired in tragedy and sorrow without joy or hope or a reason to get up in the morning.”

Despite her intention to get through this without tears they came anyway. “Being with Luke brings me joy, and for the first time in more than fifteen months, I’m hopeful again. I’m hopeful that every day of what’s left of my life isn’t going to totally suck. He’s done that for me, so all I’m asking is that you give him a chance. Just give him a chance. Please.”

She got out, shut the door and headed for her own car. For a long time, she sat there hoping her hands would stop shaking so she could drive. A tap on the window surprised her. She turned the key so she could open the window.

“I’m okay, Mom.”

“If he feels up to it, how about you and Luke come for dinner tomorrow night?”